In this introduction, I set up our discussion about women healers. What do we mean when we refer to women healers, and how does this language differ from the language of modern medicine? As Elisabeth Brooke says, "Medicine has always been political," and those with the authority to practice medicine exert a great power over those they deny.

Women have always been healers, midwives, doulas, herbalists, witches, medicine carriers, conjurers, invokers, shamans, spiritual leaders, and the many iterations of healing practices around the globe. In this four-part series, I will talk with doulas, birth workers, trauma workers, and medicine carriers about their practices and the suppressed histories of women in these roles. @birthbruja @nafeesahthedreamdoula @thembegubirthingproject @pamelasmith3322

These conversations are inspired by the two books that that we read together in January—Women Healers: Portraits of Herbalists, Physicians, and Midwives by Elisabeth Brooke and Conjure Women by Afia Atakora.