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Holly Phaneuf

Goodreads Author

Born

in Pittsburgh, PA

Website

https://hperskine.substack.com/

Genre

Science, Health, Mind & Body, Fiction

Member Since

August 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/hollyphaneuferskine

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I’ve loved working as a scientist and biochemistry professor. My PhD in medicinal chemistry (drug design) and BS degrees in biology and chemistry are from the University of Utah.

In 2005, I combined my love of plants and molecules and wrote Herbs Demystified. It needs updating!

But that’s how science works! I love how science can course correct what we think we know. Italian and Mandarin editions exist which I can’t read.

I’m a grad student again, in biotechnology at the University of Wisconsin. I don’t need another degree. I want to make meaningful connections and to try to be more useful while I see science under the greatest attack of my lifetime. I’m turning 60 soon, and worry about being more useful.

Mostly I help my husband manage our ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Holly Phaneuf Update: April 2022.
Now that my mom has passed, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that I still have the same question. Is she happy? Is she OK?

It he…moreUpdate: April 2022.
Now that my mom has passed, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that I still have the same question. Is she happy? Is she OK?

It helped for me to crystalize this need of mine. to answer this question. But I am not sure I could take it on as a plot. Too big.

I've spent around 7 years or more as a caregiver POA with a pressing need to know that my mom is okay, comfortable, happy, as she lost her ability to express herself more and more and more. I just realized I STILL have that thought, though now the question is much more tricky if not a little absurd. Just realizing that it is understandable for me to keep asking this question has helped my heart settle a little bit.

_______
2021:
Too many. These days, my biggest mystery is: What is my mom's actual state of mind? Here is a woman who can't walk, talk, or hold objects. Everything is done for her. But she smiles a lot, and when I play music, she sings with me. With a big smile. I would do anything to understand what her state of mind is. What does she need? Anything?

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Holly Phaneuf This won't be a very satisfying answer, I fear.
I have the opposite problem of writer's block. I always have too much to write, and thank goodness I c…moreThis won't be a very satisfying answer, I fear.
I have the opposite problem of writer's block. I always have too much to write, and thank goodness I can journal every day or I might explode. It feels like uncomfortable pressure if I don't write down whatever I can recall of my dreams, plus I have dream "music"--music my brain composes when I sleep-- that I sketch shorthand notes for (it's usually really bad, but I am curious about it from a brain research standpoint), plus the highlights of every day. I don't know what I would do without journaling.

My biggest problem is all the non-writing things I am required to do to stay alive fighting the forces of entropy, keeping my house from disintegrating into a dust pile around me. (Dust piles distract me from writing so they must be dealt with when they intrude on my peripheral vision.)

I feel sorry for my readers. But I also feel sorry for lone facts out there, which might, might, might appeal to...some readers. And some voice tells me that I had better include this poor little fact, lest knowledge of it vanish and then it would be all my fault.

I have to work to pare documents down.

I find I almost always write too long. I feel sorry for the publisher of Herbs Demystified. Matthew Lore of Marlowe and Co first innocently suggested I try a pocket sized book.

Now, there are over a quarter of a million plant species out there. It just doesn't seem fair to them. I only managed 52 before he said STOP! We ran up against a time deadline. And he saw the light at least. Thank goodness! I do wish he had given me time to write more. But it's a big book already.

I can not write pocket books. There is too much to say about everything.

The closest thing I get to writer's block, lately, is starting a new chapter in my fiction book. I have had the benefit of working off a known script for the movie that my husband and I created (The Emissary). But I also added subplots like a threatening factory farm, plus I made the women far more interesting, which wasn't hard (sorry Tim). So I have to deal with all those arcs all by myself. That takes some thought, and that's where I can get stuck.

I am learning to deal with this in this way:

I first write out WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN. Like, "Molly must be invited to the party." or "The farmer goes to the hospital." Then I do a sort of word vomit and get it all out there without worrying about what it looks like. Then I edit and clean it up. Then I stitch it together.

A more pressing question for me is, how do I find the time to write? That's really up to me, and it's something I keep hacking away at. (less)

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Holly Phaneuf’s books

Average rating: 4.38 · 29 ratings · 2 reviews · 5 distinct works

	Herbs Demystified: A Scientist Explains How the Most Common Herbal Remedies Really Work 4.37 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2005 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Erbe: Tutta La Verità: Conoscerne I Benefici, Evitarne I Rischi it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2009	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Herbs Demystified: : A Scientist Explains How the Most Common Herbal Remedies Really Work really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Herbs Demystified 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Herbs Demystified: A Scientist Explains How the Most Common Herbal Remedies Really Work by Holly Phaneuf (2005-11-22) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Holly Phaneuf's Blog

The Ache Aisle of Pharmacy

By Holly Phaneuf Erskine

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

I will arise and go now, and go to my pharmacy.

And a small purchase buy there, using my HSA

Nine wet wipes will I grab there, and hand lotion, small, for my handbag,

and wait alone in the long, long line.

______________

And I shall find some ear plugs there, for the music comes pounding strong,

Holly is Currently Reading

Holly is currently reading

Wild Dark Shore

by Charlotte McConaghy

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Apr 22, 2026 03:31PM

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An Unrestored Woman

by Shobha Rao (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 21, 2025 09:04AM

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Hell of a Book

by Jason Mott (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 11, 2025 02:51PM

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Holly Phaneuf wrote a new blog post The Ache Aisle of Pharmacy By Holly Phaneuf Erskine Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.I will arise and go now, and go to my pharmac Read more of this blog post »
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