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E-mail This StoryAward-winning author Alan Smith has joined the Books 4 Boots campaign to assist the recovery of America’s veterans. The author, along with his publisher Loving Healing Press, will be donating copies of “UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies” to wounded American war heroes in Veterans Affairs (VA).
The first shipment of books is scheduled to arrive this week to a facility in Syracuse, N.Y.
“The Syracuse facility is one of the more progressive facilities of the VA system,” said author Alan Smith. “So we’ve got about 25 books loaded up to be shipped there this week.”
Smith’s nephew recently returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq. Smith gave his nephew a copy of “UnBreak Your Health” to help him cope with the stresses from the war. Smith said his nephew found the information in the book reassuring because there are multiple treatment methods to several medical problems.
Around the same time, Smith came across the Books 4 Boots program and decided to participate.
“The Books 4 Boots was exactly what I wanted to see at the right time,” Smith said. “I found that it was the wonderful situation and wanted to be a part of it.”
Smith, who wrote his book from his home in East Plano, had battled with health problems so severe that he sought treatment at The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
“The doctors there told me that there was good news and bad news,” Smith said. “They told me the good news was the condition wouldn’t kill me. But the bad news was that they couldn’t do anything to make me better.”
“UnBreak Your Health” offers proven healing techniques from 5,000 years ago to the most modern innovations. With over 300 listings in 138 categories this is the most complete book ever published on complementary and alternative therapies.
This new book focuses on therapies, systems and devices and features testimonials and recent scientific research covering subjects ranging from the Alexander Technique to Zen Bodytherapy. It offers veterans with medical problems a world of complementary and alternative health options to aid in their recovery. Several VA hospitals are adding Integrative Medicine to their services to offer the widest possible range of treatment options.
More information on “UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies” can be found online at www.unbreakyourhealth.com.
Books 4 Boots program founder, Rick Gelinas is a Korean War veteran living in Winter Haven, Fla. Gelinas started a program after an encounter with a severely injured, physically and mentally, Iraqi war veteran at the VA hospital in Tampa, Fla.
“He told me what he was very lonely because his family could not afford to travel to Tampa to be by his bedside and help him heal,” Gelinas said. “The very next day, I decided to finish writing my novel and contribute some sale proceeds to Books 4 Boots to help provide for families of war heroes.”
Gelinas said the program has only received a positive response and has since donated more than 1,000 books in the last year.
The Books 4 Boots program partners with selected authors and publishers from around the nation to provide books for VA hospital libraries. Authors donate their royalties and publishers donate books. The money goes to VA hospitals where it is used for special needs and emergencies. This can, in some cases, include helping families with travel costs when they make a bedside visit.
The Books 4 Boots program was launched in June 2007 by Rick Gelinas as part of a non-profit corporation that was founded in 1984. The author began the effort with his own books “The Vengeance Trap” and expanded the program to include authors and publishers from across the country.
More information about the program can be found online at www.booksforboots.org.
Contact Kim Nguyen at knguyen@acnpapers.com
