TheVille401
Life isn't linear, healing isn't either. We choose roots over routines.
From a mom with a garden to a medicinal healer with a mission.
I was never really a person who took doctor-prescribed medicine or over-the-counter anything unless absolutely necessary. Something in the system always felt off.
Growing up in the '70s, '80s, and '90s taught me a different kind of toughness. In the city, I had friends from all over the world. I noticed that many families had unique cures for different things. My own family had "old ways" too, never written down, just whispered across kitchen tables. That always made more sense to me. From cooking recipes passed down verbally to healing with the most random things: "Just drink some broth. Rub some alcohol on it. You're fine, go get some fresh air. Put some mud on that stinger. Sleep it off."
My grandmother just knew things. She felt it and it was right. She was a great gardener, and so were some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I think I inherited the dirt under my nails from them. Once I became a mom, I noticed a bigger shift in not trusting the system. It started small, refusing some vaccines, avoiding over-the-counter meds for my daughters, and falling in love with the fresh air and calmness of the forests in the White Mountains of the New Hampshire. Then I had my son. That's when the shift became a wakeup call. I began studying herbs. Reading. Foraging. Growing my own. I read a million books on herbalism and taught myself. I took chemistry and biology in college while getting my teaching degree, not because I planned to, but because they clarified life. Turns out, they were preparing me for something else entirely.
So I stepped back. I reevaluated my own part. I changed my ways, little by little, until I ended up here. And here, was the moment I decided to use what I know, and the degrees I hold, to change my life, my children's lives, and anyone who crosses my path.
All About TheVille401
Connecting Real Life and Real Problems to Plants and Healing. Physically, Emotionally, and Mentally
I hold a Bachelor of Science, an Advanced Educator Certificate, and teaching certifications in General Education, Special Education, English to Speakers of Other Languages, and a proficiency certificate in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. I've spent the past 9 years studying herbalism, completed 89 formal hours, and now hold my Herbalist Certificate. Over the years, working with herbs, I've seen a significant difference in my son's health. That alone was all the evidence I needed. However, something was missing in the classroom and I began seeing patterns with my other children, my students. So I did what a good teacher does, I interpreted the data, and this is what I found.
I taught for 20+ years. I love teaching and learning, but I realized that what I love most isn't in a classroom that feels like a prison, it's in a forest or garden, close to nature. Caring for and nurturing the human mind, body, and emotions.
Being around kids for 20 years, especially in Special Education, opened my eyes to how quickly children are diagnosed with ADHD, asthma, anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities. Building real relationships with those children taught me that maybe we should slow down the diagnosis pen and look at what Big Pharma, fast food, and the convenience food industry have done to our children.
And then, when I was deep in this learning, when I thought I finally understood how to heal, life broke me in a way no herb could fix.
So I remembered. I chose to move forward. And I did.
Some days, I still feel lost.
But here's what I learned: the plants don't care if you're broken. They show up anyway. And slowly, painfully, I started showing up too. I kept making my remedies. I kept foraging. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Not because I was strong because my kids needed me. And because making things with my hands kept me from falling completely apart.
My mom calls me the "Witch Doctor." Friends and family have always looked to me for herbal advice when sick. They love my products. So I decided to turn it into a business.
Every blend in this apothecary comes from the journey, from the grandmothers who gardened, the books I read at midnight, my daughters who gave me my first lessons in motherhood, the son who taught me how powerful plants can be, the students who showed me that a label doesn't define who you are, and the heartbreak that taught me that healing isn't about never breaking, it's about putting yourself back together, piece by piece, plant by plant.
I make everything from scratch. I forage when I can. I grow what I can. I only purchase organic herbs from credible sources. And I pour every ounce of what I've learned, and every ounce of what I've survived, into every jar, bottle, and bag.
This is not a brand. This is my life's work.
Welcome to my apothecary.
— The Medicinal Healer (or Witch Doctor)
"They told me I had too many plants. I told them I was just getting started. Too many plants? Said no one who's ever been healed by one."