May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May 1, 2019 | sobczakd

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! The definition of mental health encompasses a wide range of conditions that affect how we think, how we feel and how we behave. As the World Health Organization famously says, “There is no health without mental health.” Not everyone faces challenges with their mental well-being. There are days some of us feel a bit down or overwhelmed. With the right coping methods, we can learn what works best for us in order to get back on track towards better health. Here are some books to get you started! 

Heal your drained brain : naturally relieve anxiety, combat insomnia, and balance your brain in just 14 days by Mike Dow

Are you anxious, frazzled, exhausted? Do you find yourself constantly worrying? Do you feel like you're "running on empty"? Do you have trouble sleeping? Like millions of people living today, your brain has become drained. These days, it seems like everything in our day-to-day lives-from our increasingly unpredictable world, to the smartphones we can't stop using, to the processed foods we eat all day long, to the many hours we spend at our jobs-is setting us up to feel drained. The short-term effects of becoming drained are uncomfortable, but the long-term effects can be life-threatening. Left untreated, it can quadruple your risk of high blood pressure-the #1 cause of preventable death. Finding natural solutions to anxiety and insomnia is becoming increasingly vital as sleeping pills, antianxiety medications, and hospitalizations have seen a dramatic spike recently. More and more people are desperate to heal their drained brains.

In his latest book, Dr. Mike Dow offers a 2-week plan designed to help you naturally balance your brain. He explains what drains modern brains and which groups are wired for it, and provides clinically proven tools to help you feel less drained. Dr. Mike offers nutritional tips, recipes, cognitive behavioral tools, supplements, breathing techniques, self-hypnosis, and mindfulness. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline go down as feel-good neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin rise. "When you balance your brain, you experience countless rewards. You have more energy. You feel like yourself again. You sleep more soundly and wake up looking forward to the day ahead. . . .I can't wait for you to become the best version of yourself, and I look forward to the life you will create when you are no longer drained."

The healthy mind toolkit : simple strategies to get out of your own way and enjoy your life by Alice Boyes

Whether we're aware or not, most of us are perpetrators and victims of self-sabotage, a powerful pattern of negative behavior in which we act against our own best interests and then blame ourselves or others for these self-inflicted failures. Self-sabotage can manifest as seemingly innocuous things like not following through on New Year's resolutions or as harmful actions like blaming or abusing someone we love. If left unchecked, it can damage or destroy marriages, careers, friendships, families, and even lives. In The Healthy Mind Toolkit, Dr. Alice Boyes, author of The Anxiety Toolkit, tackles four key areas of our lives where self-defeating behaviors are most prevalent- our brains/mindsets, self-esteem, relationships and work/money. Blending the latest scientific findings with cutting-edge CBT techniques, Dr. Boyes lays out a practical plan to counter whatever fear, anxiety, guilt, or insecurity is causing you to self-sabotage, including...
- How to identify specific ways you're hurting your success (for ex, setting impossibly high standards, people-pleasing and comparing current relationships to past ones)
- Quizzes at each chapter start to rate your level of self-sabotage in the four areas
- Simple, highly effective steps to quit harmful behaviors and live a healthier, happier life
Covering everything from rumination and envy to imposter syndrome, risk aversion, and over- or undervaluing things, The Healthy Mind Toolkit is the essential guide to get out of your own way and get on the path to success.

Celebrating Moms

May 1, 2019 | sobczakd

Sunday on May 12 is when we hit the pause button on our busy lives and take a moment to appreciate our mothers and motherhood. Mothers have a profound value in our lives and in many ways have the most challenging, greatest and toughest job in the world. They give us an abundance of unconditional love, support and acceptance. Mothers are our tireless cheerleader for every milestone we experience. Check out these new books celebrating the joys and challenges of motherhood. 

This is motherhood : a motherly collection of reflections + practices by Jill Koziol

With This Is Motherhood, the cofounders and contributors of the Motherly online community present a collection of essays and practices to celebrate motherhood in all its complexity. Here you'll find reflections on each phase of "the wild ride of motherhood," including the soaring highs of meeting your new baby, the ground-shaking lows that make you doubt everything you've ever known, and all the beauty and pain in between. Each chapter closes with practices from Motherly's team of wellness experts to help you define, clarify, process, and celebrate your journey.

Get the most out of motherhood : a hot mess to mindful mom parenting guide by Ali Katz

Slow down and take time for yourself--because a better you is a better mom! The second book in the Hot Mess to Mindful Mom series, Get the Most out of Motherhood will help moms create balance, peace, and well-being in their homes, leaving behind their old ways of being constantly stressed-out and frantic. In the first book, Ali focused on internal issues and taught women that by caring for themselves first, they can better care for their families and loved ones. This book is the natural next step for moms who now understand that a better you equals a better mom! She will guide women on how to embrace their best selves while parenting so they can strengthen relationships with their children, create systems in their homes that work, and actually enjoy doing it.

National Infant Immunization Week

April 25, 2019 | sobczakd

Starting April 26 through May 3, it's National Infant Immunization Week! Since 1994, National Infant Immunization Week has focused on the vital role vaccination plays in disease prevention. Vaccines safely protect our children and communities against contagious diseases. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), the number of reported cases of measles has reached its highest number in the United States since the disease was eradicated in 2000. Michigan is one of 22 states experiencing a measles outbreak. Stay informed by consulting with your doctor and for some perspective on the history of viral diseases, here's some resources from our health collection.    

American plagues : lessons from our battles with disease by Stephen H Gehlbach

Smallpox, yellow fever, malaria, and polio, fearful diseases that once beset Americans, are now largely, just unhappy history. Yet from our confrontations with these past plagues come lessons that inform today's struggles to understand and remedy problems like HIV/AIDS, coronary heart disease, and Ebola infection. American Plagues weaves stories of encounters with epidemics over our history with lessons that aid our present understanding of health and disease. Doctors and clergy, writers and newsmen, public health institutions, and even an entire town relate their personal experiences with various outbreaks and the ways they were identified, contained, and treated. The stories are filled with ambition and accomplishment, jealousy and disappointment, public spirit and self-interest, egotism and modesty. Some episodes lead to vital discoveries. Others were unproductive. Yet each proved instructive and expanded our abilities to gather and process information in ways that improve medicine and public health today. American Plagues gives readers insights into some of the people and events that make up our rich public health history as well as skills to better grasp the complex health information that cascades upon us from the media.

Deadly companions : how microbes shaped our history [electronic resource] by Dorothy H Crawford

Ever since we started huddling together in communities, the story of human history has been inextricably entwined with the story of microbes. They have evolved and spread amongst us, shaping our culture through infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, our changing human culture has itself influenced the evolutionary path of microbes. Dorothy H. Crawford here shows that one cannot be truly understood without the other. Beginning with a dramatic account of the SARS pandemic at the start of the twenty-first century, she takes us back in time to follow the interlinked history of microbes and man, taking an up-to-date look at ancient plagues and epidemics, and identifying key changes in the way humans have lived-such as our move from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller-which made us vulnerable to microbe attack. Showing how we live our lives today-with increasing crowding and air travel-puts us once again at risk, Crawford asks whether we might ever conquer microbes completely, or whether we need to take a more microbe-centric view of the world. Among the possible answers, one thing becomes clear: that for generations to come, our deadly companions will continue to shape human history.

Happy Puppy Day!

March 24, 2019 | sobczakd

March 23 is National Puppy Day! Puppies are so incredibly cute and irresistible, how can we not celebrate them?! There are all sorts of ways to celebrate National Puppy Day but if you need some ideas, click here for a list from a local news website. Want to learn more? Check out some materials from our pet collection!

Pick of the litter [videodisc]

Meet Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet, and Phil, five spirited puppies who, from the moment they're born, begin an incredible journey to become guide dogs for the blind. It's a rigorous two-year process that will take the pups from the care of selfless foster volunteers to specialized trainers to, if they make the cut, a lifelong human companion.

The dogist puppies by Elias Weiss Friedman

The Dogist Puppies, the follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Dogist, is a beautiful, funny, and endearing look at puppies. He fires up the Nikon. Fills his pockets with treats. Dresses in special gear--pants with built-in kneepads and shoes that are not only made for walking but also have a thick rubber toe for squatting. And last but not least, he packs a squeaky tennis ball. And then The Dogist is off, combing the streets in his quest to find dogs to photograph. Or, as has been the case for the past four years, puppies. Bringing his singular eye and sensibility to photographing puppies from birth to age one, Elias Weiss Friedman, aka The Dogist, captures hundreds of fuzzy faces to love and little furry bodies to covet. The Dogist Puppies is a celebration of oversize puppy paws and floppy puppy ears, puppies getting belly rubs and puppies unsure, exactly, of what that tail thing is for. Puppies at play, and puppies worn out from playing. Litters of puppies with their mom, and puppies with their human equivalents--children. Puppies in fancy outfits, and those poignant puppies having to wear the "cone of shame." Friedman has also taken a deep dive into breeds: Border Collies and Westies, Frenchies and Huskies, Boxers and the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, whose tender gaze looks just a little worried--perhaps concerned about living up to that name. The Dogist's new focus is on puppies. What more do you need to know?

World Down Syndrome Day

March 21, 2019 | sobczakd

Every year on March 21 since 2012, we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. It's a global call to action to help raise awareness for those with Down Syndrome. For special needs parents, it becomes a life-long quest to advocate for acceptance and to make world a more inclusive and accessible place. To learn more, this article by a mom whose son has Down Syndrome is very illuminating. Here's some resources to peruse from our collection.

Far from the tree [videodisc]

Based on The New York Times bestseller by Andrew Solomon, an intimate, profoundly human look at families raising children society deems 'abnormal': a mother and son determined to show the world that his Down syndrome does not define him; a couple learning to communicate with their bright but nonverbal autistic son; a young woman dealing with what it means to be the only little person in her family; and parents whose love for their son persists even after he has committed an unspeakable crime.

The parent's guide to Down syndrome : advice, information, inspiration, and support for raising your child from diagnosis through adulthood by Jen Jacob

As a parent of a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, you may be feeling unsure of what to do next or where your child's journey will take you. In this book, authors Jen Jacob and Mardra Sikora share their experiences and guide you through life with Ds with expert advice from diagnosis to adulthood. Each page teaches you ways to support your child through major milestones; nurture their development; and ensure that they succeed behaviorally, socially, and cognitively. You'll also find valuable information on:

  • Sharing the news with loved ones
  • Transitioning into primary school
  • Developing your child's social skills
  • Discussing future opportunities, including employment and housing options

With The Parent's Guide to Down Syndrome, you will have the tools you need to raise a happy, healthy, and thriving child.

College Admission...Staying on Course

March 15, 2019 | sobczakd

The recent cheating scandal involving an elaborate scheme to bribe admission officers, coaches and standardized testing administrators to admit students into elite schools has shaken and shocked the nation. As parents, we trust the higher education system to operate ethically and equally by admitting students who are qualified, who have earned their place through hard work and merit, and who have followed the rules to get there. It's in the hands of courts to see what happens next. In the meantime, here are resources to stay on a successful admission course to "you're in." 

I'm applying to college, now what? : a step-by-step guide to writing applications & essays by Angela Erikson

Applying to college can be one of the most stressful times in a student's life. With acceptance rates at colleges such as Stanford and Harvard being under 10 percent, students need to know how to craft a winning application. This book breaks the process down into easy-to-manage sections.

You will learn how to choose a topic, how to narrow your focus, how to edit and revise, how to choose your tone and structure, how to avoid the common pitfalls, and how to overcome writer's block. In addition, you will learn strategies for getting started, requirements for application, and critical writing tips. This book has sample essays and essay questions, and even examples of the essays specific colleges use. Admissions officers have chimed in with their expertise to provide insider information on how to compose impressive applications and essays for admissions and scholarships. Whether you are a high school freshman seeking a head start or a senior hoping to glean some last minute tips, this book is your go-to guide to getting accepted.

College admission 101 : simple answers to tough questions about college admissions and financial aid by Robert Franek

As The Princeton Review's chief expert on education, Robert Franek frequently appears on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX to share his insider expertise on the college admissions process. Each year, he travels to high schools across the country, advising thousands of anxious students and parents on how to turn their college hopes into reality.

Now, with College Admission 101, the best of Rob's wisdom has finally been collected in one place! From standardized tests to financial aid, Rob provides straightforward answers to 60+ of the questions he hears most often, including:

· Should I take the ACT or SAT?
· When should I start my college research?
· How many schools should I apply to?
· Will applying Early Decision or Early Action give me a leg up?
· Which extracurricular activities do colleges want to see?
· How does the financial aid process work?
· What's more important: GPA or test scores?

March is National Nutrition Month!

March 7, 2019 | sobczakd

March is National Nutrition Month! Good nutrition is essential is maintaining a healthy mind and body. Eating a well-balance diet can help boost our energy level and elevates our mood, which in turn reduces the risk for all sorts of health problems. To celebrate National Nutrition Month, stop by our library display! Discover our Gale Courses to learn how to make low fat and fast meals or how to achieve weight-loss goals successfully. Want to know more? Check out some of our new nutrition books!

Finally full, finally slim : 30 days to permanent weight loss one portion at a time by Lisa R Young

Finally Full, Finally Slim hows you how to permanently lose weight by right-sizing your portions without eliminating entire food groups or staring at an empty plate. Within these pages, Dr. Young outlines thirty days' worth of simple changes to help you shed pounds and provides a portion plan that assures you will feel satisfied. She expertly describes the relevance of diet to health and steers you toward whole foods and away from clever marketing claims that may be secretly sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. You'll learn useful strategies for how to eat out, enjoy special occasions, and indulge in a favorite treat without tipping the scale. And because weight loss is about more than food, Dr. Young addresses the whole person-your mind-set, environment, habits, and life-through research-based advice. You'll learn how relationships, gratitude, self-compassion, and sleep patterns, for instance, can make a difference. Portion control outlives all fad diets because it isn't a diet. It's a lifestyle. 

Dressing on the side (and other diet myth debunked) : 11 science-based ways to eat more, stress less, and feel great about your body by Jaclyn London

In her years of experience treating patients and studying health and nutrition, London has developed a set of tools for creating new patterns and healthful habits that get sustainable results. From having dessert every day to getting the best results from the least amount of working out, DRESSING ON THE SIDE gives readers tools they actually want that will still lead to weight loss, improved health, and (most importantly) a sustainable lifestyle of healthful habits.

Traditional diet programs are nearly all too hard to sustain or end abruptly without giving readers what they need to maintain results: either you quit your diet, or your diet quits you. What London shows in this book is that weight loss and healthy living are about good habits, and this book gives readers the 11 tools they need to create sustainable healthy habits that will let them lose weight, eat chocolate, and achieve optimal health. 

The Great Vaccine Debate

February 21, 2019 | sobczakd

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that seems to be a controversial topic among parents. The state of Michigan requires schoolchildren to be immunized from 14 contagious diseases, but it also allows exemptions. Measles is an especially potent virus. According to the CDC, there's been 101 cases reported of a measles outbreak in 10 states. The CDC has a link to a fact sheet for parents called Diseases and the Vaccines that Prevent them. Want to know more? Here's some books to help separate fact from fiction. 

Immunization : how vaccines became controversial by 1942- Stuart S. Blume

One of the most important tools in the public health arsenal, vaccines are to thank for the global eradication of smallpox, and for allowing us to defeat the dire threat of infectious disease for more than one hundred years. Vaccine development is where scientists turn when faced with the frightening spread of new diseases like Zika, SARS, and Ebola. So if vaccines have proven to be such an effective tool, why are growing numbers of people questioning the wisdom of vaccinating children? Why have public-sector vaccine producers almost vanished? And can we trust the multinational corporations that increasingly dominate vaccine development and production? In this highly original and controversial new book, Stuart Blume argues that processes of globalization and unmet healthcare needs are eroding faith in the institutions producing and providing vaccines. He brings together short, readable histories of immunization practices over the past century, from the work of early pioneers such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch to the establishment of the World Health Organization and the introduction of genetic engineered vaccines. Focusing on today's "vaccine hesitancy," the book exposes the inadequacies of public health persuasion, and discusses what will be needed to restore parents' confidence. This is a timely history, one that not only sheds new light on the origins of our global vaccine crisis, but also points a way forward.

Vaccines did not cause Rachel's autism : my journey as a vaccine scientist, pediatrician, and autism dad by Peter J Hotez

In 1994, Peter J. Hotez's nineteen-month-old daughter, Rachel, was diagnosed with autism. Dr. Hotez, a pediatrician-scientist who develops vaccines for neglected tropical diseases affecting the world's poorest people, became troubled by the decades-long rise of the influential anti-vaccine community and their inescapable narrative around childhood vaccines and autism. The alleged link between the two was first espoused in a fraudulent scientific paper, long since retracted, but the story shows no signs of letting up. As a result, we've seen deadly and disabling outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases around the country, and Texas, where Hotez lives, is at particular risk.

In Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism, Hotez draws on his experiences as a pediatrician, vaccine scientist, and father of an autistic child. Outlining the arguments on both sides of the debate, he examines the science that refutes the concerns of the anti-vaccine movement, debunks current conspiracy theories alleging a cover-up by the CDC, and critiques the scientific community's failure to effectively communicate the facts about vaccines and autism to the general public, all while sharing his very personal story of raising a now-adult daughter with autism.

King Reigns Supreme

February 13, 2019 | sobczakd

At this year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the field of finalists was crowded with favorites. But a fancy Wire Fox Terrier named King reigned supreme. The 7-year old took the top Best in Show prize at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in New York City's Madison Square Garden. King's handler had nothing but praise for the pooch saying, "he's the whole package." King is the 15th Wire Fox Terrier to win Best in Show, more than any other breed. Want to know more? Check out some of our Best in Show inspired selections! 

Show dog : the charmed life and trying times of a near-perfect purebred by Josh Dean

Journalist Josh Dean tells the story of a loveable Australian Shepherd, Jack, on his novice tour through the exciting world of professional dog showing, following Jack from his first competitions in local school gymnasiums all the way to the great granddaddy of them all, the Westminster Dog Show. A veteran journalist, Dean shines a warm, steady light on the trials that Jack and his plucky, dedicated owners come to face, and uses their story to explore the larger histories of dog shows themselves; the fascinating and sometimes bizarre history of purebred dogs; and our complex, heartfelt relationships to the pets we grow to love. For dog lovers, readers of Marley & Me, Merle's Door, and Oogy, and fans of Best in Show, Dean's Show Dog is an irresistible instant classic.

Love Your Heart

February 2, 2019 | sobczakd

February is American Heart Month. According to the American Heart Association, almost half of all adults have some sort of cardiovascular disease. It's an alarming statistic. Cardiovascular disease can be prevented by controlling high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, according to the American Heart Association. Here's some books to help motivate you to help keep your heart healthy! 

Heart solution for women : a proven program to prevent and reverse heart disease by Mark Menolascino

Heart disease remains the number one killer of women, outpacing breast cancer, diabetes, and stroke, with one in four women receiving a diagnosis in her lifetime. And the problem is only getting worse. Dr. Mark Menolascino has been on the front lines of cardiac research for most of his life, running a highly successful clinic where he takes a holistic, personalized approach to reversing disease and jump-starting health. Most of his patients are women struggling with symptoms and illnesses that stem from the most important, life-giving organ in the body: the heart. In Heart Solution for Women, Dr. Menolascino explores the many ways our hearts are the pathway to overall health. While the classic risk factors for heart disease--obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress, and poor diet--are critical components, symptoms of the disease manifest differently in women's bodies and can go misdiagnosed for years. They include depression, anxiety and panic attacks, poor sleep, and widespread pain, and can be masked during pregnancy, post-pregnancy, and menopause only to appear with great force later in life. Featuring the latest research on gut, brain, and hormone health and including answers to the most common heart-health misunderstandings, Heart Solution for Women finally gives women the tools to succeed, feel great in their bodies, and add years to their lives.

Turbo metabolism : 8 weeks to a new you : preventing and reversing diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other metabolic diseases by treating the causes by 1968- Pankaj K. Vij

Metabolic Syndrome: As the modern Western lifestyle spreads around the globe, so too does metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of symptoms that increases the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other conditions. The good news: metabolic syndrome can be tamed by a sensible program of exercise, natural foods, stress management, and quality sleep. In this concise and lively book, Dr. Pankaj Vij distills a mass of medical research into a simple, effective program for high energy and vibrant health. Avoiding fads and gimmicks, he provides practical advice, case studies of ordinary people, and brief sections that debunk common medical myths.

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