At the age of 86 she went to Afghanistan to teach rural women safer birthing practices, riding a donkey in the process! As a result, infant mortality rates in the area decreased by 47%.
In addition to co-founding the A.R.E. Clinic in Phoenix, she also co-founded The Scottsdale Holistic Medical Group where she practiced with her daughter, Helene Wechsler, M.D., from 1989 to 2004. In 2004, Dr. Wechsler opened a new practice, Scottsdale Private Physicians, where Dr. Gladys helps clients one day per week through life coaching, dream interpretation, and her own form of "Living Medicine." While she no longer has a license to practice medicine, she continues to offer consultations: "They didn't tell me I had to stop talking," she quips.
My favorite of Dr. Gladys' stories is one I have heard her tell, and also read in the early 1980s in her book, Born to Live: A Holistic Approach to Childbirth. The book is full of remarkable stories of pre-birth contact between parent and child-to-be and other poignant events.
As I recall, Dr. Gladys had a patient who was especially excited to finally give birth. No one but the patient, her husband, and Dr. Gladys knew that she had reluctantly had an abortion before she and her husband were married. This time, a beautiful little girl was born! When the baby became a toddler, the mother recounted that one day while they were eating lunch, suddenly her little girl looked directly at her with great seriousness and said, "Mommy, I was your baby before. But daddy wasn't ready for me to come yet, so I went away. But I came back."
Dr. Gladys gets a kiss from the author's granddaughter, Myla, 2012. Circular border drawn by Myla, 2023.
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler) Details DMCA
One Amazon reviewer nailed it, when they wrote, "the stories in this book affirm the divine order of the circle of life and death." Dr. Gladys notes, "As often as possible, I have quoted the stories as they were written for me by the individuals experiencing the events. Other stories are in my own words, as nearly as I could remember them as they were told to me. And the remainder of the tales told are in the area of helping mothers birth babies into the world and taking care of people and their problems in the course of my practice of medicine."
Dr Gladys gave this engaging TEDx talk at age 100:
With her eternal beauty and sunny disposition, it seems to be no accident that the first four letters of her name spell "glad." And many of us are so glad to be in a world which she has imprinted with her love and healing.
Happy birthday, Dr. Gladys, and thank you for your wit, wisdom and kindness, the world is enhanced and healed by your presence. I love you.
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Find Dr. Gladys McGarey on Instagram as @BeGladMD.
Dr Glady McGareys' newest book, "The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age" is available on Amazon and through her website.
Another excellent read is "Born to Heal: The Life Story of Holistic Pioneer Gladys Taylor McGarey, MD," written by her daughter, Analea McGarey, and published in 2003.
Dr. Gladys McGarey's numerous awards and professional positions include:
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