Appalachian Tonics

Folk medicine and folk practices are not dead. They never went anywhere. They’ve always been here. We just don’t always know how to see them. The lemon and honey in hot water your mother fixed for you, the tobacco on a bee sting or the burnt toast when your stomach is upset.

This zine explores the role of "tonics," preventative medicines taken to promote vigor, in mountain healing practices. Rebecca Beyer shares both "don't try this at home" traditional remedies, as well as herbal vinegars and bitters you use to maintain your health while connecting with the long history of tonic medicines in our bioregion.