Based on material from the Folklore Archives at Memorial University as well as other sources, Crellin's catalogue includes such topics as abortion, baldness and hair preparations, blood-letting, cancer, drunkenness, female complaints, Gin Pills, herbs, midwifery and childbirth, Newfoundland stomach, poultices, prepared cures, rheumatism and arthritis, and tonics. Looking at the interplay between mainstream physicians and alternative treatments, and the effect of folk beliefs on today's self-care practices, Crellin examines how the advent of modern medicine has affected self-treatment. His extensive use of oral and written commentary gives the book a personal dimension that adds to its charm. Home Medicine will appeal to those interested in alternative medicine, folklore, and Atlantic Canada, and to medical and social historians.

John K. Crellin holds British qualifications in medicine, in pharmacy, and in the history of science. His career spans three countries, at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in the U.K., at Southern Illinois and Duke Universities in the USA, and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, where he was John Clinch Professor of Medical History until his official retirement in 2002. He lives in St. Philip’s with his wife, Janet, and continues to teach complementary and alternative medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University. He has written several books, some of which have a Newfoundland focus. Mi’sel Joe: An Aboriginal Chief’s Journey, a book he co-edited with Raoul R. Anderson, was a Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools 2009–2010 Selection; a finalist for the 2010 Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing; and a First Nation Communities Read 2011–2012 “Also Recommended” Title.

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"Home Medicine makes an important contribution to Canadian medical history, which to date has concentrated on institutional, therapeutic, and professional advances and which all too often trivializes the non-professional approach." Michael Smith, Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University.