Dr. Tanya Destang-Beaubrun's encourages Caribbean women to take charge of their health

For years, physician Dr. Tanya Destang-Beaubrun has cared for women navigating everything from hormonal changes and chronic stress to metabolic disorders and the everyday demands of balancing careers, families and caregiving. Along the way, she began to notice a troubling pattern.

Many women were living with persistent fatigue, anxiety, brain fog and other health concerns, yet often accepted these symptoms as a normal part of ageing or simply the price of being a woman.

Today, Dr. Tanya hopes to change that conversation.

The Saint Lucian physician, functional medicine practitioner and founder of the MOre Joy Method has published Held and Healed: A Physician's Guide to Healing the Body, Calming the Mind and Living in Joy, a new book that encourages women to take a more proactive, holistic approach to their health and wellbeing.

"I realized there was nobody in the Caribbean addressing our health," says Dr. Tanya. "So I wrote this book for us as a people, but also for women in general."

Drawing on decades of medical experience, Held and Healed explores topics including hormonal health, inflammation, nutrition, stress, metabolism, emotional wellbeing and lifestyle habits that can influence long-term health. Rather than focusing solely on treating disease, the book encourages readers to understand the connection between the body, mind and spirit and to view healing as a lifelong journey.

For Dr. Tanya, the book is also deeply personal.

After experiencing serious illness herself, she gained a new perspective on healthcare—not simply as a physician, but as a patient. That experience reinforced her belief that good medicine is about more than diagnosing disease. It is about listening, understanding and caring for the whole person.

Those lessons became the foundation for both her medical practice and the message at the heart of Held and Healed.

Dr. Tanya believes many Caribbean women have been conditioned to put their own needs last while caring for everyone else. As a result, symptoms such as chronic stress, exhaustion and hormonal changes are often ignored until they begin affecting quality of life.

Through her book, she hopes to encourage women to pay closer attention to their bodies, seek answers when something feels wrong and recognize that prioritizing their health is not an act of selfishness but one of self-preservation.

"Too often, women are praised for how much they can endure," she says. "I want them to know they deserve to heal, too."

A recurring theme throughout the book is joy. While many health guides focus primarily on illness, Dr. Tanya argues that cultivating joy, meaningful relationships, rest and purpose are essential components of overall wellbeing. These principles form the basis of her MOre Joy Method, which integrates physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Although based in Saint Lucia, Dr. Tanya's work has attracted international attention, including appearances on Oprah Winfrey's The Life You Want platform, where she proudly represented both her homeland and the wider Caribbean.

With Held and Healed, she hopes to continue that mission by giving Caribbean women a trusted resource that reflects their lived experiences and empowers them to take charge of their health.

"My hope is that every woman who reads this book feels seen," she says. "That she understands her health matters, her voice matters and that healing is possible."

As conversations around women's health continue to evolve across the Caribbean and its diaspora, Dr. Tanya hopes her book will inspire women not simply to manage illness, but to embrace a healthier, more intentional and more joyful way of living.