Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Anderson.
Hi Melissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Adrian, Michigan. The same month I graduated from High School, I moved to Pittsburgh, PA to attend a Le Cordon Bleu Culinary school where I obtained my associate degree, and began my 11 year culinary career working mostly in Fine Dining in Atlanta, Ga.
When I was 25 years old, living in Atlanta, I started having health problems related to burn out. The restaurant industry can be brutal. Long hours, late nights, high pressure, no holidays. I went to an acupuncturist seeking help, and he offered me a barter – to make the herbal formulas for his patients in exchange for treatment. Little did I know how dramatically his treatments would change my life – unlocking physical energy and emotions long forgotton or never realized. I was amazed, and fell in love with the herbs and acupuncture, and began reading his old text books. 5 years later, I recognized that I could not fully heal myself, if I was still burning the candle at both ends. And so I decided to move to Santa Monica, Ca and start a new career in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
I had been dating my boyfriend, Wes, in Atlanta for 1 year at that time. So when I moved to Santa Monica, we dated long-distance for 1 year. After that year, I knew just how commited he was, and that if we were going to get married I needed to be closer to him. I transferred to Daoist Traditions in Asheville, NC, then Wes’ transferred his job there, and we married in 2017.
In 2018 I graduated with my Masters in East Asian Medicine, and in 2019 we moved back to Adrian, Michigan to settle down and start a family. Our son George was born in July 2020, and we decided it was best for Wes to stay at home with George so that I could start my acupuncture and herbal medicine business. I opened my business in April of 2021 with a slow start – it was still the last big wave of COVID! Sadly, in April 2022 my husband was diagnosed with a very rare, metastatic, and terminal cancer, and he passed away in August 1, 2023.
My life story and the story of my business is one of passion, faith, and tenacity. It has all been undoubtedly a test in being able to trust in the medicine, to trust myself and even life itself when everything falls apart. I don’t believe that Wes’ death was a failure on my part to cure him. I believe I was meant to be along side him in his journey of healing – which takes so many different forms. His journey was undoubtedly spiritual, and both of us experienced the depth of love akin to a spiritual awakening.
Wes was bed ridden for a year. I never stopped working becaue I was incredibly fortunate to have family and friends consistently helping to care of Wes and our son. After his death, my business continued to grow. Not without many mistakes and oversights. Looking back, I’m not sure how it all worked out.
Today, I am thriving. I went from renting a 2 room office, to owning a 4-room victorian house. I also have a second acupuncturist and herbalist who has Doctorates in both Eastern and Western medicine. I believe that through my own hardship, I have culitivated the ability to sit with other’s suffering at a depth that can only be reached through experience. My convicion that I am here to be a healer is stronger than ever. The miricles I see every day are affirmations of this purpose.
Recently I have started 3 day healing retreats on my family property. www.stillnessandsoil.com. and my future plans include opening a tea room and farm-to-table restaurant inside the clinic.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I started my schooling at the oldest “Traditional Chinese Medicine” school (TCM) in the U.S. which opened in 1983. The term TCM was created in the 50s when China became communist. There was a push for Nationalism and Mao Zedong wanted to bring back Chinese Medicine. (Before this, Chinese Medicine was passed down through family lineage, and often the information was kept secret in royal families). In the 50s, a board standard was created, drawing from the knowledge that was writen down, combined from different regions of China. TCM discarded much of the spiritual traditions, or conflicting information, as a way to standarize the knowledge to be taught and used in hospitals throughout China.
I transferred schools in 2015, to a Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) school. Because I still had to take National Board Exams, the school still teaches TCM, but additionally, there is information passed down through lineages that is not taught in TCM. I learned from the 88th generation Daoist Priest, Jeffery Yuen. Much of his lineage from the Jade Purity school was never written down. Much of what was written down was in secret code, or imcomplete knowledge, and I had the privlidge of learning some of these secrets. The program was rigorous, and I was part of a cohort. The original cohort was 26 people and my graduating class was 12 people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.prescriptionearth.com
- Instagram: prescription.earth
- Facebook: PrescriptionEarthWellness
- Youtube: @prescriptionearth
