Spanish Mountain Life Paperback – April 11, 2011

Juliette de Bairacli Levy is one of those remarkable souls who defies description: a compassionate veterinarian and animal lover, a pioneering a defender of nature and natural living, she became known as the grandmother of the modern herbalist movement. She was ahead of her time. A courageous adventurer, who traveled (with her children) to remote and sometimes hostile environments. What I admire most about her, was her incredible will to fulfill her calling in a time when a single woman traveling alone as she did would be scandalous. I have her Handbooks for Natural Cures for Dogs, Cats and Livestock, as well as Everyday Herbals for people, but I really wanted to know more about her personally. Her life among the gypsies and in remote villages as she compiled lost herbal knowledge is fascinating and important. Her stories are also enlightening from an historical perspective, as the village life she captures has sadly disappeared. zi bought her other autobiographical tales and am looking forward to them. Watch the PBS movie, Juliette of the Herbs.

Juliette’s life in Spain filled some gaps for me about her journeys throughout the world.

Spanish Mountain LifeBy Juliette de Bairacli LevyCopyright 2011 by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Copyright 2011 by Ash Tree Publishing, revised and updatedISBN 978-1-888123-07-4Once again in Spanish Mountain Life Juliette de Bairacli Levy makes us her travel companions this time through the Sierra Nevada of Andalusia. This trip is far from her usual light-hearted one for on it both her son and she contact typhus, with Juliette facing death and her son becoming severely ill with the disease. To make matters worse during her time in the sierra young Luz, born that year in the Sierra Nevada becomes so sick it seems her death is an assured thing. Only Juliette de Bairacli Levy's reliance on her instinct and herbal remedies as well as a dose of penicillin finally pulls the child through her illness.Once again we are treated to new herbal remedies of the region as well as some of the older ones de Bairacli Levy has used successfully in past. We travel high into the Sierra's with Juliette and her son Rafik and spend time around the fires and fiestas of the gypsies of the region.Wherever de Bairacli Levy goes she finds the gypsy people answering a calling deep in her veins. Learning new skills from them and exchanging both tales and healing folklore.Spanish Mountain Life is a valuable addition to any library, especially those dealing with herbals in general and with Juliette de Bairacli Levy in particular.

This is one of those rare books that, as soon as you begin reading becomes impossible to put down. Like an epic, you are drawn into the fruitful, bountiful (sometimes in unusual ways), beautiful world of the Sierra Nevada in Spain. The sights, sounds, smells and feelings of the place are saturated into the words pouring out of the book and into your imagination.Juliette's way of relating her experiences doesn't just imprint a strong image of her surroundings and her experiences into the reader's mind - they deliver a wealth of knowledge in a real world way. So at the end of the book, you'll know a great deal more about the application of various natural remedies and healing techniques than at the beginning; then, you'll want to pick the volume up and start reading all over again!This is a simply beautiful relation of what life is really about and the photographs throughout just serve to augment the wonderful writing. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading Justine's narration of her experiences. This book is a treasure and one I will certainly be re-reading many times!

Juliette is such a compelling story teller. Her own inquisitiveness comes out as she weaves her way through the various experiences she encounters in the book "Spanish Mountain Life." It is difficult to describe her warmth of expression and the subtle way she tells us of cures, healings, omens, remedies, fore telling of coming events and all the other things she learns while in these lovely mountains she describes so beautifully. I always feel i am with her and having read this lovely book I feel like I need to go back. Wonderful book.Carl BozemanAuthor; On Being God: Beyond Your Life's Purpose

Freshly back from jungle Peru in 2011, I can't help but compare my reading of Juliette's time in Spain to my time in Peru. Both hearken to the connectedness of plant, animal, water, the earth, and the symbiosis of people and nature, given the opportunity. So much is lost in today's urban, technological world, that I wonder if the mountains of Spain resemble this book at all, fifty or more years later. As I read her work, written in such a way that the pictures of the events popped out in resplendent color and aroma, I enjoyed it more and more throughout the book. I especially appreciated the contrasts between personalities of people, including pleasant and not so pleasant, along with descriptions of pollution of water and flies, and how she dealt with these events.

A wonderful book about trusting yourself and the world around you. Juliette de Bairacli Levy weaves a story that draws the reader into her world, as if you are standing there with her during her experiences. This is a magnificent read, and a testament to the determined strength of a mother. When learning about herbs, healing and overall well-being, it is important (I feel) to do it in story-telling format. This way all senses are engaged, and the information can be recalled easier. Storytelling is where Juliette de Bairacli Levy is a master. The tapestry of her words covered me and brought a deeper understanding of wellness. A fantastic book! This is just another masterpiece in the world of Juliette de Bairacli Levy!

A wonderful book describing Juliette's life in Lanharon. Her poetic praise and eye for detail for the wildlife, people and festivals is very special. Her willingness to stay with the difficult mill owners wife because she is also a herbalist, is very typical of Juliette's approach to life. Her love of the gypsy's there and it is a slice of Spanish local history when modern ways are encroaching on the timeless ways of old.

I loved this one. The simplicity of that place and the inside knowledge of those people's were show to the author and family which has been shared to us in the book.