Such an important but neglected and difficult topic. Dr. Li has approached a challenging health situation from both sides - as trained physician and also patient.

Dealing with chronic illnesses for the past two decades has been exhausting with doctor after doctor either giving you medication to pacify your symptoms so you can somewhat function but those medications can soon bring on other health issues or doctors who don't believe in your illness and says it is just in your head to dictors who have no answer even after extensive testing. It's inspiring to see a doctor turned patient explore answer and solutions to her own healing.

Thank you to New Harbinger Publications and Netgalley for the opportunity to review Brave New Medicine by Cynthia Li. All of the following thoughts are my own.

I initially was intrigued by this book, because I am a medical provider myself and find myself often facing patients who seem to have no obvious answer to their various ailments. In this case, a physician wrote the book, therefore, in my eyes would have more of an authority and knowledge base that I could reliably believe.

In this book we have Cynthia, an intelligent woman at the prime of her life working as a physician, newly married, and recently given birth to her first child. Inexplicably she develops postpartum thyroiditis that has no cure, but she simply wait out. She slowly develops symptoms that limited her ability to return to work, let alone care for her family like she would like.

Despite her reservations with Eastern Medicine, she slowly explores different ideas and methods at the encouragement of some family friends and at the simple desperation to be whole again.

Cynthia Li is a phenomenal writer and she was so transparent in her journey through her health with the struggles it gave - How her marriage started to crumble, her identity as a mother, wife, daughter, and friend were affected. I applaud not only her efforts, but also to her husband, who stood with her through it all.

I recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t seem to have an answer to their health, every medical professional and anyone who would like to see how their environment and nutrition affects their lives.

An easy 5 stars!!!

Wow - Dr Li can write! I found myself reading her book from cover to cover. Her total honesty and willingness to reveal all was captivating!

I'm not sure about some of the methods that she says she used to heal herself, but I definitely enjoyed reading her story!

Thank you Netgalley and New Harbinger for the ARC. This is my honest review.

✨Brave New Medicine By Cynthia Li✨

This is a memoir from a super successful western doctor who got really sick out of the blue, test after test told her and the western doctors treating her that she was fine yet she could barely move from her bed. After a long time of trial and error she discovered that she has an autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, thyroid disease amongst other things. Still finding no help or relief with treatment she decided to go against everything she knew, was trained in and believed in and tried alternative eastern medicine.

By doing this she not only found help, she found a new way of life and finally healing too!
In her memoir she shares the beginning, middle and present of her life. She also shares advice and help she got along the way and what treatments and medicines helped her get there.

This was a really emotional read for me and that surprised me a lot. Reading someone’s story that is so unbelievably similar to mine in so many ways to do with health was overwhelming at times but extremely comforting too.

Over the last handful of years I have read a lot of medical books and books not dissimilar to this one but it’s the only one that made me have that reaction and it’s the only one that gave me new ways of healing that I’d never tried or heard of rather than the others just rehashing the same of information. I am such a advocate of alternative and eastern medicine and healing but if your not and your suspicious or just curious then this book is a great place to start for you as Cynthia herself starts out so cynical and against that world.
I think this could be such a healing and powerful book for you also if your dealing with any kind of autoimmune problems or endocrine disorders too! I really enjoyed Cynthia’s story and I’m really thankful that she shared it with us all✨

I’m really interested in holistic healthcare and finding alternative healing. This book is a great reference.

I LOVED this book. So many times while reading it, I would find myself nodding in agreement, or tearing up, and full of relief that someone - an MD, even! - GETS IT: the exhaustion, confusion, anger, unpredictability, helplessness, and the feeling of being constantly overwhelmed that comes with living with an unexplainable, chronic condition. And she not only gets it, but can explain it in such an eloquent, honest way. Plus, the way she explained her experience from an allopathic medical doctor's viewpoint and how her perspective changed profoundly...I just want this to be required reading for everyone, because I believe it would create so much NECESSARY empathy. I felt so much hope when reading about Li's journey and her ideas for healing, and I plan to try as many as I can. Thank you Cynthia Li for sharing yourself with us.

What an amazing book and inspiring life story! Dr. Li openly and honestly shares her personal journey from sickness to health from the perspective of a medical doctor. It was brave and courageous of her to show the failings of conventional medicine, how it treats symptoms while ignoring the root cause. We need more natural healers and books like these to open everyone’s eyes and to demand “real,” authentic healthcare. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Dr. Li for making this wonderful book available to us. It will make a lasting impression on its readers, and hopefully change hearts and minds.

I appreciate the ARC from Net Galley and the publisher. As one who has autoimmune disease and has been dismissed and misdiagnosed by Kaiser doctors over and over again as well as disrespected as a patient and called "difficult" by multiple doctors (when I refuse to take harmful pills) I was interested to read this doctor's own journey through western medicine with her Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

I appreciate the utter honesty and candid journey she documents here . Anyone suffering from chronic disease can benefit from her experiences. She inspires me to continue to be my own fierce health advocate and stand up for my health against a broken system who trains doctors to just drug people with chronic disease and if we don't agree they label us as "difficult and noncooperation" to cover up their incompetence or dismissive attitudes.

Her courageous journey to healing inspires and calls into question conventional medicine . She takes the reader on her own journey through recovery, testing, health changes and how she was inspired to find her own healing practices. A very poignant and real look at the true suffering of a chronic pain patient in today's western medical system.. I appreciate very much receiving this book for a ARC as it came at the right time for me. Thank you to the author for this important body of work.

An interesting autobiographical look at Hashimotos autoimmune and thyroid disease coming from a dr who suffered as a patient and had a hard time getting "old" ways of treating those issues out of her way to see the newer research and approaches to overall health. As someone who does suffer from the same diseases and issues, it is interesting to see a dr's perspective as they try to get relief and not just be passed off as a "problem patient" as so many of us are. I think the overall message of the book is great that it is more than just taking the pill and you'll feel fine, which most of us know is total garbage, but that it takes diet changes, exercise, water intake, sleep and getting vitamin levels also optimal along with thyroid levels. This book leans towards the metaphysical or that the mind has a lot of control and being in touch with your intuition can lead you to a healthier lifestyle which isn't a bad perspective, but could have driven home that the medication is also vital to sustained life as well. I felt the book is a good support book to reinforce that patients are not crazy or hypochondriac's when it comes to their variety of symptoms, it reinforced that many lifestyle changes need to take place for healing and that advocating for your health by finding the right dr is important. I would recommend that someone suffering with these ailments read the book to find a kindred spirit, but that they should not rely on it as a concrete guidebook to wellness as there is much more to learn than what can be presented in one book.

Thank you to New Harbinger Publications and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Back in a previous lifetime, I trained as a registered nurse, so was intrigued by the description - and this book did not disappoint. The author shares the journey of her "most difficult patient", herself, from being a diligent medical student, to becoming a stressed and active young doctor, to being housebound and with no energy to do anything more than lie in bed. All this with two young children and a husband whose career demanded long hours and lots of travel, and symptoms so diffuse that all testing came back negative.

Particularly for a health care professional, non-conventional medicine is at best questionable - but as the Germans say: "When in need, the devil will devour flies" (In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen), i.e. in desperate straits, the impossible becomes palatable. The author's decision to try unconventional methods and treatments, and learn to listen to her body in a completely new way, is fascinating, and illuminating for anyone seeking to live a life of wholeness.

Brave, yes. New, yes. Medicine....and answers!

Cynthia Li's path to healing--as she shares it in "Brave New Medicine"--is 5★s and a wow!

Study this book, take one or all of Li's solutions and bravely heal autoimmune dis-eases. Then, grab one for your doctors, specialists, nurses, and chronically ill loved ones. Priceless. #NetGalley #JozefBookandBrew

Brave New Medicine is a interesting memoir that is well written. Her long journey and struggle is a brave one and informative.

Dr. Li presents her personal case as her most "difficult" patient. Difficult because her symptoms are not leading to a comprehensive diagnosis treatable by Western medicine. Difficult because she knows that her symptoms would likely be seen as psychosomatic by many doctors. Difficult because it takes years of multiple modalities and constant monitoring and re-adjusting to be able to live her life fully.

Her story fascinated me from start to finish. The integration of Western and Eastern medical treatment alternatives was wonderful to watch unravel in her life. An added bonus to an engaging memoir: at the end of the book, the genre switches to self-help as Dr. Li presents what she learned in dealing with her own case as a means for readers to explore their own well-being.

I was so moved by the long journey to wholeness of the author, an internal medicine physician whose Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and chronic fatigue took her from a thriving medical practice to housebound with two young children. Her courageous and unconventional trek to healing is a heroine’s epic that inspires and calls into question the efficacy of conventional medicine alone. Her answers illuminate all manner of recovery: looking at root causes, using the body and spirit’s innate wisdom and intuition, turning to ancient healing practices combined with cutting edge science and research. Both a beautifully written memoir and a prescription for whole person living. Highly recommended!

Pub Date 01 Sep 2019.

Thanks to Cynthia Li, MD, New Harbinger Publications, Inc., and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#BraveNewMedicine #NetGalley