If you’ve ever Googled a weird symptom at 2 a.m., side-eyed a prescription bottle, or just wished there were a better way to feel great — this book is for you. Whether you’re stressed, in pain, battling illness, or just tired of feeling “meh,” this book offers inspiration, possibility, and a little nudge to start your own feel-good adventure.
Part beginner’s guide, part memoir, and completely relatable, this book invites you into one woman’s candid, vulnerable (and sometimes laugh-out-loud) journey through alternative medicine, holistic healing, and natural remedies.
Along the way, you’ll explore eight mind-body healing practices, including:
1. Naturopathy
2. NUCCA
3. Reflexology
4. Meditation
5. Acupuncture
6. Grounding
7. Homeopathy
8. Reiki
Never heard of some (or all)? Perfect — that makes it more fun.
What You’ll Get
• Real-life stories showing holistic healing in action
• Easy-to-understand breakdowns of eight practices you can try now
• Encouragement to take charge of your own wellness — without preachiness
Who This Is For
The skeptics, the curious, and everyone in between. If conventional medicine has ever let you down — or you simply want to explore your options — you’ll feel right at home.
If you’ve ever Googled a weird symptom at 2 a.m., side-eyed a prescription bottle, or just wished there were a better way to feel great — this book is for you. Whether you’re stressed, in pain, battling illness, or just tired of feeling “meh,” this book offers inspiration, possibility, and a little nudge to start your own feel-good adventure.
Part beginner’s guide, part memoir, and completely relatable, this book invites you into one woman’s candid, vulnerable (and sometimes laugh-out-loud) journey through alternative medicine, holistic healing, and natural remedies.
Along the way, you’ll explore eight mind-body healing practices, including:
1. Naturopathy
2. NUCCA
3. Reflexology
4. Meditation
5. Acupuncture
6. Grounding
7. Homeopathy
8. Reiki
Never heard of some (or all)? Perfect — that makes it more fun.
What You’ll Get
• Real-life stories showing holistic healing in action
• Easy-to-understand breakdowns of eight practices you can try now
• Encouragement to take charge of your own wellness — without preachiness
Who This Is For
The skeptics, the curious, and everyone in between. If conventional medicine has ever let you down — or you simply want to explore your options — you’ll feel right at home.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
A bit about what this book is and is not.
WHAT IT IS
Let’s start here: you don’t have to be sick to want to feel better. Maybe you’re here because you’re curious. Or exhausted. Or stressed out. Or maybe you’re actually feeling fine but wouldn’t mind checking out something new. All valid reasons. All welcome here.
You also don’t need to be a full-blown health nut to want to be healthier. Somewhere along the way, it started to feel like this was an all-or-nothing game—like if you don’t work out every day and eat kale by the bucket, you’re not allowed to care about wellness. No way. Not true.
Maybe you’ve already dipped a toe into the world of alternative healing—only to be overwhelmed by buzzwords, chakra charts, and DIY herbal remedies.
Perhaps you do have some legit health issues—things your doctors can’t quite figure out, or symptoms that seem to change depending on the day. And when it comes to Western medicine, you might feel like it’s a never-ending game of take this pill for that… and then this pill to help with the side effects of that pill.
It can feel a little exhausting and you might be wondering if there’s a more natural way to feel better.
Wherever you’re starting from—mystery symptoms, burnout, sheer curiosity, or just why not?—I’m not here to convince you of anything. Well… maybe just one thing. Be curious.
Worst case? You try something new.
Best case? You find something that makes you feel amazing. And along the way, you might find the adventure can be kind of fun.
With that said, this book is here to shine a light on some lesser-known, kind-of-magical, often-misunderstood healing practices that live outside the usual “drink more water, take vitamins, and get more sleep” advice. (Seriously, how many more times can we hear that.)
We’ll dive into naturopathy, NUCCA, reflexology, meditation, acupuncture, grounding, homeopathy, and Reiki.
If you’re scratching your head and haven’t heard of some (or all) of these, awesome! That just makes it more fun.
In these pages, you’ll find real stories of healing in action—some lighthearted, some more heartfelt—alongside straightforward overviews of eight different approaches you might actually want to try.
It’s just enough info to give you a clear, down-to-earth understanding, all in plain, non-clinical language. And yes, there’s a little encouragement to get out there and try something new… because, well, I can’t help myself.
WHAT IT IS NOT
This book isn’t going to teach you how to become a healer, forage rare plants, or brew Amazonian bark tea.
Nope. This isn’t a how-to manual. You’ve got enough on your plate.
Let’s leave the serious healing to the actual healers—the brilliant professionals who’ve devoted their lives to this work.
This also isn’t a book about herbs or your ancestors’ plant remedies. It’s just… every time you search natural healing or alternative healing, it’s wall-to-wall plants. This is not one of those books. And hey, I do love plants and totally respect their power—my kitchen basically doubles as a botanical garden.
One other thing to clear up, please—I’m not a healer, scientist, or scholar. I am not a doctor and I’m certainly not giving you medical advice. Again, there are very capable, trained people to do that. I’m not even what you’d call a health nut. I’m just a regular person trying to juggle a career, raise kids, be a good friend and a caring daughter, keep my house from becoming a dumpster fire, and go through life feeling great.
NOT AN EXPERT, JUST AN ADVENTURER
About twenty-five years ago, I started dipping my toes into this fascinating, wonderful world of alternative healing. I had no idea what I was getting into—I was just curious.
What I’ve discovered has been pretty cool. And when I talk about it, people always want to know more. So here I am. Ready to share.
By the time you finish this book, my hope is that you’ll feel like you’ve got enough insight to start exploring for yourself.
You’ll know what sounds good to you and what seems a little too wacky, and ultimately give something a try.
On the other side of this, maybe you’ll find yourself stepping into the calm, happy, feeling-awesome, I’ve-got-this version of you.
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION
How a Prescription Pad Lit a Fire
Growing up, my family was healthy. We did the basics—ate good food, played outside, got our exercise in, spent time together. Nothing fancy, just the fundamentals.
But when someone got sick? You did exactly what the doctor said. No questions asked. If they handed you a prescription, you filled it. If they said take this, you took it.
No one talked about long-term side effects, and you definitely didn’t ask what was in the medication.
That’s just how it worked.
Let me be clear: I am not anti-doctor, anti-Western everything, or anti-medication. Not even close. I have a doctor I trust and adore.
But I’ve always been curious—is this all there is? Are there other paths to healing?
After all, for thousands of years, people have been using natural remedies, spiritual practices, and other techniques to stay well.
That curiosity turned into something much deeper when my beloved father—hands down the healthiest person I knew—started experiencing bizarre symptoms.
This man ate perfectly. He exercised constantly. And yet, doctor after doctor couldn’t figure it out.
They eventually gave him a diagnosis, yes—but more than that, they gave him drugs, drugs, and more drugs.
One med for the pain. Another for the side effects from the first one. Then another for those side effects.
It was a domino effect, and I watched helplessly as my dad declined.
I couldn’t help but wonder, would this
be my fate, too?
It broke my heart, but more importantly it lit a fire in me.
I became even more focused on finding alternative, non-pharmacological, natural methods of healing.
IN THE BEGINNING, I KNEW NOTHING
I started simple. An occasional massage. Essential oils wafting through my kitchen. A pile of books about herbs that I never read, but looked cool on my coffee table. Some things seemed to work and others, not so much.
And that’s the point. You have to find what works for you.
Not everything in this book—or in the wellness world—is going to resonate.
But when you do find something that makes you feel amazing, that transforms your energy, sleep, digestion, or whatever ails you… you’ll be so glad you started this journey.
BEFORE WE DIVE IN, THREE SMALL REQUESTS
1. Be Open-Minded
If you go into this thinking it’s all a bunch of BS, hocus-pocus, nonsense, you’ll probably miss the magic. Some of this lives in the gray area. Some of it requires a leap of faith. You don’t have to believe everything—you just have to be open to the possibility.
2. Make It Your Own
This is your journey—so make it yours. Some of what you read here might light you up, and some of it might make you raise an eyebrow. That’s exactly how it should be. Wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all. This is your chance to explore, experiment, and edit until it feels like you.
3. Take Action
At the end of this book, I’d like to suggest that you pick one thing. Just one. Try it. Book the appointment. Show up. See what happens.
Whether you help yourself or you discover something you can share with a friend, it’s worth it.
Alright. Let’s do this.
How does it sound to take a trip around the planet of health and wellness in 80 minutes, maybe less? Believe it or not, but the ride is there and you get to see all the desirable destinations including (but not limited to): safety, comfort, peace, longevity, beauty, and some more. And it’s NOT fiction, but Jenna Swan’s The Alternative Healing Adventure that includes “Real-life stories and simple summaries of 8 natural and holistic healing paths worth trying.”
In this short and fun-to-read book, Swan takes introduces her readers to several alternative approaches to healing from all kinds of physical, psychological, and even spiritual ailments. The holistic paths to health and wellness in this book include: Naturopathy, NUCCA, Reflexology, Meditation, Acupuncture, Grounding, Homeopathy, and Reiki. The reader gets to know the essentials of each of these approaches while also learning about the common myths or misconceptions surrounding each in their respective chapters.
The merits of this book outnumber its pages by a million. Swan keeps it short and to-the-point and yet gives the reader enough to understand the foundation of each of these paths to wellness. Sharing her personal stories of different health challenges and the commonly known monster of stress, which haunts most of the people most of the time, she motivates readers to explore on their own with an open mind and healthy curiosity. The sup-topics are neatly sorted and all the chapters very well-organized.
What makes The Alternative Healing Adventure an exceptionally enjoyable reading experience is the author’s conversational tone and outstanding sense of humor. These pages do not come from a voice of authority that preaches the benefits of alternative healing approaches; instead, Swan joins the reader as a friend who makes learning about various healing methods and systems an adventure with lots of chuckles and giggles along the way. Reading about sickness, pain, and healing couldn’t be more fun!
By the time the reader reaches the last page, it’s clear that Swan’s warning against the side effects of holistic healing paths also applies to her own book’s side effects – feeling amazing!