My personal struggle with chronic illnesses led me to question the Godlike superiority of Western Medicine beginning in my high school years. My personal quest for answers led me to examine more natural sources of healing and when it came time for me to contemplate ideas for my honors college undergraduate thesis was inspired by the combination of my personal quest and my new found academic passion, anthropology. While I first dreamed of combining these into a research project that would allow me to study under a medicine man or witchdoctor in some far off land, my mother as well as my professors Dr Phil Frana and Dr Brian Campbell were highly concerned for my safety and encouraged me to look more locally. I think it was in her attempts to keep me from traipsing off to Africa for a second time that led my mom to suggest that I might look in her own native Ozarks. At the time I was taking Dr. Campbell's Regional Anthropology course on the Ozarks and the class ethnography fieldwork assignment seemed like the prefect trial run. Needless to say, I was surprised by on my own heritage and the wealth of knowledge that was stored the stories of the Ozarks. This site is dedicated to sharing some of the remedies and insight my research has given me into the rich heritage of the Ozarks.
All information provided is done so in honor of Mary Magdalene Tate Dillard and all of her descendants who made my research possible.
Also a special thanks to my mom, Crystal Dillard Yeager for inspiring me and believing in me and my work.
