Meghan Crnic, "The Beach Cure: A History of Healing on Northeastern Shores" (U Washington Press, 2025)

Oct 10, 2025

Meghan Crnic, a historian and author, dives into the fascinating world of coastal healing in her book, exploring how northeastern shores became therapeutic destinations in the late 19th century. She discusses how doctors prescribed beach time for ailments like tuberculosis and the transformation of seaside towns into health havens. Crnic also examines the interplay between nature and health beliefs, the role of working-class families in this cultural shift, and the resurgence of interest in nature's healing powers today.

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INSIGHT

Image Sparked New Research

Meghan Crnic discovered the Boston Floating Hospital image and it reframed her research focus on seashore hospitals.
That visual prompted questions about why babies and toddlers were placed on ships for health reasons.

INSIGHT

Why Cities Were Seen As Unhealthy

Cities in the 19th century were perceived as dangerous due to overcrowding, lack of sewers, and livestock in homes.
Rising infant mortality statistics reinforced the view that urban environments threatened children's health.

INSIGHT

Seashore Framed As Antidote To Cities

Physicians and reformers depicted the seashore as the antithesis of the city: open space, fresh air, and reflective sunlight.
Those environmental contrasts underpinned prescriptions for seaside treatment.

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For centuries, the ocean was seen as a place of danger and work, but by the late nineteenth century, northeastern shores of the United States became therapeutic destinations for the sick and weary. Doctors in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and other cities began prescribing time at the beach as a remedy for ailments such as tuberculosis, rickets, and exhaustion. In the decades that followed, seaside towns became health havens complete with hospitals that served urban families and children.
Dr. Meghan Crnic’s The Beach Cure: A History of Healing on Northeastern Shores (U Washington Press, 2025) explores how physicians, tourists, and families transformed the coastline into a medical and cultural landscape. Dr. Crnic traces how beliefs in “marine medication”—the healing power of the sun, sea air, and saltwater—shaped the development of northeastern coastal tourist destinations and health institutions in Atlantic City, Coney Island, and beyond. Despite advances in germ theory and the rise of laboratory science, the conviction that nature can restore health and well-being persisted and continues to resonate with beachgoers today.
This book uncovers the profound ways in which Americans tied health to place, showing how the underlying belief in nature’s therapeutic powers brought people to the seashore as a precursor to the beach becoming a destination for leisure and recreation. The Beach Cure offers fresh insight into the history of environmental health, urging readers to reflect on how landscapes shape well-being.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.

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