A few weeks ago I was having a conversation about books with one of my ‘mature’ patients.  She’s 88 years young, sharp and witty and for as much as she has learned and experienced in her 88 years, she’s still curious about…well, everything.  On this particular day, she was telling me how her desire for better health had mostly led her away from traditional medical care.  She said it hasn’t been an easy journey, but that over the years she has found some great alternative medical practitioners and healers who have really guided her to her best health, not only with hands-on care, and advice but with recommending books or literature that have helped her navigate her way through diet, cooking, exercise, and self-care.  She said she was particularly interested in the history of medicine and how it’s evolved, noting that not all evolution has been for the best.

On that note, I told her about my Acupuncture professor.  He was a passionate practitioner.  He was also a collector of first edition medical texts, and he would bring them to class to allow us to see with our own eyes how types of care like midwifery, chiropractic, herbal therapies, Acupuncture, and massage were written OUT and replaced by pharmaceuticals and medical procedures.

She then asked if I could recommend some books that I thought she might find interesting.  Here is the shortlist of some favorites…some written by college classmates and friends.

• Chiropractic Speaks Out: a Reply to Medial Propaganda, bigotry and Ignorance, by Dr. Chester A. Wilk
• Bittersweet Aspartame, A Diet Delusion, by Barbar Alexander Mullarkey
• Evolve Your Brain, The Science of Changing Your Mind, by Dr. Joe Dispenza
• How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor: One of America’s Leading Pediatricians Puts Parents Back in Control of Their Children’s Health, by Robert Mendelsohn, MD
• Lick The Sugar Habit, by Nancy Appleton, PhD
• Preventing And Reversing Osteoporosis, by Dr. Alan Gaby
• The Paleo Cardiologist, by Dr. Jack Wolfson
• The Un-Prescription for Autism, by Dr. Janet Lintala
• The Wellness Prevention Paradigm, by Dr James Chestnut
• Thugs, Drugs, And The War On Bugs by Dr. Brad Case
• Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (Revised Edition): Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing, by Christiane Northrup M.D.

All of these books are available on Amazon.  Why not grab something new to read.

As I sat here typing this, I received an e-mail alerting me to the passing of Dr. Chester Wilk on April 21, 2022, at age 91.

Dr. Wilk was a tireless chiropractic champion whose advocacy advanced the course of the profession, not only in Illinois but nationally.

Dr. Wilk became well known for initiating a federal lawsuit aimed at exposing efforts of the American Medical Association (AMA) to “contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession.”  The litigation began the mid-1970s and continued to 1987, when a federal court entered a permanent injunction against the AMA, finding the organization had violated antitrust laws by encouraging an illegal boycott against chiropractic.    NCMIC published a 3-part webinar series entitled “Contain and Eliminate: How the AMA Tried to Destroy Chiropractic,” which chronicles the story in fascinating detail here.

Dr. Wilk’s perseverance ultimately resulted in the AMA agreeing to change its rules to permit professional collaboration among all categories of physicians, as well as to allow medical doctors to refer patients to chiropractic physicians.  His efforts paved the way to a new era in which patients now may be best served through unrestricted access to a wide range of therapies, and in which health care practitioners may provide patients with the most appropriate care, including through multidisciplinary integration.

Thanks to Dr. Wilk’s work to end attempts to “contain and eliminate” the profession, the role of chiropractic as an important component of health care delivery has only grown in acceptance since the time of the court ruling, especially with the growing need for natural, non-pharmacological approaches to pain management.

As evidence of the extensive impact of the litigation, the Chicago Sun-Times reports the following AMA statement on learning of Dr. Wilk’s passing: “The current collaborative relationship between the American Medical Association and chiropractic profession is far removed from the history of 60 or 70 years ago and has long reflected that physicians and chiropract[ic physicians] work side-by-side as members of the patient care team.”  Dr. Wilk’s name will long be synonymous with recognition of the profession’s rightful place in the health care system.  He will be remembered by chiropractic advocates across the nation.

RIP Dr. Wilk