Booktalk: Author Lydia Reeder’s “The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever”

Host Diana Korte speaks with author Lydia Reeder, whose research and writing brings to light the stories of little-known or forgotten pioneers in their professions and daily lives. Her newest book is “The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever“.

It shines a light on the first women doctors in America, especially Mary Putnam Jacobi, MD (1842-1906), who altered the course of American history while uplifting the lives of women. She was one of the most important physicians, female or male, of the nineteenth century. Her scientific research dismantled some of the myths about women’s bodies, transformed medicine, and laid the groundwork for the future advancements of women, including the right to vote.

Lydia Reeder’s previous award-winning book is “Dust Bowl Girls. The Inspiring Story of the Team that Barnstormed its Way to Basketball Glory.”

Top authors are interviewed on this 10-minute program that captures their words about their books and ideas and often the story behind the story. The show, hosted by Diana Korte and engineered by Gene Korte, is in its 30th year of production.