The Lacs - A Materia Medica and Repertory

Review

This book review is reprinted from Volume 105, Number 2 , Year 2012 edition of the American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine

Reviewed By George Guess

Ms. Hatherly's The Lacs: A Materia Medica & Repertory is a tome - very large, comprised of a vast array of characteristics and symptomatology of twenty milk remedies, and academic. Rather than being a 'clinical' materia medica, one based upon one's own experience with these remedies (with certain exceptions, especially regarding Lac humanum and Lac maternum, with which the author has much experience and about which has already written [see The Homoeopathic Physician's Guide to Lactation]), the information contained in this volume stems primarily from provings, with some references to materia medicas and journal articles.

This large, attractively hardbound volume covers, as mentioned, twenty milk remedies - the more common milk remedies, plus some relative newcomers; such as, the milk of the ass, camel, llama, kangaroo, rabbit, pig, harbor seal, and the sus (if that one perplexes you, you are not alone - the sus remedy derives from the blood, milk, saliva and semen of a pig bred for xenotransplantation and xenografting).

The book is written in somewhat of an outline form consisting of symptom lists covering the mind, as well as generalities and physical symptoms, interspersed with interesting observations and elaborations set apart in highlighted text boxes. Miasmatic associations, modalties, causations, and clinical affinities are covered as well. Mind symptoms are organized into a variety of themes. Ms. Hatherly also offers a brief phrase as a 'keynote essence' for each remedy. (Such terse summations this reviewer typically does not find to be very helpful in developing an understanding of materia medica, in that they usually indicate but a small part of the varied symptomatology of most remedies.)

This work is very thorough, well-organized, and thoroughly researched; as such, it stands as the definitive reference volume for milk remedies -an extensive yet readily accessed 'data base' of milk remedy symptoms and themes.

A very appealing addition to this work is that of a 354 page repertory of milk remedy symptoms, consisting of the following sections: Themes, Affinities, Modalities, Generalities, Sensations As If, Mind, all the usual physical sections, Sleep, and, lastly, Dreams. This repertory is a most valuable contribution to the homeopathic community and should be immediately secured by our homeopathic computer software companies for inclusion in their programs.

I consider this book a reference volume primarily. The condensed format Ms. Hatherly has chosen compromises somewhat, in my opinion, the reader's ability to form a cohesive overarching understanding of the remedies, and, while the material contained within this work both interesting and extensive, the reading of it is a rather numbing experience. Yet, I appreciate Ms. Hatherly's intention here, clearly being the offering of a vast amount of collated information regarding the subject matter in a single volume, and I most heartily commend her for this beautiful fruit of her exhaustive labor.

The Lacs: A Materia Medica & Repertory is currently the definitive reference for milk remedies; as such it is, in my opinion, a great addition to all practicing homeopaths' libraries.

This book review is reprinted from Volume 24, Spring 2011 edition of Homoeopathic Links with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Francis Treuherz, United Kindgom

This is a monumental book, which looks good enough to drink – the cover is a milky white. It is a large traditionally hardbound volume, which will last for years, comprising comprehensive materia medica information on 20 milks1, and an extensive repertory.

Full use is made of typography and layout to create different types of information; a typical remedy begins with some keywords or themes, then the source of the proving, maybe some digressions such as poetry, and then a description of the remedy in detail. In a different font and shading aremore digressions from practice or other sources which break up the text and add to the interest. Many references from sources are properly credited and footnoted, to articles, books, online references and unpublished materials. They are all a pleasure to read. An interesting example is the note on lactational amenorrhoea on page 144 (Lac humanum). I became fascinated by the story of kangaroo milk (Lac macropi gigantei) and the aboriginal “dreamtime”. I had never even heard of the milk of the harbour seal (Lac phoca vitulina). These materia medica pictures are the highest quality of such information I have encountered.

Compiling a repertory of all this information is a labour of love and attention to detail. Reading a repertory as an unfolding story, for example the newchapter of mammae rubrics, is fascinating but not something one can do for ever. A repertory comes into its ownwhen it is in use as a resource and suddenly a case came up and I could really use the repertory. Then I was stuck. We have our conventions that a repertory starts with the mind and ends with generals and there may be some further idiosyncrasies like themes or concomitants. I can understand the addition of a “mammae” chapter but this repertory has been turned upside down with generals before mentals and many other chapters in the “wrong” place rendering it impossible to use in the manner that has come to be seen as “natural”, and when one is in a hurry to figure out a case. A list of remedy abbreviations will be helpful.

There are other problems. Since the advent of modern repertories “food” rubrics have been united in the Generals chapter; this author has put them back where Kent placed them in stomach so that for example, desires and aversions for “milk” are separated again. Do I need some more Kali carbonicum? I found these various displacements to be a real problem, all the more in the context of the high standards of the rest of this work.

Ideally all milks and their derivatives should be included as I have the impression that the aim was to be comprehensive. Clarke describes cream as Lactis vaccini flos, and curds as Lac vaccinum coagulatum. Lactic acid and Sarcolactic acid are of dairy origin and have many overlaps with milk pathology, which I would add to this class. Meanwhile Mangialavori also mentions some animals whose milks might become available to us, monkey as Lac macaca, bear as Lac ursinum, and describes some cases of sheep's milk as Lac ovinum2. Other recent books on milks are of great interest, with a clinical emphasis, such as those by Master3 and Bailey4.

There are even more milks not discussed here, such as Lac ovis (sheep) which may never have been proved. Perhaps it should be proved, but is described from a so-called group analysis in the Links book on Milks5. Also mentioned in this book is Lac owleum. Yes, you read correctly. An owl is a bird. This brings me to another criticism, of a common phenomenon in our homeopathic world, which some consider to be free of rules, and that is the corruption of our data: some of the remedies in Hatherly's book have had imaginary provings only.

Roger van Zandvoort has written a most positive and complementary introduction to this book. I look forward to seeing this priceless work incorporated into his Complete Repertory in due course, and the rubrics and chapters back in their new “right place”. Meanwhile this is an indispensable volume.

This book review is reprinted with the permission from the Spring 2011 Edition of The Homeopath.

Reviewed by Linda Gwillim

This is a collection of twenty mammalian milk remedies. It is a thorough piece of research, well presented with beautiful lino cut illustrations for each remedy.

There is a good general introduction to the substance -milk - and the crucial role that it plays in sustaining the life of the infant of each species. I like the way the uniqueness of each of the remedies is emphasised by including a look at how the constituents of each milk differ, according to the needs and environment of each of the different mammals. Perhaps the only section that seemed a little inappropriate in the context of this book is the discussion around breast and other milk substitutes -although it is obviously a subject that Patricia is passionate about!

The materia medica section is clearly laid out with appropriate information gained easily with good use of italicised and emboldened significant rubrics.

Each remedy is introduced by a list of key words leading to a keynote essence. There are also sections on causation, miasm, affinities, modalities, and remedy differentiation. I really like the way she has gone back to the source of the provers' journals and language rather than relying on interpretation, any additional comments based on clinical experience or other homeopaths' perspectives being clearly highlighted.

The remedy pictures are very comprehensive with often more than one proving for each remedy being used, with clear referencing and annotation. There is also clear reference to other similarities and differences within the Lac group of remedies.

There is good use of additional reading lists at the end of each remedy including journal articles as well as homeopathic books.

The repertory section is a valuable resource. It is extremely accessible with clear sub sections including the main themes (both Mind and General), affinities, modalities and a particularly useful section, 'sensations as if - as well as the usual repertory layout. It is really good to have the occasional use of the modern vernacular rather than the usual language of the traditional repertories.

My only criticism of the repertory section is that there is no indication of the 'intensity' of each of the remedies in each rubric - all the remedies being presented in plain type. Patricia says that this is a work in progress and the intensity will be added after there is more clinical experience gained of each of the Lac remedies but I would still have found some indication of intensity, even if only from the proving notes, useful.

As Roger van Zandvoort says in his foreword - in order for a proving to be of real use to the homeopathic community, we need clinical information to enrich and endorse the proving symptoms and create a full remedy picture. I really hope that this book enables homeopaths to understand and prescribe these remedies and provide the clinical information that is needed to demonstrate the full potential of this important group of remedies.

This is a great resource, which I would whole-heartedly recommend. As someone who uses this group of remedies a lot in my practice, I am really grateful for this book - thank you Patricia.