Clyde Theatre co-owner and freelance writer Lynn Murray Willeford is one of three authors of a new guide for parents, “Healthy Child, Whole Child: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine to keep Your Kids Healthy.”

The guide, published by Collins Living, an imprint of HarperCollins, offers reader-friendly advice on the expected basics of good health such as nutrition, vaccinations and exercise, as well as such new topics as protecting your child from excess stress, environmental hazards and unhealthy cultural messages.

An introduction to effective but less familiar therapies such as mind-body and herbal medicines makes up the second section of the book, followed by a section on integrative approaches to a wide variety of health conditions common to children.

Willeford and her co-authors, Dr. Russell Greenfield and Dr. Stuart Ditchek, are heavily influenced by the principles and practices of Dr. Andrew Weil, the Harvard-educated founder of Integrative Medicine.

A best-selling author himself, Weil wrote the foreword to the paperback edition.

“I know all three authors of this book, have taught them all, and worked with them. I am proud of their contributions to the field of integrative medicine and delighted that they have taken on the tremendous task of applying it to the realm of children’s health,” Weil said.

“Healthy Child, Whole Child” is aimed at helping parents make responsible healthcare decisions for their children while facing a bewildering array of options and an astounding lack of credible guidance.