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Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son

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THE BECOMING OF WHO DR. ANNABELLE IS TODAY

When the most unimaginable tragedy occurred in her life, it was as though Dr. Annabelle had prepared for this very moment all along. Having son Macario, and being told that the removal of 40% of his brain at five weeks old would greatly inhibit developmental processes both physically and mentally became the defining turn in Dr. Annabelle and her family's lives.

Macario's brain loss and Dr. Annabelle's quick response became an awakening moment for Dr. Annabelle. This story of finding cannabis and taking risks to replace the medications that were initially given to him is compelling and inspirational. Dr. Annabelle, although a risk taker, believed that her training as a scientist prepared her for this moment. This book is the foundation for Dr. Annabelle's outside-the-box mentality, where she travels globally working to bridge the gap between natural alternatives, science, and the eventual implementation into medicine. She speaks to advocate for cannabis but not without the willingness to provide scientific rigor. Dr. Annabelle believes she was born into taking life's challenges and overcoming them with grace and unrelenting courage. Follow her journey as she educates worldwide, leads scientific initiatives, and most importantly, mothers five talented children. As Dr. Annabelle would say, this is bigger than cannabis.

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2023

15 people are currently reading
2516 people want to read

About the author

Annabelle Manalo-Morgan

2 books11 followers

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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for LaShanda Chamberlain.
612 reviews34 followers
July 13, 2024
What An Incredible Journey!!

What an incredible journey! In "Mighty Flower," Annabelle Manalo-Morgan shares the touching story of her family's experiences, highlighting the profound impact of cannabis on her son's health and well-being. Her heartfelt narrative resonated deeply with me and brought tears to my eyes. Despite the challenges they endured, her son is thriving today, a testament to his mother's resilience and the transformative benefits of cannabis. Winning this book in a Goodreads giveaway was truly fortunate for me, as it has quickly become one of my most cherished discoveries!
646 reviews
January 21, 2023
Thanks for the free kindle copy.
Very interesting read.
I skipped the technical parts as I didn't understand them.
Wishing the author good health for her beautiful son...and good luck getting her message across.
2 reviews
June 27, 2023
A must read for those in the Cannabis space these days

I received this book as a “giveaway”. I feel so blessed that I did!!! I am involved in the Cannabis space in Florida as a qualifying physician. I really resonated with this book. Reading a book written from the scientist perspective was so educating and informative. I loved a review of the ECS and appreciated the author’s perspective on the “upstairs/downstairs” issues in medicine. I couldn’t agree more with her frustration with the medical system and the very lack of research that we have. I can’t even count the number of times a patient asks me for info on which strain or cultivar they should use or what’s the best route for me or how will this interact with what else I’m taking??? It’s a daily frustration to have to answer…I’m just not sure. We don’t have the research that we have on other medications that are in the world. I can’t offer them science, just the promise that I’ll be there as their doctor to guide them on the unfortunate journey of “trial and error”😞😞.
So much more needs to be done for our patients and for the world’s population.
If you made it to the end of this review, please read the book and hopefully more of us can involved in this space and bring about more change and improve the future if cannabis medicine.
Profile Image for ♏ Gina☽.
901 reviews167 followers
January 2, 2023
I cannot even imagine what a mother must feel upon hearing the words "we must remove 40% of your son's brain to save his life". Macario was only 5 weeks old when these words were uttered, words that would change Dr. Anabelle Mancalo's life in unimaginable ways, not to mention the life of her precious son.

This book will tear at your heart, but it will also speak to a mother's tenacity to find a better solution than the "normally" prescribed medications when her child's health is affected.

I am personally a big advocate for the use of cannabis even though I have never touched it myself. This is because I have a son who has gone through in excess of 100 medical procedures, the vast majority of which were surgical in nature, due to an extremely rare syndrome. Although his life is not at risk, his quality of life certainly is. Many physicians have told him that cannabis would be the answer to a prayer for his daily struggles with pain. However, it remains illegal in the state in which we live - due to ignorance of the difference between the medical benefits of cannabis and the desire to get "high". The difference is HUGE.

Read this book and become educated. Read and become inspired. Read and become thankful for anyone who fights for a child's benefit.
Profile Image for Karyn H.
568 reviews10 followers
June 6, 2023
Very Insightful and Educative: Alternative Medicine is the Missing Link.

Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved my Son by Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan (PhD.) is one of the many testimonies about the positive impacts of medical cannabis and alternative medicine in general. There are two important factors at play in this book; the first is the power of a mother’s love for her baby and the second is a scientist who believes in the benefits of alternative medicine through comprehensive research and application.
Dr. Annabelle goes all out in this book to explain some of the benefits of cannabis to society as well as some of the ways cannabis can be applied in the treatment of certain medical conditions today. It is almost impossible to understand how Dr. Manalo-Morgan felt when the doctors broke the news of her son’s condition to her. However, her prompt response and turn to alternative medicine were very insightful and productive.
In my opinion, it is high time the government looks beyond the stigma associated with cannabis and works towards harnessing its numerous benefits. The Mighty Flower by Manalo-Morgan is an excellent book that can serve as a guide to harnessing the various benefits of cannabis. It is easily a five-star read for me.
Profile Image for Rebecca Cunningham .
12 reviews1 follower
July 6, 2023
I will start off by thanking you for the free Kindle Copy of this book. I was skeptical at first as a former psychopharmacology student. I had learned in school about Cannabis use for seizures and how it appeared to be a miracle drug. I had also learned in school that cannabis research is federally illegal. I am not anti-cannabis, but I do worry about how quick everyone has been to back it when it is illegal to research. This book had the perfect balance of information on what is known as well as current limitations. While this story is an anecdotal story, it provides hope that maybe kids with seizures can live a normal life uninterrupted by seizures. I was worried that it would be another feel good medical story without science but that was not the case. I also really appreciate the points made about the drugs that are heavily pushed in medicine that have scientifically been discussed as potentially harmful. The fact that psych drugs are often prescribed without brain scans has been something that I have always been frustrated by in my field. The health care system has a long way to go but this book provides solutions for how health care professionals can work together to better understand treatments.
Profile Image for Mariana.
652 reviews12 followers
April 8, 2023
Mighty Flower by Dr. Annabelle is a book that opened my eyes a lot regarding medical cannabis, it is inspiring to see the entire journey of a mother who must face a very serious illness of her son just a few weeks after he was born. It is told in a conversational way, which makes one really understand the issues it touches on, which are sometimes not so normally covered, and also makes one feel identified with the story.

The book tells how a health problem that affected the brain of Dr. Annabelle Manalo's son caused her to opt for a different option and made her think outside the box. Trying to cure her son through medical cannabis was a risky decision and quite criticized, but she dedicated herself to caring for her son and seeing step by step how to use this alternative medicine in each treatment they faced. It is truly amazing to see how in her life she has come through various challenges and difficult situations.

A book that I highly recommend, it is very strong to read its journey, since it is really difficult to see these situations and even more so with a newborn baby, but it is very powerful to see that you can get ahead and that if it works to think differently.
Profile Image for Aparna Preethi.
Author 1 book56 followers
April 5, 2023
"Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son" is a heart-wrenching memoir that chronicles the journey of Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan Ph.D., a mother who turned to cannabis to treat her son's severe medical conditions. Through her personal experience, Dr. Manalo-Morgan provides a detailed account of the trials and tribulations she faced as a parent navigating the complex world of medical cannabis. The book is written with a conversational tone that allows readers to connect with the author and her struggles. Dr. Manalo-Morgan shares her intimate thoughts and emotions, giving readers a glimpse into the challenges she faced and the impact cannabis had on her son's life. Beyond being a personal account, "Mighty Flower" also provides a comprehensive overview of medical cannabis, including its history, uses, and legal status. Dr. Manalo-Morgan shares her knowledge and expertise as a researcher, making the book a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the science behind cannabis.
Profile Image for SaRah BoweRs.
25 reviews1 follower
April 3, 2023
As an epileptic who has heard about the awesomeness of cannabis as a means of controlling seizures and other neurological disorders, I was excited to read this book (which, full disclosure, I received in a GoodReads giveaway).

I found the beginning of the book very intriguing - probably because it provided more of a back story to WHY the author sought out cannabis as a means of controlling her son's condition - but the intrigue stopped soon after. Actually, I thought this part of the book could've stood alone as a short story because as she proclaimed how the healing powers helped her son within the first chapter, I believed that the end of the book was approaching. I was wrong. In the following chapters I found the information as a whole was interesting, but the author sounded really repetitive throughout the book. It seemed on every page - sometimes multiple times on the same page - we'd be reminded of the reputation of marijuana and how much of the studies were unreliable. Many. Many. Many reminders. I had to put the book down out of frustration on several occasions as I felt like I was being talked down to with such a repeating claim (I get it, I do!).

Great information on the process of testing "pure" cannabis and then creating *actually* pure cannabis for medical use, the ability of cannabis to help, etc but not my favorite read.
Profile Image for Margarita Garcia.
1,016 reviews21 followers
April 8, 2023
What a fascinating book Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan brings us! This book is about science and the perseverance a mother has to save her son's life. ''Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son'' is a book that shows us how Dr. Annabelle, against all the recommendations that the doctors gave her about her son, decides to use all her knowledge to save the life of her son with cannabis. She was so persistent that she was able to save his life and now she tells her story with the aim of letting everyone know that there is a second option and that medicine, and our body are an infinite world with so many possibilities to discover. I really enjoyed this book, and I would like to recommend it even when there are so many taboos regarding cannabis. This book shows us how this plant can save lives if we use it in the right way.
Profile Image for Kristin.
113 reviews8 followers
April 8, 2023
A truly moving memoir of a mother trying to save her son. We follow the journey of the author and mother, Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan Ph.D., who on her search for treatment for her son's severe medical conditions looks to cannabis as a more natural solution. With her background in cellular biology and determination, Dr. Manalo-Morgan shares her trials, the history, and the scientific research that goes into cannabis treatments. Truly an incredible story about the true love of a mother and the miracles that natural medicine can do. This is not too long of a read and it is packed full of details. The personal experiences and attention to information were what had me captured. A wonderful, insightful, and informational read.
Profile Image for Azar.
120 reviews4 followers
April 6, 2023

What a fascinating book! I could hardly put it down. Written by a cellular biologist with plenty of science, facts, history, societal opinions, and current laws to tell the story of CBD and what it did for her son. Written by a brainy scientist for the average Joe, this book is highly readable and interesting for those of us who want to know more about cannabis and CBD, without being overwhelming or intimidating or hard to understand. The story of her son's seizures and brain surgery at a month old just sucked me right in, and reading about how she wanted to develop her own pure CBD to treat him was just amazing. Highly recommend this book!
871 reviews28 followers
April 6, 2023
Mighty Flower is a kind of memoir about how its author, Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan PhD, became who she is today and, as per her words, how cannabis saved her son.
The book's approach is very good since it intertwines the author's personal story, where her specific knowledge has origin, with her innovative alternative medicine proposal. This makes the reading entertaining, based on experience and knowledge and, at the same time, informative.
I think it is a valuable book in terms of information but also inspiring since it can be a window of hope for many families. All in all, this could be a good recommendation for many kind of readers.
Profile Image for Susan B.
495 reviews10 followers
April 6, 2023
This book has surprised me big time since I consider it a perfect concoction of a real-life example and memoir and medical research and facts on medical cannabis. So, in a way, we get to learn about this alternative medicine through a true example of how it can work out and what benefits it brings about.
Mighty Flower is a lovable book with vivid vocabulary. Words here have the ability to touch souls and hearts. All types of readers would certainly learn a lot from the concise and clear information presented and empathize with Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan PhD, since most of us have kids or a loved one who is suffering.
Profile Image for Ivan M.
838 reviews22 followers
April 7, 2023
Dr. Anabelle Manalo-Morgan wrote this book with passion about the subject. Her inspiration for writing this book and taking risks is his son Macario, who suffered an enormous loss of brain. This is the story of how alternative medicine can change the life of a person; it is not the first time I read about these discoveries, and surely will not be the last. 

I'm clearly in favor of using Cannabis as a medical tool, I think in the right hands it can make a difference for a lot of people, and this book confirms my beliefs. I definitely recommend Mighty Flower for people who are suffering from an illness that conventional medicine can´t help.
Profile Image for Juan.
425 reviews5 followers
April 7, 2023
Two things happened to me with this memory that absolutely shocked me. On the one hand, it broke my heart, but on the other hand, it taught me to be resilient and to fight because you can always be stronger.
I read “Mighty Flower” in 2 days while travelling and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve been into memoirs lately but this was my first time reading this author and I decided to start with this one because I relate a lot to her testimonies on her son’s incapacity.
Throughout this book, we can find the innumerable benefits of cannabis with all the information we need to understand it properly and her experience dealing with such a complex situation.
Profile Image for Almiria.
738 reviews10 followers
April 7, 2023
“Mighty Flower” by the inspiring Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan takes us on the author’s journey as she finds that cannabis is the best answer to her son’s mental difficulties. The author writes compellingly and profoundly about how she took the risk of going an alternative route. She is also able to back up her arguments for cannabis soundly on a scientific basis. I really appreciate the eloquent writing style of Dr. Annabelle. This pioneering doctor developed the purest form of cannabidoil, which is CBD oil. What changed the lives of this courageous mother and son, may well be the answer to a similar problem in your life. I highly recommend this revolutionary book!
Profile Image for Aneley Sánchez.
988 reviews24 followers
April 7, 2023
Very moving!

Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan is a scientist, educator, author, and mother of five. In her book called Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son tells the story of her family, particularly her son, and how their lives were affected by cannabis as an alternative medicine and all the social and cultural aspects that it entails.
It is very informative and the author shares information both from her place of mother and from her scientific knowledge. It is interesting but what I liked the most is that it is very inspiring and a great life lesson. It is a hard and very moving story but I personally liked it, I enjoyed reading it and I totally recommend it.
Profile Image for Lucia Maranghello.
423 reviews9 followers
April 9, 2023
Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son by Dr. Anabelle Manalo-Morgan is the memoir of the Dr. herself and her struggle as a medical doctor and a mother when a part of his son's brain had to be removed inhibiting his development process.

Dr. Manalo-Morgan shares her voice in this book. With an intimate yet conversational tone, the reader can connect with the thoughts, emotions, and struggles that she went through with her son's conditions and how that changed the dynamics in her life. Adding a particular focus on the use of cannabis, the author shows that there is much more to investigate marijuana and how it can do some good, medically speaking. Highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Saya Jacaranda.
755 reviews11 followers
April 9, 2023
great

“Mighty Flower: how Cannabis saved my son” by Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan PhD is a really mesmerizing book that will keep you hooked for as long as there are still pages left in the book. It is crazy how cannabis and in general alternative medicine can change and save peoples lives. Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan definitely shows a lot of courage and bravery in this story. Having a son going through a massive loss of parts of his brain in itself is already a huge mountain of pain to overcome. I really admire the work of the author and the willingness to share what she did. This might help many other. I can only recommend it.
Profile Image for Tabatha_Reads_Books.
219 reviews22 followers
April 10, 2023
Inspiring and informative, the authors journey to find a way to help her son with mental difficulties. I’ve never been a fan of cannabis, but when I won this book on the GoodReads giveaway, I wanted to keep an open mind and see how alternative medicine has its uses. I was pleasantly surprised to see how cannabis has so many positive uses, and to learn the many uses of this plant in other cultures. Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Julia Johnson.
94 reviews3 followers
November 2, 2024
This was a giveaway win. Probably isn’t a book I would have picked up as someone not interested in cannabis use for myself. However this book is much more than that. It’s a call to the medical, pharmaceutical, and research fields to collaborate on cannabis use in order to use its full potential. The themes seem to be beyond cannabis and I appreciate Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan sharing her opinions and family’s experience.
Profile Image for Julie Boudreau.
58 reviews18 followers
January 20, 2023
There is so much good information in this book. a true labor of love by the author. a testament to a mother's love for and search of the best way to treat her child. anyone and I do mean anyone whether or not they know or are affected with similar health issues in their own loved one would be wise to read this. 10/10
Profile Image for Lindsey.
41 reviews24 followers
May 3, 2023
Great. Balanced and very informative

A well written book that I thought was well balanced and very informative. A great insight into how more research, knowledge and understanding can be a huge advantage and benefit to us all in moving forward and the benefits of future medical research for the future.
Profile Image for Melissa T.
255 reviews45 followers
March 27, 2023
I won this book on Goodreads first reads, Thank you!

There is a ton of good information in this book. This book is a true labor of love by the author and a testament of a mother's love. I learned a lot by reading this book.



1 review
March 30, 2023
Inspring, interesting. Thoughtfully written. Give it a try, especially if you have children with problems such as these.
83 reviews4 followers
April 4, 2023
First, my heart ached as I read about Annabella's newborn's seizures. I could not image watching your son turn so violent ill in the first days of his life. Macario was fortunate to have a mother that was a cellular biologist. My child would probably not have done so well.

Secondly, it is nice to hear that someone in the field of science can see the benefits of cannabis. When I was diagnosis spinal stenosis, I couldn't stand the pain in my back. Someone suggested trying CBD lotion, that and a healing mission really helped. Whether they worked or if was mind over matter, I'll take it. As Annabella implied in her book -body, mind, and spirit. I firmly believe this is true. People must be fighters and not give up hope.

This book is filled with cultural and medical history of cannabis and made me aware of the
role that it can play in human health. It was very informative and shows the need for further research in this area. Please keep up the excellent work. Prayers for you and your lovely family. May Macario continue to improve. Terrific read.

This was a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank-you.
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