Dr. Nicole Apelian is an herbalist, a mother, a survival skills instructor, an anthropologist, and a biologist. She graduated with a degree in Biology from McGill University in Canada and has her Master’s degree in Ecology from the University of Oregon. She earned her Doctorate through Prescott College while working as an anthropologist and ethnobotanist in Botswana. She is also the author of “A Reference Guide to Surviving Nature: Outdoor Preparation and Remedies”. She has spent years living in nature with the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, one of the last indigenous peoples who still live as hunter-gatherers. Developing strong relationships within the tribe helped Nicole learn many of the remedies and skills she practices and teaches today. An unexpected diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2000 led Nicole to apply her research skills towards her own personal wellness. She focused on a healthy living strategy, including deep nature connection and gratitude practices. Through changes in her lifestyle, recognizing profound mind-body linkages, and making and using her own remedies, Nicole went from bedridden to being fully alive and from surviving to thriving. She believes that there are many more people suffering who need to find their own remedy. This became her life’s mission and the main reason for writing this book. In it she poured over 28 years of plant knowledge and her first-hand experiences of making her own poultices, tinctures, decoctions, salves, infused oils, and other herbal remedies. She has helped thousands of people treat themselves naturally by following her holistic wellness advice and by using herbal remedies. In 2015 she was among the first women ever selected for the History Channel’s hit TV show “Alone”. Despite having MS, she went on to survive solo for 57 days straight in a remote area of Vancouver Island with little more than her hunting knife and the wild foods and medicines she found there. Among the many herbs she used there for food and remedies, Usnea and Yarrow helped her completely heal a nasty wound she got while gutting a fish. Dr. Nicole Apelian’s knowledge was key to this book. Many of the plants, lichens, and mushrooms you’ll find in it are ones that she’s used with great results. The remedies you’ll find in this book are not, by any means, exhaustive. But she has selected some of the best for people who want to treat themselves naturally with what they can grow and harvest where they live.