While I spend most of my time working with others,
I also enjoy writing.

Author

​I have a number of publications associated with my academic past, a selection of which can be found below. Historically, my work focused on environmental indicators, children's exposure to the heavy metal lead (Pb), campylobacter infectivity, recreational water quality & children’s health.

Fast forward. As an herbalist, working with people as a general practitioner, I have an interest in the health of the mouth as a window into wellness. This facet of my work was indeed unexpected. I grew up in an era when, mistakenly, oral health was thought of as separate from our systemic health. As a practitioner, I began to realize that this wasn’t the case. Additionally, I have come to see that many people have a lot of fear around the health of their mouths and interventions. Dental Herbalism is a step towards addressing these complexities.

Over time, much of my work has grown out of absence and a need to provide practical accessible, informative and useful information. This was certainly the case with Dental Herbalism.

Sometimes, I hear myself say that Dental Herbalism: Natural Therapies for the Mouth is my first book. I realize that this isn’t exactly true. It’s my first book that wasn’t self-published.

How’s that for true confessions! Its predecessors include

  • a hand typed & illustrated text, entitled, Pregnancy, Labour and Post-natal Depression, written while living in England and working as a volunteer with the Nottingham Adult Literacy Program. While I am heartened to see that the program lives on decades later, I am saddened by the continuing need for its existence. Like much of my work, the impetus for this short book was to provide access to information; in this case, around birthing. Information on this and indeed many health-related topics is often [still] presented at an advanced reading level, leaving it inaccessible to many.

  • my second book was a limited hand-bound series entitled, Schmaltz.

  • Schmaltz, a multigenerational cookbook, is a tribute to my wonderful mum, her prowess as a cook and her delight in delicious foods and adventurous eating.

 

Currently, I am collaborating on another food-themed text. More on that soon.

Selected publications

ALEXANDER LM & L Straub-Bruce. 2014. Dental Herbalism: Natural Therapies for the Mouth. Healing Arts Press, Rochester VT, 453pp

ALEXANDER, LM & L Williams. 2014. Herbalism in Context: Interpreting a Client Interview and Shaping an Outcome. Proceedings of the 25th Annual American Herbalists Guild Symposium, November 6-10, Callaway Gardens, Georgia

ALEXANDER, LM & L Williams. 2014. Herbalism in Context: Working with Foods & Beverages on a Low Budget. Proceedings of the 25th Annual American Herbalists Guild Symposium, November 6-10, Callaway Gardens, Georgia

ALEXANDER LM. 2012. Getting down in the mouth? Coming to grips with, and preventing chronically poor oral health. Proceedings for the 23rd Annual National Symposium Synergy in Herbalism: The Herbs and the Herbalist, October 18-21, Seven Springs, PA, pp 3-9

ALEXANDER LM. 2012. Put your money where your mouth is! Proceedings for the 23rd Annual National Symposium Synergy in Herbalism: The Herbs and the Herbalist, October 18-21, Seven Springs, PA, pp 12-17

ALEXANDER, LM, Currie C, Todd J, Smith R. 2004. HBSC Briefing Paper 7: How are Scotland’s young people doing? A cross-national perspective on physical activity, TV viewing, eating habits, body image and oral hygiene. Edinburgh University, Edinburgh

ALEXANDER LM. 1993. Choosing health-related indicators. The Edge, 6(4), 3-5

ALEXANDER LM, Heaven A, Delves HT, Moreton J and Trenouth MJ. 1994. The relative exposure of children to lead from dust and drinking water. Archives of Environmental Health 48(6), 392-400

ALEXANDER LM and Heaven A. 1993. Contamination of urine and faecal specimens. British Medical Journal 306, 998​

Feel free to request my CV for a [relatively] complete profile of publications, research reports, conference contributions and community service.