The biography of Dr. Louise Aall who studied medicine in Germany and Switzerland before choosing to work as an itinerant bush doctor, setting up a clinic in Mahenge in Tanganyika (now Tanzania).

She was the first western physician to identify and treat a variant of epilepsy, now recognized by the World Health Organization as "Nodding Syndrome." While working at her clinic in 1959, Dr. Aall was asked by the Red Cross to fly to Matadi in the Belgian Congo to manage a 300-bed hospital. Protected by United Nations soldiers from Morocco, she served as the hospital's lone bedside physician during the height of the civil war atrocities.

In 1961, at the invitation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer, she worked with him at his renowned clinic in French Equatorial Africa (Gabon). Despite ongoing financial and geographical hurdles, her innovative treatment and rehabilitation programs for epilepsy in Tanzania continue to benefit thousands of African patients with "moon madness."

Alan Twigg is the publisher and editor of BC Book World, Canada's largest-circulating publication about books. He has also been contributing editor of Quill & Quire, Canadian books columnist for the Vancouver Province, books columnist for Vancouver magazine, a contributor of profiles to the Toronto Star and the Writers Union of Canada representative on the board of directors of the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing. In 2000, he was the first recipient of the Gray Campbell Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contibutions to literature and publishing.

Alan is the author of ten previous titles including For Openers: Conversations with 24 Canadian Writers, Hubert Evans: The First Ninety-Three Years, Vancouver and Its Writers, Vander Zalm: from Immigrant to Premier, First Invaders: The Literary Origins of British Columbia and Cuba: 101 Top Historical Sites.

Alan Twigg's profile page

"Moon Madness is a wonderful, inspiring, and sometimes heart-breaking read." - The Pacific Rim Review of Books

"This is a rare and refreshing study of unselfishness, proving that good people can be fascinating and adventurous." - Douglas Todd, Ethics Journalist and Author

"Albert Schweitzer praised her as 'The Lady from the North.' This inspiring biography reveals her superb work in Africa and beyond." - Douglas Gibson, author of Across Canada by Story