May 2004

'Chiropractic First' book a hit in the classroom

The patient education book, "Chiropractic First," by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg, DC, World Chiropractic Alliance President, has already sold more than half a million copies and introduced chiropractic to millions of people in the U.S. and around the world.

Although primarily for adults, the book is written in an easy to understand manner that appeals to readers of all ages. This was made abundantly clear by the recent experience of Tracy Wilson, DC, of Lubbock, Tex.

For the past five years, Dr. Wilson has distributed the book to long time patients, offered them as door prizes, given them to libraries, and handed them out to new patients who appreciated them as a valuable reference guide to chiropractic.

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Since he never misses an opportunity to share the chiropractic message, Wilson readily accepted when one of his patients, a school teacher, invited him to speak to her class about health.

"I've taught kids about health and chiropractic many times," he explained. "But this time I took copies of 'Chiropractic First.' Into each book, I inserted our office brochure and a small flyer telling the parents what their children learned that day."

Afterwards, each of the 17 children in the class wrote a thank you note and all but one made a point of mentioning the book. Among the comments written by the children:

"I read chapter 1 and 2 last night, I can't wait to finish the book."

"Thanks for the book, it really makes sense."

"Thanks for the awesome book. I learned about things I never really knew about."

"I really like chapter 1 and 2, and read chapter 3 to my family last night."

Wilson said that, at first, "I thought the teacher must have put them up to saying something about the book. But the responses were all so different that I think they just enjoyed having something to teach them about health that made sense. I also realize that if fourth graders get it from the book, so can everyone else."

Thanks to the success of the book, Wilson has decided to pursue other teachers and arrange to present copies of the book to students throughout his area. "We just ordered a new batch of books and can't wait to get started," he noted.

Dr. Rondberg said he was pleased to hear of Wilson's classroom endeavors.

"I think it's important that we educate young people about the true meaning of health and chiropractic," he said. "They're up against tremendous pressure by the medical and pharmaceutical industries to turn to medications, vaccinations, and other drugs for wellness. Thanks to chiropractors like Dr. Wilson, they'll learn of the safe and effective chiropractic alternative."

The 160-page paperback book, which sells in book stores for $12.95 and is available through amazon.com contains chapters about chiropractic research and education, chiropractic for children and the elderly, the Wilk vs. AMA case, and much more. It, and its companion volume, "Chiropractic Works!" by Timothy J .Feuling, president of Chiropractic Benefit Services, is available for as little as $2 per copy when purchased in volumes of 100 copies or more. To order, call 800‑505 5460 or visit the online secure order form.