Hear me out.

It starts out as a tiny scratchy feeling when you swallow. You tell yourself it’s all in your imagination but before you know it, your entire throat is engulfed in a fiery pain that makes you want to rip it out and stomp on it. Or, you know, sip something warm and soothing.

This was me last week. After several days of dealing with a nasty sore throat, I finally made an appointment to see my doctor. I had tried gargling salt water, sucking Burt’s Bees lozenges, and drinking warm tea with honey, but none of it worked. In desperation for relief while I awaited my appointment, I turned to my Facebook friends to ask them for remedies that I haven’t tried yet. They swiftly came to my rescue with all kinds of remedies they use to treat their own sore throats. My friends are awesome and their remedies reminded me to two books/articles that I’ve read recently that have been on my mind: