Mitchell Library (College of Medicine and Science Library): New Resources

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SUBJECT OF A SIX-PART SUPER SOUL PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY OPRAH WINFREY From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret "One of the best books I've read in my entire life. It's epic. It's transportive . . . It was unputdownable!"--Oprah Winfrey, OprahDaily.com An instant New York Times and indie bestseller and an Oprah Book Club Pick, The Covenant of Water has sold more than two million copies worldwide and was widely named as a best book of the year. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, Abraham Verghese's long-awaited, masterful novel follows three generations of a Christian family in Kerala, South India, that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning. As the novel opens, a twelve-year-old girl is sent by boat to her wedding, where she meets her husband for the first time. She joins a prosperous household and becomes known as Big Ammachi, the matriarch of an extraordinary family that will endure hardship, celebrate triumph, and witness unthinkable changes over the coming decades. An exquisite modern classic finally available in paperback, The Covenant of Water is an unforgettable and stunning epic of love, faith, and medicine.

"This book inspires us all to immerse ourselves in the vast potential of music and other creative artsto heal our wounds, sharpen our minds, enliven our bodies, and restore our broken connections." -Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score World-renowned soprano and arts/health advocate Renée Fleming curates a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and healthcare providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience Chapters include- Ann Patchett, "How to Fall in Love with Opera" Yo-Yo Ma, "Nature, Culture, and Healing" Aniruddh D. Patel, "Musicality, Evolution, and Animal Responses to Music" Richard Powers, "The Parting Glass" Daniel J. Levitin, "What Does It Mean to be Musical?" Anna Deavere Smith, "Healing Arts" Rosanne Cash, "Rabbit Hole" Rhiannon Giddens, "How Music Shows Us What It Means to Be Human" Robert Zatorre,"Musical Enjoyment and the Reward Circuits of the Brain" Concetta Tomaino,"Music and Memory" A compelling and growing body of research has shown music and arts therapies to be effective tools for addressing a widening array of conditions, from providing pain relief andalleviating anxiety and depression to regaining speech after stroke or traumatic brain injury, and improving mobility for people with disorders that include Parkinson's disease and MS. In Music and Mind Renee Fleming draws upon her own experience as an advocate to showcase the breadth of this booming field, inviting leading experts to share their discoveries. In addition to describing therapeutic benefits, the book explores evolution, brain function, childhood development, and technology as applied to arts and health. Much of this area of study is relatively new, made possible by recent advances in brain imaging, and supported by theNational Institutes of Health, major hospitals, and universities. This work is sparking an explosion of public interest in the arts and health sector. Fleming has presented on this material in over fifty cities across North America, Europe, and Asia, collaborating with leading researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners. With essays from notable musicians, writers, and artists, as well as leading neuroscientists, Music and Mind is a groundbreaking book, the perfect introduction and overview of this exciting new field.

The naïve but spirited Dr. Shelly Riley slogs her way through a two-year fellowship in the 1990s in southern Kentucky. While battling her patients' cancers, chauvinist "mentors," and exhaustion from endless hours of medical training, she digs deep to graduate from a program that seems to root for her failure. Without their approval she'll never practice in her specialized field. In "Poised," Shelly can't figure out if it's plain old chauvinism, her own in-your-face style, or the north-south thing, but it's not going well.In this debut novel of women's/upmarket fiction, readers will relish the coming-of-age trope set in 1990's nostalgia. Based on American society's eternal fascination with what really happens in hospitals and operating rooms, the appeal is broad. Like Bonnie Garmus' recent "Lessons in Chemistry," this novel highlights a quirky, loveable woman scientist who shakes off dismissive societal assumptions so she can get down to work. The book's humor soothes the sting of difficult life circumstances encountered by Shelly, her medical peers in training, and her beloved patients. Cancer care isn't funny, but people are, and Shelly's devotion to her patients makes "Poised" sing.

In The Cancer Plot, Reginald Wiebe and Dorothy Woodman examine the striking presence of cancer in Marvel comics. Engaging comics studies, medical humanities, and graphic medicine, they explore this disease in four case studies: Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Thor, and Deadpool. Cancer, the authors argue, troubles the binaries of good and evil because it is the ultimate nemesis within a genre replete with magic, mutants, and multiverses. They draw from gender theory, disability studies, and cultural theory to demonstrate how cancer in comics enables an examination of power and responsibility, key terms in Marvel's superhero universe. As the only full-length study on cancer in the Marvel universe, The Cancer Plot is an appealing and original work that will be of interest to scholars across the humanities, particularly those working in the health humanities, cultural theory, and literature, as well as avid comics readers.

The Resilient Practitioner, 4th edition, gives students and practitioners valuable tools for creating their own boundaried generosity, a vibrant method for balancing caring for others and caring for oneself. The new edition builds on the strengths of the earlier editions and incorporates the lived experience of practitioners in the helping, caring, and relationship-intense fields. Readers will find new material in the Architecture of Resilience chapter, a self-care action plan that incorporates SMART goals to increase goal-setting success and a focus on both individual responsibility and organizational responsibility for burnout prevention and the development of resilience. The new edition also includes self-reflection exercises in each chapter, a resiliency inventory for practitioners, a strong focus on research, and an accessible writing style. The authors continue to chart a hopeful path for practitioners, one that allows for a high level of caring for others in the helping professions while also artfully caring for oneself.

"They call you a battalion surgeon. I didn't know surgery; really, I was simply trying to save lives." (Audio Interview) William M. McConahey graduated from medical school in 1942 and enlisted with the Army in 1943. He attended medical field service school and served as a battalion surgeon with the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. In March 1944, McConahey and the division deployed to England in preparation for the D-Day invasion of France. He landed on Utah Beach with the 359th Infantry Regiment two days after the initial invasion. There, McConahey served at a first aid station along with 32 fellow corpsmen, treating the many casualties. As a battalion surgeon, he stabilized wounded men near the front line before sending them to the rear for more intensive treatment. Besides attending to the physically wounded, McConahey treated men suffering from combat stress, assessing their mental state and sending them to the rear if necessary. The men operated as close to the front as possible, often within sight of German forces, hoping the Germans would follow the Geneva Convention and not fire at them. Following the surrender of Germany in May 1945, McConahey and parts of the 90th Infantry Division converted to an occupation force and began restoring order in Germany. During this time, McConahey and his fellow corpsmen treated liberated prisoners, including those from the concentration camp in Flossenberg, Germany. After returning home, McConahey promoted to captain and discharged. During his service, McConahey earned several medals and commendations, including Silver and Bronze Star Medals. McConahey then began a medical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, where he became a tenured professor of medicine. McConahey wrote and published a memoir of his experiences during World War II, Battalion Surgeon, in 1966 McConahey passed away in 2004.

When technology reinforces inequality, it's not just a glitch-it's a signal that we need to redesign our systems to create a more equitable world. The word "glitch" implies an incidental error, as easy to patch up as it is to identify. But what if racism, sexism, and ableism aren't just bugs in mostly functional machinery-what if they're coded into the system itself? In the vein of heavy hitters such as Safiya Umoja Noble, Cathy O'Neil, and Ruha Benjamin, Meredith Broussard demonstrates in More Than a Glitch how neutrality in tech is a myth and why algorithms need to be held accountable. Broussard, a data scientist and one of the few Black female researchers in artificial intelligence, masterfully synthesizes concepts from computer science and sociology. She explores a range of examples- from facial recognition technology trained only to recognize lighter skin tones, to mortgage-approval algorithms that encourage discriminatory lending, to the dangerous feedback loops that arise when medical diagnostic algorithms are trained on insufficiently diverse data. Even when such technologies are designed with good intentions, Broussard shows, fallible humans develop programs that can result in devastating consequences. Broussard argues that the solution isn't to make omnipresent tech more inclusive, but to root out the algorithms that target certain demographics as "other" to begin with. With sweeping implications for fields ranging from jurisprudence to medicine, the ground-breaking insights of More Than a Glitch are essential reading for anyone invested in building a more equitable future.

A "beautiful and astonishing" (Walter Isaacson, # 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker) narrative that examines the many ways to be fully human, told by the first young adult with autism to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. As a child, Jory Fleming was wracked by uncontrollable tantrums, had no tolerance for people, and couldn't manage the outside world. Slightly more than a decade later, he was bound for England, selected to attend one of the world's premier universities. How to Be Human is a "profound, thought-provoking" (Barry M. Pizant, PhD, author of Uniquely Human) exploration of life amid a world constructed for neurotypical brains when yours is not. But the miracle of this book is that instead of dwelling on Jory's limitations, those who inhabit the neurotypical world will begin to better understand their own: they will contemplate what language cannot say, how linear thinking leads to dead ends, and how nefarious emotions can be, particularly when, in Jory's words, they are "weaponized." Through a series of deep, personal conversations with writer Lyric Winik, Jory makes a compelling case for logical empathy based on rational thought, asks why we tolerate friends who see us as a means to an end, and explains why he believes personality is a choice. Most movingly, he discusses how, after many hardships, he maintains a deep, abiding faith: "With people, I don't understand what goes in and what comes out, and how to relate," he says. "But I can always reconnect with my relationship with my Creator." Join Jory and Lyric as they examine what it means to be human and ultimately how each of us might become a better one. Jory asks us to consider: Who has value? What is a disability? And how do we correct the imbalances we see in the world? How to Be Human shows us the ways a beautifully different mind can express the very best of our shared humanity.

The inspiring story of a Black doctor who was deeply affected by the violence that plagued his Brooklyn childhood and later dedicated himself to addressing trauma and violence as public health issues Rob Gore first encountered violence when he was beaten and robbed as a 10-year old; it was treated as an inevitable fact of life, but after another brush with violence as a teen, he began to reject that prevalent attitude. As he matured and became a doctor, he grew in his determination to find treatments for what he saw not as an unavoidable fact for most people living in vulnerable, underserved neighborhoods especially, but as a public health issue that could be addressed by early intervention and solid support, beginning in the medical community. He also became deeply involved in efforts to diversify the entire field of medicine, starting with the "front lines" in the Emergency Department. Seeing his brother, Angel, and close friend, Willis, fall prey to the epidemic of violence with profound-and in Willis's case-deadly consequences, Rob began seriously researching the issue and went on to found an organization which is one of the models for successful approaches to reducing violence and protecting victims, who are disproportionately BIPOC, living in impoverished neighborhoods, or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Here he provides not only statistics, but stories of what he witnessed in NYC neighborhoods, in Atlanta, Chicago, Buffalo, and even in medical work in Haiti and Kenya. His work with the Kings Against Violence Initiate (KAVI) and allied organizations is a blueprint for treating violence not as a police matter, but as a public health crisis, which can and should be addressed and substantially reduced. The people he introduces us to in these pages are not merely victims, but often advocates, paving the way for eliminating the epidemic of violence in our country.

Artists Remaking Medicine is a bold chronicle of medical humanities in action that inspires new thinking about what is possible when we embrace the paradox of both loving medicine and challenging its most toxic structures. At the intersection of art and medicine,, acclaimed author Emily F. Peters teams with 25 artist changemakers to explore the history, practice, and future of radical creativity in healthcare.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics, which offers proof for how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts--and how this knowledge can improve our health, enable us to flourish, and build stronger communities. "This book blew my mind!"--Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit A BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * Finalist for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award and the Porchlight Business Book Award Many of us think of the arts as entertainment--a luxury of some kind. In Your Brain on Art, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross show how activities from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture, and more are essential to our lives. We're on the verge of a cultural shift in which the arts can deliver potent, accessible, and proven solutions for the well-being of everyone. Magsamen and Ross offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years. They expand our understanding of how playing music builds cognitive skills and enhances learning; the vibrations of a tuning fork create sound waves to counteract stress; virtual reality can provide cutting-edge therapeutic benefit; and interactive exhibits dissolve the boundaries between art and viewers, engaging all of our senses and strengthening memory. Doctors have even been prescribing museum visits to address loneliness, dementia, and many other physical and mental health concerns. Your Brain on Art is a portal into this new understanding about how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, and mend an aching planet. Featuring conversations with artists such as David Byrne, Renée Fleming, and evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, Your Brain On Art is an authoritative guide to neuroaesthetics. The book weaves a tapestry of breakthrough research, insights from multidisciplinary pioneers, and compelling stories from people who are using the arts to enhance their lives.

Does timing, circumstance, or luck impact your health care? This groundbreaking book reveals the hidden side of medicine and how unexpected--but predictable--events can profoundly affect our health. * Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Why do kids born in the summer get diagnosed more often with A.D.H.D.? How are marathons harmful for your health, even when you're not running? "Fantastically entertaining and deeply thought-provoking." --Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author of The Family Firm, Cribsheet, and Expecting Better "Random Acts of Medicine shows that the ingenious use of natural experiments can improve medicine and save lives." --Wall Street Journal As a University of Chicago-trained economist and Harvard medical school professor and doctor, Anupam Jena is uniquely equipped to answer these questions. And as a critical care doctor at Massachusetts General who researches health care policy, Christopher Worsham confronts their impact on the hospital's sickest patients. In this singular work of science and medicine, Jena and Worsham show us how medicine really works, and its effect on all of us. Relying on ingeniously devised natural experiments--random events that unknowingly turn us into experimental subjects--Jena and Worsham do more than offer readers colorful stories. They help us see the way our health is shaped by forces invisible to the untrained eye. Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Do you choose the veteran doctor or the rookie?  Do you really need the surgery your doctor recommends? These questions are rife with significance; their impact can be life changing. Addressing them in a style that's both animated and enlightening, Random Acts of Medicine empowers you to see past the white coat and find out what really makes medicine work--and how it could work better.

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An essential book for those coping with Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders that "reframe[s] our understanding of dementia with sensitivity and accuracy . . . to grant better futures to our loved ones and ourselves" (The New York Times). An estimated fifty million people in the world suffer from dementia. Diseases such as Alzheimer's erase parts of one's memory but are also often said to erase the self. People don't simply die from such diseases; they are imagined, in the clichés of our era, as vanishing in plain sight, fading away, or enduring a long goodbye. In On Vanishing, Lynn Casteel Harper, a Baptist minister and nursing home chaplain, investigates the myths and metaphors surrounding dementia and aging, addressing not only the indignities caused by the condition but also by the rhetoric surrounding it. Harper asks essential questions about the nature of our outsized fear of dementia, the stigma this fear may create, and what it might mean for us all to try to "vanish well." Weaving together personal stories with theology, history, philosophy, literature, and science, Harper confronts our elemental fears of disappearance and death, drawing on her own experiences with people with dementia both in the American healthcare system and within her own family. In the course of unpacking her own stories and encounters--of leading a prayer group on a dementia unit; of meeting individuals dismissed as "already gone" and finding them still possessed of complex, vital inner lives; of witnessing her grandfather's final years with Alzheimer's and discovering her own heightened genetic risk of succumbing to the disease--Harper engages in an exploration of dementia that is unlike anything written before on the subject. A rich and startling work of nonfiction, On Vanishing reveals cognitive change as it truly is, an essential aspect of what it means to be mortal.

A New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize | Named a best book of the year by The Guardian "Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park." --Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile Lindsey Fitzharris, the award-winning author of The Butchering Art, presents the compelling, true story of a visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War's injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery. From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: humankind's military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. Bodies were battered, gouged, hacked, and gassed. The First World War claimed millions of lives and left millions more wounded and disfigured. In the midst of this brutality, however, there were also those who strove to alleviate suffering. The Facemaker tells the extraordinary story of such an individual: the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to reconstructing the burned and broken faces of the injured soldiers under his care. Gillies, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after encountering the human wreckage on the front. Returning to Britain, he established one of the world's first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction. There, Gillies assembled a unique group of practitioners whose task was to rebuild what had been torn apart, to re-create what had been destroyed. At a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him a monster to a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits. The Facemaker places Gillies's ingenious surgical innovations alongside the dramatic stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine can be an art, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror.

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * "A stunning exposé of why Black people in our society 'live sicker and die quicker'--an eye-opening game changer."--Oprah Daily From an award-winning writer at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to the 1619 Project comes a landmark book that tells the full story of racial health disparities in America, revealing the toll racism takes on individuals and the health of our nation. In 2018, Linda Villarosa's New York Times Magazine article on maternal and infant mortality among black mothers and babies in America caused an awakening. Hundreds of studies had previously established a link between racial discrimination and the health of Black Americans, with little progress toward solutions. But Villarosa's article exposing that a Black woman with a college education is as likely to die or nearly die in childbirth as a white woman with an eighth grade education made racial disparities in health care impossible to ignore. Now, in Under the Skin, Linda Villarosa lays bare the forces in the American health-care system and in American society that cause Black people to "live sicker and die quicker" compared to their white counterparts. Today's medical texts and instruments still carry fallacious slavery-era assumptions that Black bodies are fundamentally different from white bodies. Study after study of medical settings show worse treatment and outcomes for Black patients. Black people live in dirtier, more polluted communities due to environmental racism and neglect from all levels of government. And, most powerfully, Villarosa describes the new understanding that coping with the daily scourge of racism ages Black people prematurely. Anchored by unforgettable human stories and offering incontrovertible proof, Under the Skin is dramatic, tragic, and necessary reading.