health

Elena Dunkle, cowriting with her mother, recounts her struggles with anorexia as a teen and twenty-something - from denial, to treatment centers, to recovery.

The author describes suffering a brain aneurysm and nearly dying, then having multiple brain surgeries that deformed her skull, and losing her sense of smell and the sight in one eye. Discusses how she used her love of cooking to help her recover and create a normal life once again. Features twenty-seven recipes that helped the author on her road to recovery.

"A former paramedic's visceral, poignant, and mordantly funny account of a decade spent on Atlanta's mean streets saving lives and connecting with the drama and occasional beauty that lies inside catastrophe. In the aftermath of 9/11 Kevin Hazzard felt that something was missing from his life--his days were too safe, too routine. A failed salesman turned local reporter, he wanted to test himself, see how he might respond to pressure and danger. He signed up for emergency medical training and became, at age twenty-six, a newly minted EMT running calls in the worst sections of Atlanta. His life entered a different realm--one of blood, violence, and amazing grace. Thoroughly intimidated at first and frequently terrified, he experienced on a nightly basis the adrenaline rush of walking into chaos. But in his downtime, Kevin reflected on how people's facades drop away when catastrophe strikes. As his hours on the job piled up, he realized he was beginning to see into the truth of things. There is no pretensefive beats into a chest compression, or in an alley next to a crack den, or on a dimly lit highway where cars have collided. Eventually, what had at first seemed impossible happened: Kevin acquired mastery. And in the process he was able to discern the professional differences between his freewheeling peers, what marked each--as he termed them--as "a tourist," "true believer," or "killer." Combining indelible scenes that remind us of life's fragile beauty with laugh-out-loud moments that keep us smilingthrough the worst, A Thousand Naked Strangers is an absorbing read about one man's journey of self-discovery--a trip that also teaches us about ourselves"--.

"From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in BETWEEN BREATHS, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety-which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam-and how she dealt with this anxiety as she came of age, to her eventually turning to alcohol for relief. She tells of how she found herself living in denial, about the extent of her addiction and keeping her dependency a secret for so long. She addresses her time in rehab, her first year of sobriety, and the guilt she felt as a working mother who had never found the right balance. Honest and hopeful, BETWEEN BREATHS is an inspiring read"--.

A memoir from journalist Mary Elizabeth Williams, who, after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, underwent controversial treatments to amaze the medical community.

Rebecca Alexander, a psychotherapist, spin instructor, volunteer, and athlete who is almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing, shares the physical, psychological, and philosophical obstacles she faces and reflects on how her disabilities have led to her deep appreciation for the things she still has and life.

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.

"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"--.