The Cookie Doctor

In the prequel to his current role as the most beloved educator in professional skin care, Peter T. Pugliese, MD shares his own true stories of his early family medical practice in historic (and often hysterical) Bernville, Pennsylvania, from 1958 to 1978. At age 88, this vibrant storyteller shares an intimate and fascinating look back at his own pathway of obstacles and miracles that led him from Catholic school to the seminary where he planned a life in the priesthood, to two wars, to falling in love, and unexpectedly falling into one of the most remarkable medical practices of our time. The stories contain themes that still resonate today, as the reader sees how young Dr. Pugliese dealt with addiction, post-partum depression, incest, anorexia and more—health problems no one spoke openly about sixty years ago. Patients brought every kind of crisis to the young doctor, whose descriptions of the picturesque farmlands and small close-knit community give the reader a sense of a time, and certainly a kind of medicine, we will never see again. The historical accuracy of medical breakthrough moments is woven beautifully throughout a compelling patchwork of recollections and reflections. A man of deep faith and humanity, Dr. Pugliese has always demonstrated a vision for the future and for the health and security of the people entrusted to his care. With a global presence as an educator in the field of esthetics, a practice that will continue to grow as the population ages, Dr. Pugliese is truly a healer for our time.