Health
The mindful body : thinking our way to chronic health
Ellen J. Langer
158.13 /Langer
Nonfiction, Health
"A groundbreaking account of the power of our thoughts to improve our health-by the "mother of mindfulness" and first female tenured professor of psychology at Harvard When it comes to our health, too many of us think that a medical diagnosis describes a static or worsening condition. We then live our lives as though our ailments-our stiff knees or frayed nerves or failing eyesight-can only change in one direction: for the worse. Ellen J. Langer's life's work proves the fault in that logic. She has spent more than forty years testing the limiting effects of our negative assumptions as well as the healing power of being mindful-present in the moment and not distracted by memories or projections into the future. In The Mindful Body she unpacks her findings and boldly demonstrates how our thoughts and perspectives have the potential to shape our well-being for the better. Taking us into Langer's trailblazing Harvard lab, The Mindful Body recounts many of her colorful experiments to illustrate the influence of expectation and belief on how our bodies function, how we heal, and even how we age. In one study, Langer rigged eye charts so that participants would get some of the smaller letters correct right away, giving them the expectation that they could improve their overall eye test scores. And they did. In another, she showed that wounds heal faster when subjects are placed in rooms with accelerated clocks; when you think that time is passing faster, your body heals faster! On the other hand, her work reveals that discouraging health news can lead to a worsening physical state: she showed that learning you are pre-diabetic-even when only a fraction separates your blood sugar from a "normal" categorization-may actually play a part in the development of the disease. A paradigm-shifting book by one of the great psychologists of the twenty-first century, The Mindful Body returns the control over our bodies back to us and reveals that a true understanding of health begins with our mindset" --
Buzzing
Samuel Sattin
jGRAPHIC NOVEL Sattin
Graphic Novels, Health
"Isaac is a shy boy with OCD, but one day at school he meets new friends who introduce him to role-playing games, which lead him on a journey of self-discovery and growth"--
I came across this graphic novel on the bookmobile shelf and was interested to see a book with a neurodivergent character navigating life with, at times, overwhelming OCD symptoms. I found the bees buzzing in your ear with intrusive thoughts to be a very good analogy and the way that Isaac interacts in social situations and his family dynamic to be a relatable depiction. It's wonderful for kids to see mirrors in the books they read, especially a graphic novel that will appeal to many! -Mari
The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Tasneem Bhatia, MD
OverDrive Audiobook
Nonfiction, Health
The goop hormone authority offers an empowering new approach to taking charge of hormone shifts through every stage of life—especially menopause. When hormonal highs, lows, twists, and turns feel overwhelming, Dr. Tasneem Bhatia can offer a road map—and a whole new perspective. As an MD with an East-meets-West approach to women’s health, Dr. Tasneem (known as Dr. Taz) combines the wisdom of Eastern modalities like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine with modern medical treatments for whole body wellness. To Dr. Taz, menopause is not an “ending”; a woman’s entire life is a spectrum of ever-shifting hormones, and menopause is just one point along that spectrum. And hormone levels are a fluid continuum that you have a lot of control over: through your diet, how you sleep, how you manage stress, and more. In The Hormone Shift, Dr. Taz breaks down exactly what is happening behind the scenes in a woman’s body throughout her life and how almost every aspect of health is connected to hormones—from metabolism to mental health. She explains how to prepare for whatever is coming next, and offers a customizable Thirty-Day Hormone Reset plan that uses a combination of Eastern and Western healing modalities to keep the body in balance and deliver a targeted strategy for minimizing unwanted symptoms at every stage. * This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF with checklists, charts, illustrations, and an appendix from the book.
Honestly I came across this audiobook while looking for other books narrated by Soneela Nankani. She narrates books I love by Sonali Dev and Nisha Sharma, whose novels focus on Southeast Asian American culture and how traditional culture from their homeland conflicts with that of their adopted home. So here I am trying to find another Southeast Asian American love story and I stumble upon a book about menopause. There are a lot of new articles about how long the American health industry has ignored the suffering women go through during this major life event. Dr. Bhati discusses the 5 stages of hormonal shifting, starting with puberty and ending post menopause. She discusses individual hormones and their effects on the body extensively. She also gives lots of advice to help alleviate the suffering women go through due to these hormonal changes. If this is something you're experiencing or know someone who is, this book is worth checking out! -Melody
Slow AF run club : the ultimate guide for anyone who wants to run
Martinus Evans
796.42 /Evans
Nonfiction, Health
"Ten years ago, Martinus Evans got some stern advice from his doctor: "Lose weight or die." First defensive, but then defiant, Evans vowed that day to run a marathon, though his doctor thought he was crazy. Since then, Evans has run eight marathons and hundreds of other distances in his 300-something body, created his own devoted running community, and has been featured on the cover of Runner's World. This book is a blueprint for those who may not fit the image of a "traditional" runner-that is, someone who is larger in size, less athletic, out of shape, or dealing with any kind of health issue that slows them down-to feel empowered to lace up their shoes and embrace the body they have right now. As Evans says, the incredible benefits of running-better sleep, strong muscles and bones, better cardiovascular and mental health, and a sense of community-can and should be available to all of us. This practical handbook contains specialized advice to make getting started less intimidating, covering everything from gear and nutrition to training schedules, recovery tips, races (it's okay to come in DFL! [i.e., dead f*cking last]), and finding a running group. Full of essential advice and humor from a former newbie who fell off a treadmill on his first run (literally), The Slow AF Run Club is for anyone who wants to pick up running for the sheer joy of it"--
I'm a big guy. I've always been a big guy. I've also always enjoyed running--cycling is my exercise of choice, but running comes in close--but I'm not knowledgeable about HOW to run. I've just been freestyling this whole time. Evans is a kindred spirit--big dude who loves to run. He has great tips and attitude to spare. I recommend this to any non-traditional runners! -Brian
Fit nation : the gains and pains of America's exercise obsession
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
306.4613 /Petrzela
History, Health
"Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a leading scholar and proselytizer for physical well-being, elucidates the political and social implications of America's exercise cult(ure). Delving into the paradox of why so many Americans are physically unfit, despite the power of the exercise industry, Petrzela shows fitness to be both a product and a marker of education, social class, wealth, power, and more. Like much in postwar American life, fitness has been privatized, and the resulting dominant ideology of exercise is a product of neoliberal political and culture choices. Petrzela reveals a story that puts Charles Atlas, Jane Fonda, the Chippendales, and so many lesser-known people at the center of American culture, media, and politics."--
This was a really fun read - giving a swift and entertaining rundown of the history of American fitness and how the culture around fitness, and how we react to it, has evolved over the decades. -Amanda
Chaos machine : the inside story of how social media rewired our minds and our world.
Fisher, Max
302.231/Fisher (NEW)
Political, Technology, Health
New York Times reporter Fisher debuts with a scathing account of the manifold ills wrought by social media. He explores toxic misogyny, recounting the unsavory particulars of "GamerGate," in which a woman video game developer was subjected to "collective harassment" after false allegations that she slept with a journalist in exchange for a positive review of her game. Other examples of the dark side of social media include anti-Muslim hate speech in Myanmar proliferating on Facebook, the spread of anti-vaccine rhetoric during the pandemic, and efforts by Russia to interfere with U.S. elections. Fisher also breaks down the tactics used by social media companies to get users to spend more time online, among them notifications that are meant to set off feel-good dopamine releases in the brain, a tactic similar to the "intermittent variable reinforcement" used by casinos. There's no shortage of books lamenting the evils of social media, but what's impressive here is how Fisher brings it all together: the breadth of information, covering everything from the intricacies of engagement-boosting algorithms to theories of sentimentalism, makes this a one-stop shop. It's a well-researched, damning picture of just what happens online. Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly.
All the awful stuff online, all of its awful effects, all in one non-awful book. -Candice
Sandor Katz and the tiny wild
Jacqueline Briggs Martin
j641.61 Martin
Biographies, Health, LGBTQ+
Welcome to Sandor Katz's no-desk, new-ways school! There are no tests, no rules - just happy, hungry people learning how to make fermented food. All they need are their favorite vegetables, salt, and the TINY WILD. These invisible microbes change cucumbers into crunchy pickles, and cabbages into zingy-zangy sauerkraut and kimchi.
A cookbook, a history book, a science book, and a biography rolled into one! Sandor Katz is an American food writer, DIY food activist, Jewish LGBT+ man, and haver of cool facial hair who started a school that teaches people how to ferment foods. If you're not sure what fermentation is, then you definitely need to read this book! Learn about Sandor Katz's life and inspiration, how fermentation works, why fermented foods are so healthy for you, get the instructions to try it for yourself, then grow up and start a radical commune in the woods just like Sandor! -Anne W
Raising LGBTQ: allies A parent's guide to changing the messages from the playground
Chris Tompkins
649.1/Tompkins (NEW SHELF)
LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Health
Books are like messengers, Tompkins writes, and this volume conveys essential information for all adults with children in their lives about what it means to be LGBTQ, in the context of what he calls MFTP: Messages from the Playground. Playground is meant metaphorically, of course, as are messages. Playground is our mind or, rather, our consciousness, while messages are the dominant societal worldview. Tompkins says that one of the goals of his useful book is to help prevent bullying, heal queerphobia, and create allies on the playground. To this end, he writes extensively of his own experiences as a teacher and counselor with the goal of making the experience of having an LGBTQ child—or knowing one—something to revere. This is a tall order, but Tompkins rises to the occasion, offering thoughtful, informed, affirming, and, yes, inspirational advice on how to change a homophobic and transphobic society. In that context, he invites readers to change their traditional thinking and in so doing to eliminate queerphobia by being open and honest with children. He has succeeded beautifully. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.
Added by Candice
Why Buddhism is true : the science and philosophy of meditation and enlightenment
Robert Wright
294.342 /Wright
Nonfiction, Self Help, Health, Science, Philosophy
Author Robert Wright shows how Buddhist meditative practice can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and deepen your appreciation of beauty and other people. -- Adapted from book jacket.
A fantastic look at the scientific aspects of Buddhism, specifically mindfulness meditation. -Mykle
Transgender children and youth
Elijah C. Nealy
306.768/Nealy
Nonfiction, LGBTQ+, Health
A comprehensive guide to the medical, emotional, and social issues of trans kids. These days, it is practically impossible not to hear about some aspect of transgender life. Whether it is the bathroom issue in North Carolina, trans people in the military, or on television, trans life has become front and center after years of marginalization. And kids are coming out as trans at younger and younger ages, which is a good thing for them. But what written resources are available to parents, teachers, and mental health professionals who need to support these children? Elijah C. Nealy, a therapist and former deputy executive director of New York City's LGBT Community Center, and himself a trans man, has written the first-ever comprehensive guide to understanding, supporting, and welcoming trans kids. Covering everything from family life to school and mental health issues, as well as the physical, social, and emotional aspects of transition, this book is full of best practices to support trans kids.
Added by Candice
I checked this book out after being drawn in by its title. A "mindful" body sounds much better to have than a mindless one! There's a lot of new science out there about how conditions of the body affect the brain, like the mind-gut connection, and this book is a great companion to those studies. I appreciated learning about the placebo affect and enjoyed listening to stories about how people experienced less pain when they were able to ignore it more. I love exploring ideas that promote the mind-over-matter concept. If you've ever wondered, "but how sick am I *really*?" this book is for you! -Melody