The Scalpel and the Silver Bear The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing

The first Navajo woman surgeon combines western medicine and traditional healing. A spellbinding journey between two worlds, this remarkable book describes surgeon Lori Arviso Alvord's struggles to bring modern medicine to the Navajo reservation in Gallup, New Mexicoand to bring the values of her people to a medical care system in danger of losing its heart. Dr. Alvord left a dusty reservation in New Mexico for Stanford University Medical School, becoming the first Navajo woman surgeon. Rising above the odds presented by her own culture and the male-dominated world of surgeons, she returned to the reservation to find a new challenge. In dramatic encounters, Dr. Alvord witnessed the power of belief to influence health, for good or for ill. She came to merge the latest breakthroughs of medical science with the ancient tribal paths to recovery and wellness, following the Navajo philosophy of a balanced and harmonious life, called Walking in Beauty. And now, in bringing these principles to the world of medicine,The Scalpel and the Silver Bearjoins those few rare works, such asHealing and the Mind, whose ideas have changed medical practices-and our understanding of the world.

Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D., is now the associate dean of minority and student affairs at Dartmouth Medical School. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Jon, and two children, Kodiak and Kaitlyn. <br><br>Elizabeth Cohen van Pelt is a staff writer with the <i>New York Post.</i> She lives in New York with her husband and daughter.