2011

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear

Summary of the Book: 

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear describes Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord's walk in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in Crownpoint, New Mexico, she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico. As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture.

About the Author

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 Bear joins those few rare works, such as Healing and the Mind, whose ideas have changed medical practices-and our understanding of the world. Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, 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.