Second edition of Bermudian Folk Remedies published

It has only been two months since the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs published Bermudian Folk Remedies: Using Medicinal Botanicals for Common Ailments by Dr Kuni Frith-Black to highlight and preserve an important and fascinating aspect of our island’s heritage.  The book has been a resounding success and sold-out by January 2014. This week the Department will release the second edition of Bermudian Folk Remedies. This new edition includes an index of complaints, several additional recipes, different photographs of the stages of certain plants, and expanded tributes.

The Department’s Folklife Officer, Dr Kim Dismont Robinson said, “It was a topic that we knew would generate interest in the community since many people are accepting more responsibility for their own wellbeing; and the oral history about folk medicine is still passed on, to greater and lesser extents, from generation to generation. However, we were nevertheless stunned by the overwhelming success of this book.”  Dr Dismont Robinson added, “We knew we had a best seller when our office began to experience brisk sales as well as daily request for restocking from the stores.  Amazingly, the book was completely sold-out within the space of a month.”

Minister of Community, Culture and Sports, The Hon. R. Wayne Scott, JP, MP stated, “We are quite proud of this book and the tremendous amount of research and knowledge that Dr Kuni Frith- Black has brought to both the first and second editions.”

The Department printed 1,500 copies and launched Bermudian Folk Remedies in December 2013 at the Bermuda National Gallery. The Department has also seen a spike in the sales of the companion DVD from the Folklife Documentary Series on “Medicinal Uses of Plants” which features Dr Frith-Black and other folk medicine practitioners.

Dr Kuni Frith-Black will host a book signing on April 1 at her kiosk in the Washington Mall from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The second edition of Bermudian Folk Remedies: Using Medicinal Botanicals for Common Ailments will be available exclusively April 1 until April 15th, at Dr Frith Black’s kiosk and the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, 4th floor, Dame Lois Browne Evans Bldg. on Court Street.  After April 15, books will be in bookstores island-wide and suggested retail price is $35.00.