Camel Crazy

Book excerpt: In this page-turning odyssey, a mother on a mission travels the globe — from Bedouin camps in the Middle East to Amish farms in Pennsylvania to camel-herder villages in India — to obtain camel milk, which dramatically helps her son’s autism symptoms. Chronicling bureaucratic roadblocks, adventure-filled detours, and Christina Adams’s love-fueled determination, Camel Crazy explores why camels are cherished as family members and hailed as healers. Adams’s work uncovers studies of camel milk for possible treatment of autism, allergies, diabetes, and immune dysfunction, as well as ancient traditions of healing. But the most fascinating aspect of Adams’s discoveries is the gentle-eyed, mischievous camels themselves. Huge and often unpredictable, they are amazingly intelligent and adaptable. This moving and rollicking ode to “camel people” and the creatures they adore reveals the ways camels touch lives around the world. Includes users’ and buyers’ guides to camel’s milk