Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise
February 2021

Recent Releases
The Cancer Code: A Revolutionary New Understanding of a Medical Mystery
by Jason Fung

What it's about: recent research about the causes, treatment, and prevention of cancer, with a focus on metabolic disorders as a contributing factor.

About the author: Dr. Jason Fung is a physician whose previous work includes bestsellers The Diabetes Code and The Obesity Code.

Read it for: recommendations on how to manage your individual cancer risk; the authoritative yet accessible tone.
Do Right By Me: Learning to Raise Black Children in White Spaces
by Valerie I. Harrison and Kathryn Peach D'Angelo

What it is: a compelling and candid conversation for white parents of Black adopted children and how best to raise them with a strong, healthy relationship with their own identities.

Reviewers say: Do Right By Me is a "timely examination of discrimination and privilege" that is "packed with insight" (Publishers Weekly).


Try this next: In Their Voices by Rhonda Roorda, which centers the experiences and observations of transracial adoptees.
An outsider's guide to humans : what science taught me about what we do and who we are
by Camilla Pang

An investigation into human nature and its social norms, written by a scientist with Asperger’s syndrome perspectives, includes coverage of such subjects as the role of proteins in promoting relationships and what thermodynamics can reveal about life balance. Illustrations.
Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding
by Daniel E. Lieberman

What it is: a comprehensive yet accessible study of exercise through a social lens, which looks at the changing role of physical activity as part of the human experience.

Why you might like it: the engaging writing; the author's ability to condense and simplify complex scientific concept and studies.

Don't miss: the non-judgmental exploration of the social and evolutionary obstacles to prioritizing exercise in modern life.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
by Katherine May

What it's about: the importance of retreat and reflection during trying times and the healing to be found in periods of "hibernation."

Why you might like it: Katherine May pulls thoughtful observations from a wide variety of sources like mythology and the natural world which could provide solace during periods of isolation and upheaval.

Want a taste? "
When everything is broken, everything is also up for grabs. That’s the gift of winter: it’s irresistible. Change will happen in its wake, whether we like it or not." 
Addiction
Under Our Roof : A Son's Battle for Recovery, a Mother's Battle for Her Son
by Madeleine Dean

Book Annotation
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir
by Jaquira Díaz

What it's about: Jaquira Díaz's experiences growing up in an environment of neglect, mental illness, and omnipresent drug abuse.

Why you should read it: Despite the heavy topics, this moving story is narrated from a place of empowerment and self-assuredness.

For fans of: other well-rendered memoirs about the adverse experiences of women of color like Roxane Gay's Hunger or When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago.
Smacked : a story of white-collar ambition, addiction, and tragedy
by Eilene Zimmerman

Drawing on extensive research and interviews to paint a picture of drug dependence today in a moneyed, upwardly mobile world, a journalist pieces together the mysteries surrounding her ex-husband’s unexpected death from drug abuse.
Never enough : the neuroscience and experience of addiction
by Judith Grisel

Explores the science of drug addiction and argues that a "cure" for addiction will not be found in the individual brain, but in changing the way people interact with their communities
Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction
by Maia Szalavitz

What it is: a thought-provoking argument in favor of radically reframing our understanding of substance abuse as a disorder with developmental underpinnings.

Is it for you? Maia Szalavitz has potentially polarizing criticisms of common recovery strategies like 12-step programs that may not be for everyone.


Want a taste? "About here's where I'm supposed to tell you that I'm different, that I wasn't your 'typical addict.' The American media repeatedly assures us that such an addict certainly isn't white, female, educated, or middle class. But I'm not going to do that."
Contact your librarian for more great books!