For this book review I am combining two short books that according to the author are “shorter versions or specific chapters of interest.” from a longer book that she wrote. That book is Essential Oils Have Super Powers: From Solving Everyday Wellness Problems to Taking on Superbugs.
The Crisis of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria & How Essential Oils Can Help
Essential Oils Have Super Powers Series #1
Anecdotes, Fun Facts & Fascinating History
Essential Oils Have Super Powers Series #2
By Kathy Heshelow
Published by Sublime Beauty Naturals copyright 2016-2017
Book #1
In the preface of book 1 Kathy shares that she has strong feelings about the power essential oils, so she has trademarked the title and phrase “Essential Oils Have Super Powers”.
These two books are rather small, probably 100 pages or less. There are no page numbers so don’t quote me. This made both books quick to read.
In book one, the author needed to add a chapter since she has taken most of her text from her larger book. The title of the chapter is “Quick Facts About Essential Oils”, and it is just that quick. The section felt rushed. Like she was trying to get a lot of information out without too much detail in an effort to keep the book short. Due to adding this chapter some of her references don’t match up.
Chapter 2 is the main point of the book. Almost every paragraph is a reference to an article that she is summarizing. She definitely took her time to research the information. Although, I felt myself needing to go to her references to get a better understanding. For anyone that has not read anything about antibiotic resistant bacteria this is a good starting point.
In chapter 3 she provides a lot of information about clinical research related to bacteria. It is a section that is a bit overwhelming. It could have used more than a few pages to fully describe her thoughts.
Book #2
I will be completely honest; this book was more of a challenge for me to read. The author has a lot of information in there that I question if it is correct.
Having done a fair amount of research myself I do know that fragrant plants have been used since the beginning of time. Many cultures used plants as part of spiritual rituals and for the health benefits.
The author provides information about essential oils being used during biblical times. Most research shows the distillation of essential oils occurring around the 11th century. Any oils that were used in biblical times were probably infused oils.
The benefit I received from this book was wanting to research more into the history of plants and how they were used through history. I appreciate that the author was detailed in her reference materials so that I could read and understand her thoughts.
Overall, having not read the main book that this series was taken from I found it challenging. I would not recommend this series to someone that is a beginner learning about aromatherapy.
If you have a book you would like me to review, please share in the comments.