Gordana Smith stems from a long lineage of barefoot doctors: herbalists, village doctors and energy healers. Growing up in former Yugoslavia, she watched and learned from her grandparents when and how to collect herbs and dry them in the attic (one of her favorite childhood hideouts).

She and her family rarely went to see a doctor. There was – and still is – an herb for everything. In her teens, Gordana witnessed her father’s great gift of helping the less fortunate and sick through his energy healing. When Gordana was in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, her father worked on her from Bosnia and busted her clot leaving the Flagler Hospital doctors in disbelief. Needless to say, Gordana had big shoes to fill.

For the longest time, Gordana denied the healer in herself. It took several life-threatening experiences to make her start climbing the mountain instead of stubbornly walking around it. Today, Gordana is an acupuncture physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Her practice, Phoenix Rises Acupuncture is located at 150 Kent Road, Suite 2A in St. Augustine.