Winter Book Review: Aromatherapy

First off, some may get lost looking for the title of this book on the cover. As I see it, it is supposed to read, "A Complete Guide to Understanding & Using Aromatherapy For Vibrant Health & Beauty: A Practical A to Z Reference to Aromatherapy Treatments for Health, Skin, and Hair Problems Using Essential Oils". My, have you ever seen a title so long? To make matters worse, the subtitle is at the top of the book. This is, likely not surprising, an Avery title by Roberta Wilson. If you can get past the confusion of the cover, the inside provides a clear cut layout anyone can understand. Even people with poor vision can use this book, as the words seem larger than normal... perhaps because the content wasn't there to fill the 244 page book.

The main focus of this book, which may be ascertained from the title, is that it focuses on health problems. Essential oils are of course presented, many times in recipe form, to aid in the relief of such conditions as asthma and PMS. Therefore this book would be quite helpful to those using Aromatherapy in a medical setting, such as with nurses or caregivers and also those in a consulting position. Many books delve into pleasurable aspects of Aromatherapy and only provide a few remedies for health issues. Although the "Emotional Issues" area does have blends of an aphrodisical nature. It seems no one can write an Aromatherapy book without including such information.

Prior to covering the "conditions", Ms. Wilson's book does a nice job of going through the popular essential oils such as rose, orange and ylang ylang. Another nice aspect is that these same oils are the ones frequently incorporated into the recipes. Many times, it's easy to start suggesting very exotic essential oils to lay people, without realizing they may not have access or the funds to buy all of them. Thus, the book offers a nice selection of recipes for each condition. My rule of thumb is, "it's not a good book on Aromatherapy unless it has a chapter on acne included". If you suffer from a particle condition, you will find yourself much more pleased with books that take the time to cover your particular condition. For me, it happens to be acne. This book indeed has a nice section devoted to acne and a whole host of other conditions. At $13.95 it's a good read and buy. The only addition that would have made this a more helpful book would have been illustrations. Until recently, Avery has never been big on in book artwork.

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