Bag Balm and Duct Tape: Tales of a Vermont Doctor Book

When young Dr. Beach Conger accepted a hospital appointment in rural Vermont, it was a mail-order marriage without either party seeing the other.



He envisioned living out the rest of his days splitting wood, healing the sick, and being adored as a kindly country doctor. His new patients figured they had their work cut out for them, breaking in this whippersnapper M.D. from Berkeley, California.



Beach Conger's tale of his training in the art of country doctoring is a joy. Listen in on the hilarious consultations as he finds a cure for vitaminia, induces laconic Vermonters to talk about "private" problems, and even reconstructs the formula for the "Green Pills" his predecessor invented. He especially brings home that most basic consideration — the need for every doctor to be supervised by a responsible person, i.e., a nurse.



"An engaging blend of rustic wisdom and big-city know-how." — Publishers Weekly

Coming from California, Beach Conger thought Vermont would be a "mysterious, faraway Wonderland." Instead he found his new home was a hotbed of eccentricity with patients who taught the chief danger of being a danger was contracting "seriosity."