I was especially interested by Zhan’s recount of her friend, Barbara Bernie, who was also the founding president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to Zhan, Barbara had “[come] down with a mysterious illness.” (Zhan 10) Immediately, I was reminded of a story that my mother had told me countless times throughout my childhood. For months, she lay in a hospital bed, unable to function due to her myocarditis. “Western” medicine failed to have any effects, but Chinese medicine worked miracles. Just like Barbara, that single experience with Chinese medicine brought about a passion to study it further.