Camel Crazy
A Quest for Miracles in the Mysterious World of Camels
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
In this page-turning odyssey, a mother on a mission travels the globe — from Bedouin camps in the Middle East to Amish farms in Pennsylvania to camel-herder villages in India — to obtain camel milk, which dramatically helps her son’s autism symptoms. Chronicling bureaucratic roadblocks, adventure-filled detours, and Christina Adams’s love-fueled determination, Camel Crazy explores why camels are cherished as family members and hailed as healers. Adams’s work uncovers studies of camel milk for possible treatment of autism, allergies, diabetes, and immune dysfunction, as well as ancient traditions of healing. But the most fascinating aspect of Adams’s discoveries is the gentle-eyed, mischievous camels themselves. Huge and often unpredictable, they are amazingly intelligent and adaptable. This moving and rollicking ode to “camel people” and the creatures they adore reveals the ways camels touch lives around the world.
Includes users’ and buyers’ guides to camel’s milk
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this frustrating follow-up to Adams's 2005 memoir A Real Boy, she recounts discovering an unlikely method for alleviating the issues associated with her son Jonah's autism. Having stumbled onto references to the healing powers of camel milk, she investigated further and decided to try it. After just a single dose, she reports, the seven-year-old's symptoms vanished he slept through the night, displayed affection, and had complete control over his limbs and behavior, making it through an entire school day without incident. Today, he's 20, and "people who meet him can't tell he has autism." Admitting that the jury's still out on exactly why camel milk works in treating (not curing) some cases of autism and other conditions such as diabetes, Adams ventures into current research on the subject, interviewing several scientists and having a lab run a preliminary test of the milk. However, she spends the bulk of her time visiting camel farm after camel farm and meeting with various milk producers and vendors. The repetitive quality of Adams's narrative is somewhat compensated for by the book's appendices, which include tips on handling and storage, suggested dosages, potential side effects, and a global list of distributors. Parents eager for an in-depth take on a potentially promising autism treatment will be disappointed to find this amounts to little more than an overly digressive look at the camel milk industry.
