patients

Revealing the untold story of the father of Asperger's syndrome, a landmark book reveals the secret history of autism, finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared, and provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle.

Examines the experiences of the children and husband of Henrietta Lacks, who, twenty years after her death from cervical cancer in 1951, learned doctors and researchers took cells from her cervix without consent which were used to create the immortal cell line known as the HeLa cell; provides an overview of Henrietta's life; and explores issues of experimentation on African-Americans and bioethics.

The author, whose son Morgan could read and spell at age three, but not answer to his own name, blends a memoir of his son's autistic world with an examination of such permanent outsiders and geniuses as Defoe and Swift.

The author writes about her young husband's descent into dementia, and her and her two boys' struggle to come to terms with his diagnosis and what it means to their family.

"Tom Brokaw had led a lucky life--marrying his childhood sweetheart (they have been married for 51 years), rising to fame in the journalism world on the Today Show and as the NBC Nightly News anchor for 22 years, publishing the world-renowned book The Greatest Generation--when suddenly he took two inexplicable falls. Nagging back pain led him to the doctors at Mayo, who had shocking news: he had multiple myeloma, the treatable but incurable blood cancer. Brokaw leads the readers through his decision to keep a journal of experiences, during a year of denial, acceptance, struggle, and his courageous battle to get the cancer under control and to go on with his life, even as he reflects on the things he thought about, during a year in a life interrupted: news stories of special significance to him, lessons learned about family and friendship, a man coming to terms with aging and his own mortality. Written in Brokaw's natural, warm voice, this candid, intimate book is a memoir of understanding and empowerment, of the importance of a patient taking charge of his or her condition, of understanding aging, the importance of family and relationships, the role of caretakers and coordinated care, of gratitude for a good life"--.

Anna was living a normal life. She was ambitious and worked hard; she had just bought an apartment; she was falling in love. But then she started to develop worrying symptoms: her face felt like it was burning whenever she was in front of the computer. Soon this progressed to an intolerance of fluorescent light, then of sunlight itself. The reaction soon spread to her entire body. Now, when her symptoms are at their worst she must spend months on end in a blacked-out room, losing herself in audio books and elaborate word games in an attempt to ward off despair. During periods of relative remission she can venture cautiously out at dawn and dusk, into a world which, from the perspective of her normally cloistered existence, is filled with a remarkable beauty. And throughout there is her relationship with Pete. In many ways he is Anna's savior, offering her shelter from the light in his home. But she cannot enjoy a normal life with him, cannot go out in the day, even making love is uniquely awkward. Anna asks herself "by continuing to occupy this lovely man while giving him neither children, nor a public companion, nor a welcoming home - do I do wrong?" With gorgeous, lyrical prose, Anna brings us into the dark with her, a place from which we emerge to see love, and the world, anew.

"A father of a daughter with Down syndrome examines her mischievous childhood and moves to her early adulthood, tracing her journey to find happiness and purpose in her adult life, sharing ... anecdotes as well as stories about her inspiring triumphs. Having graduated from high school and college, Jillian now works to support herself, and has met the love of her life and her husband-to-be, Ryan"--Amazon.com.

A memorial to the people lost to AIDS before protease inhibitors were found to be an effective treatment, focusing particularly on singer Michael Callen and poet Essex Hemphill, who were both vocal AIDS activists who refused to give in to despair.

At the age of eleven, Rita Zoey Chin began to run away from home because of her parents' violence and neglect. She was in search of a better life. But what she found on the street was danger and predatory men, as well as the occasional kindness from a stranger. The grown-up Rita survived her harrowing childhood and became a prizewinning poet and the wife of a successful neurosurgeon. She thought she had put the past behind her until she began to have a series of debilitating panic attaks that threatened her comfortable existence. And then the chance arrival of a spirited, endearing horse named Claret, who had a difficult history himself, arrived and saved Rita from herself.