Persistent Ill Health
A fragile child, Mary suffered from a number of physical complaints. The exact nature of these illnesses, and their possible psychosomatic or hysterical (as it was called at that time) nature, is still a subject of debate. Mary's letters from this time, now at the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity in Boston, Massachusetts, portray her sufferings and search for relief. In an effort to find health in her adult years, she tried various medical experiments including homeopathy, medicine, dietary cures, mesmerism, hydropathy, and other popular “cures” of the day. None of those methods brought lasting health.
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