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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Road Trip


If there is any advice I'm willing to dole out to twenty-somethings as they flounder on the cusp of whatever this adulting thing is supposed to be, I say: "take a road trip with your friends." It's something my best friend and I always discussed, along with our daydreams of taking a train to New Orleans or bar hopping our way through Ireland. The farthest we ever got was Wisconsin Dells. I still have daydreams of road trips on Route 66, or mapping out a path to used books stores and yarn shops across the country. My bucket list consists of one goal: to see an ocean. Making plans for road trips, however, are routinely stalled. Things like bills, kids who get carsick, and my husband and I not even being able to navigate Rockford or Joliet without getting lost, (even with the handy dandy google maps telling us where we're supposed to go), tend to complicate matters. So I guess, in the meantime, I'll stick to armchair road-tripping.



Swerving through the seventies: a family boldly leaves its driveway -- Pioneers of the pavement: the long road to the interstates -- Hey, where's everybody going? : Americans set off to discover America -- Packed in like sardines: join us, won't you? -- Smokeys in the bush: dodging cops (and stops) on the interstates -- Time to pass: diversions, directions, and discoveries -- Eating up the miles: dining while driving -- Inn and out: motels, hotels, and invaders from space -- Heavy metal highways: land yachts, station wagons and "the Thing" -- Through the windshield together: a crash course in seatbelts and safety -- Up, up and away: all roads lead to the airport -- Leaving it all behind: the end of the road for road trips?
Includes index.



"Rob Kugler's A Dog Named Beautiful is an uplifting and unforgettable story of a US Marine, his extraordinary dog, and the road trip of a lifetime."--Provided by publisher



"The simple fact of the matter is that Iris loves life. Maybe she's forgotten that. Sometimes that happens, doesn't it? To the best of us? All I have to do is remind her of that one simple fact... When Iris Armstrong goes missing, her best friend Terry, wife, mother, and all-around worrier is convinced something bad has happened. And when she finds her glamorous, feisty friend, she's right: Iris is setting out on a journey that she plans to make her last. The only way for Terry to stop Iris is to join her, on a road trip that will take her, Iris and Terry's confused father Eugene onto a ferry, across the Irish sea and into an adventure that will change all of their lives. Somehow what should be the worst six days of Terry's life turn into the best."--Publisher description.



Bethanne Hamlin takes a road trip with her daughter, Annie, and her former mother-in-law, Ruth. They're driving to Florida for Ruth's 50th high school reunion. A long-time widow, Ruth would like very much to reconnect with Royce, the love of her youth. Bethanne's ex-husband, Grant, would like to reconcile, so she also has a major life decision to consider. And Annie is out to prove to her onetime boyfriend that she can live a brilliant life without him. But even the best-laid plans can take an unexpected turn-- or even be completely derailed.



"Two friends go on an antiquing road trip and get more than they bargained for when they pick up a third, stranded woman in this hilarious and heartwarming novel"-- Provided by the publisher.



As her only child Molly readies for college, local fabric shop owner Linda Davis shares one last adventure with her daughter -- a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they make their way through the heart of the country, Linda pieces together the scraps that makeup Molly's young life.



"Carol Denman divorced her husband twenty years ago and has never looked back. But on the day before her daughter's thirtieth birthday, John barges back into Carol's life with a request that threatens the fragile stability she has built. John Bowman is sick. Very sick. While he still can, he has some amends to make and some promises to fulfill. But to do that, he not only needs his ex-wife's agreement...he needs her. With the past hovering between them like a ghost, Carol and John embark on a decades-overdue road trip. Together they plunge back into a life without water...but which may ultimately set them free"--Back cover



Brothers Teodoro and Manny Avila take a road trip to address Manny's PTSD following his tour in Iraq, and to help T. change his life and win the heart of Wendy Martinez. Includes information and resources about PTSD.-- Provided by Publisher.



Three Pakistani-American teenagers, on a trip through the land of pork ribs, mechanical bulls, and Confederate flags. It's going to be quite an adventure. The summer after her freshman year of college, Mariam is looking forward to working and hanging out with her best friends: irrepressible and beautiful Ghazala, and religious but closeted Umar. But when a scandalous photo of Ghaz appears on a billboard in Times Square, Mariam and Umar come up with a plan to rescue her from her furious parents. And what could be a better escape than a spontaneous road trip down to New Orleans? With the heartbreaking honesty of Julie Murphy's Dumplin' mixed with with the cultural growing pains and smart snark of When Dimple Met Rishi, this wry, remarkable road-trip story is about questioning where you come from--and choosing the family that chooses you back.



The last time Jess saw her father, she was a boy. Now she's a high school graduate, soon to be on her way to art school. But first she has some unfinished business with her dad. So she's driving halfway across the country to his wedding. He happens to be marrying her mom's ex-best friend. It's not like Jess wasn't invited; she was. She just never told anyone she was coming. Surprise!

Luckily, Jess isn't making this trip alone. Her best friend, Christophe--nicknamed Chunk--is joining her.

Along the way, Jess and Chunk learn a few things about themselves--and each other--which call their feelings about their relationship into question.



Travel Guides:



This outstanding new cookbook will promote Illinois in a unique and long-lasting way. As a cookbook and tour guide, Eat & Explore Illinois features traditional recipes straight from the kitchens of Illinois cooks and profiles the festivals, events, and unique destinations that are the hallmarks of the state's traditions.



Discovering Illinois through twenty of the state's most important places ​A one-of-a-kind travel guide, Exploring the Land of Lincoln invites road-trippers and history buffs to explore the Prairie State's most extraordinary historic sites. Charles Titus blends storytelling with in-depth research to highlight twenty must-see destinations selected for human drama, historical and cultural relevance, and their far-reaching impact on the state and nation. Maps, illustrations, and mileage tables encourage readers to create personal journeys of exploration to, and beyond, places like Cahokia, the Lincoln sites, Nauvoo, and Chicago's South Side Community Art Center. Detailed and user-friendly, Exploring the Land of Lincoln is the only handbook you need for the sights and stories behind the names on the map of Illinois.




Sunshine, hot dogs, friends, and the excitement of the game: Baseball is called America's pastime for a reason. Experience the best of the MLB cities and stadiums with Moon Baseball Road Trips.



Vast rugged prairies, adventurous Wild West towns, and the palpable spirit of the pioneers: Experience legend come to life with Moon Oregon Trail Road Trip.



Whether you're hugging the coast or driving the Loneliest Road, find your adventure with The Open Road: 50 Road Trips in the USA.




Monday, May 24, 2021

Dracula Day


In commemoration of its publication, May 26th is World Dracula Day. Bram Stoker's Dracula was published on May 26, 1897. Serving as an inspiration for the tale was Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was tasked with defending Wallachia from the Ottomans, and he did so with relish. It is said that his personal death toll was nearly 100,000. 

 Worming its way into the hearts and minds of readers, Dracula's impact on popular culture is enduring. Dracula's film references are thought to number as high as 649, (https://universalmonsters.fandom.com/wiki/Dracula_in_popular_culture ). Dracula can now be found in everything from video games to ballet.








A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation, language, and culture to become one of the most popular novels ever written. It is a quintessential tale of suspense and horror, boasting one of the most terrifying characters ever born in literature: Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling specter who feeds upon the blood of the living, and whose diabolical passions prey upon the innocent, the helpless, and the beautiful. But Dracula also stands as a bleak allegorical saga of an eternally cursed being whose nocturnal atrocities reflect the dark underside of the supremely moralistic age in which it was originally written -- and the corrupt desires that continue to plague the modern human condition.
Pocket Books Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of Dracula was prepared by Joseph Valente, Professor of English at the University of Illinois and the author of Dracula's Crypt: Bram Stoker, Irishness, and the Question of Blood, who provides insight into the racial connotations of this enduring masterpiece.




Prince of the Night. Lord of the Damned. King of Vampires. He is Dracula, the most well-known vampire in the world--and this new illustrated edition of Bram Stoker's classic tale of terror offers Dracula as you have never seen him before. Brought to life through the stunning visual artistry of Eisner Award-winning illustrator Becky Cloonan (Demo, American Virgin, Victor Von Doom), this new graphically compelling novel offers a spellbinding, edition of the book that launched the world's enduring fascination with vampires: Bram Stoker's complete and unabridged Dracula. Illuminated and accentuated by the visionary hand of one of America's most gifted illustrators, Dracula is perfect for fans of the ghastly and paranormal, and unmissable for fans of True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and Tim Burton's macabre new film, Dark Shadows (release May 11, 2012) starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, and Jackie Earle Haley.



After a naive real estate agent succumbs to the will of the Count, the two head to London where the vampire hopes to stroll among respectable society by day and search for potential victims by night.


This book examines the life and times of Vlad Tepes Dracula, fifteenth-century leader, whose methods of punishment earned him the surname of "The Impaler" and inspired Bram Stoker's novel about Count Dracula.



It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here ... A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen--a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen--and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning. A riveting novel of gothic suspense, Dracul reveals not only Dracula's true origin, but Bram Stoker's--and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.



"Bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer...or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?"-- Provided by publisher.



While probing the apparent suicide of a colleague's niece, Iowa deputy sheriff Carl Houseman and his partner, Hester Gorse, discover a bizarre group of would-be vampires, led by a sinister twenty-first-century Dracula named Dan Peal.



Flower shop owner Abby Knight does not believe rumors that Vlad Serban, friend, and employee of Abby's fiancé Marco, is a vampire. But how to explain that Vlad is from Romania, has prominent canines, likes bizarre plants such as bloodwort and Dracula orchid, and dresses entirely in black?

When a local woman is found dead, her body drained of blood, the stakes become life and death. With Vlad the #1 suspect, Abby and Marco race to find the real killer, before Vlad's life really starts to suck.



New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke's sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker's new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie's imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can't be-can it? A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won't rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister's death. Unfortunately, Tillie's addicted to more than just truth; to ease the pain from a recent injury, she's taking more and more laudanum...and some in her immediate circle are happy to keep her well supplied. Tillie can't bring herself to believe vampires exist. But with the hysteria surrounding her sister's death, the continued vampiric slayings, and the opium swirling through her body, it's becoming increasingly difficult for a girl who relies on facts and figures to know what's real-or whether she can trust those closest to her.



A girl child is born to Vlad Dracula, in Transylvania, in 1435. Rejected by her father and ignored by her mother, Lada is sent with her younger brother, Radu, to be raised in the Ottoman courts. They meet Mehmed, son of the sultan, and form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point. She will grow up to be Lada Dragwlya, a vicious and brutal princess, destined to rule and destroy her enemies.



"Henry Irving is Victorian London's most celebrated actor and theater impresario. He has introduced groundbreaking ideas to the theater, bringing to the stage performances that are spectacular, shocking, and always entertaining. When Irving decides to open his own London theater with the goal of making it the greatest playhouse on earth, he hires a young Dublin clerk harboring literary ambitions by the name of Bram Stoker to manage it. As Irving's theater grows in reputation and financial solvency, he lures to his company of mummers the century's most beloved actress, the dazzlingly talented leading lady Ellen Terry, who nightly casts a spell not only on her audiences but also on Stoker and Irving both. Bram Stoker's extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write Dracula, the most iconic and best-selling supernatural tale ever published"-- Provided by publisher.




Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Older Americans Month




I miss my grandparents. The sound of Grandpa Joe snoring as the Cubs play, the food from Grandma Jean, the shots of whiskey Boompa snuck me, and tea with Grandma Fig.  Those are just snippets of memories that stay with me.  Currently, I'm trying to grapple with the concept that my parents are the age I remember my grandparents being and I am somehow at the age that my parents are supposed to be.  I'll eventually come to terms with the fact that 1990 wasn't 10 years ago.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford declared May to be Older Americans Month. This is to honor the contributions of Older Americans, through their work, volunteerism, and to their families. Another purpose is to bring awareness to elder abuse and neglect and the steps we can take to prevent it.

Non-Fiction:



A philosopher and a lawyer-economist examine the challenges of the last third of life. They write about friendship, sex, retirement communities, inheritance, poverty, and the depiction of aging women in films. These essays, or conversations, will help readers of all ages think about how to age well, or at least thoughtfully, and how to interact with older family members and friends.



Ursula K. Le Guin took readers to imaginary worlds for decades. In her last great frontier of life, old age, she explored a new literary territory: the blog, a forum where she shined. The collected best of Ursula's blog, No Time to Spare presents perfectly crystallized dispatches on what mattered to her late in life, her concerns with the world, and her wonder at it: "How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn. Billionaires, all of us."



"A luminous, wise, and joyful insight into what really matters at the end of a long life, from the beloved author of the award-winning Somewhere Towards the End. What will you remember if you live to be 100? Diana Athill charmed readers with her prize-winning memoir Somewhere Towards the End, which transformed her into an unexpected literary star. Now, on the eve of her ninety-eighth birthday, Athill has written a sequel every bit as unsentimental, candid, and beguiling as her most beloved work. Writing from her cozy room in Highgate, London, Diana begins to reflect on the things that matter after a lifetime of remarkable experiences, and the memories that have risen to the surface and sustain her in her very old age. 'My two valuable lessons are: avoid romanticism and abhor possessiveness, ' she writes. In warm, engaging prose she describes the bucolic pleasures of her grandmother's garden and the wonders of traveling as a young woman in Europe after the end of the Second World War. As her vivid, textured memories range across the decades, she relates with unflinching candor her harrowing experience as an expectant mother in her forties and crafts unforgettable portraits of friends, writers, and lovers. A pure joy to read, Alive, Alive Oh! sparkles with wise and often very funny reflections on the condition of being old. Athill reminds us of the joy and richness of every stage of life--and what it means to live life fully, without regrets"-- Provided by publisher.



In Keep Moving, Dick Van Dyke offers his own playful anecdotes and advice, as well as insights from his brother, actor Jerry Van Dyke; his friend and creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Carl Reiner; and other spirited friends and family. Whether he's describing the pleasure he takes in his habitual visits to the grocery store; how he met his late-in-life-love Arlene; or how he sprung back, livelier than ever, from a near-death experience, Dick's optimistic outlook is an invigorating tonic for anyone who needs a reminder that life should be lived with enthusiasm despite what the calendar says.



Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing the natural world, chronicling the customs of pre-contact hunter-gatherers and the secret lives of deer and dogs. In this book, the capstone of her long career, Thomas, now eighty-eight, turns her keen eye to her own life. The result is an account of growing old that is at once funny and charming and intimate and profound, both a memoir and a life-affirming map all of us may follow to embrace our later years with grace and dignity.


Fiction:



"A curmudgeonly but charming old woman, her estranged grandson, and a colony of penguins proves it's never too late to be the person you want to be in this rich, heartwarming story from the acclaimed author of Ellie and the Harpmaker. Eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy is estranged from her family and wants to find a worthwhile cause to leave her fortune to. When she sees a documentary about penguins being studied in Antarctica, she tells the scientists she's coming to visit and won't take no for an answer. Shortly after arriving, she convinces the reluctant team to rescue an orphaned baby penguin. He becomes part of life at the base, and Veronica's closed heart starts to open. Her grandson, Patrick, follows Veronica to Antarctica to make one last attempt to get to know his grandmother. Together, Veronica, Patrick, and even the scientists learn what family, love, and connection are all about"-- Provided by publisher.



After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant). It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle.



"In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. There's Red Ron, the infamous former socialist firebrand, still causing trouble; gentle Joyce, widowed, pining for another resident, but surely not as innocent as she seems; Ibrahim, a former therapist who understands the darker side of human nature; and Elizabeth? Well, no one is quite sure who she really is, but she's definitely not a woman to underestimate. When a local developer is found dead, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. The friends might be septuagenarians, but they are cleverer than most. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before its too late?



When Edward Schuyler, a modest and bookish sixty-two-year-old science teacher, is widowed, he finds himself ambushed by female attention. There are plenty of unattached women around, but a healthy, handsome, available man is a rare and desirable creature. Edward receives phone calls from widows seeking love, or at least lunch, while well-meaning friends try to set him up at dinner parties. Even an attractive married neighbor offers herself to him. The problem is that Edward doesn't feel available. He's still mourning his beloved wife, Bee, and prefers solitude and the familiar routine of work, gardening, and bird-watching. But then his stepchildren surprise him by placing a personal ad in The New York Review of Books on his behalf."--Provided by publisher. flood in and Edward is torn between his loyalty to Bee's



At the edge of the continent, in the small town of Crosby, Maine, lives Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher who deplores the changes in her town and in the world at large but doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her.



Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon; the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him 'the bitter neighbour from hell'. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Behind the cranky exterior, there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.






Monday, May 17, 2021

Health Awareness


May is a big month for Health Awareness. From Arthritis to Skin Cancer, Women's Health to Children's Mental Health, Asthma Awareness Day, No Tobacco Day, and many more in between, there is a call for awareness on various health issues.






"A riveting and candid account of a young journalist's awakening to a life of chronic illness, weaving together her personal story with reporting to shed light on how Americans live with long-term diagnoses today"-- Provided by publisher.



"The funny, defiant memoir of Sarah Ramey's years-long battle with a mysterious illness that doctors thought was all in her head--but wasn't. A revelation and an inspiration for millions of women whose legitimate health complaints are ignored. In her darkly funny and courageous memoir, Sarah Ramey recounts the decade-long saga of how a seemingly minor illness in her senior year of college turned into a prolonged and elusive condition that destroyed her health but that doctors couldn't diagnose or treat. Worse, as they failed to cure her, they hinted that her problems were all in her head. The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness is a memoir with a mission: to help the millions of (mostly) women who suffer from unnamed or misunderstood conditions: autoimmune illnesses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, chronic pain, and many more. Sarah's pursuit of a diagnosis and cure for her own mysterious illness becomes a page-turning medical mystery that reveals a newly emerging understanding of modern illnesses as ecological in nature. Her book will open eyes, change lives, and ultimately change medicine"-- Provided by publisher.



"A concise guide to understanding and overcoming chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia"-- Provided by publisher.



Posing the urgent questions that anyone with food allergies will think to ask, Food Allergies provides practical, sensitive, and scientific guidance on the topics that affect your life. Allergy expert Scott H. Sicherer addresses the full spectrum of food allergies, from mild to life threatening and from single foods to food families, clearing up misconceptions along the way"--Publisher information.



If you've just been diagnosed with celiac disease, you're not alone: as many as 1 in 133 Americans have this autoimmune disorder characterized by an inability to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. For ten years, Jules Shepard's gastrointestinal symptoms went misdiagnosed. Finally diagnosed, she experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and illness the year following, as she discovered what she could and could not eat through trial and error. Here, Shepard explains everything you need to learn and do upon your or a family member's diagnosis: how celiac disease affects your entire body; eating gluten-free (and avoiding hidden glutens); keeping your kitchen safe from cross-contamination; alcoholic beverages; celiac and fertility; finding support groups; parenting a child with celiac disease; dining out, traveling, and entertaining. This guide prioritizes the most important information on diet and lifestyle changes, day by day, week by week, month by month. Complete with easy recipes.--From publisher description.



From the leading authority on children's health comes an invaluable resource for parents and caregivers trying to cope with the challenges of childhood asthma and allergies. This guide has been updated to reflect new research and recommendations, including new guidelines for monitoring asthma from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as well as the latest information on the treatment of allergies, specifically food allergies. Topics such as identifying allergies and asthma, preventing attacks, minimizing triggers and avoiding allergens, choosing medications wisely, and explaining allergies to young children are covered in detail. Also providing guidance on medications, recommendations on patient education in settings beyond the physician's office, and new advice for controlling environmental factors that can cause asthma symptoms, this reference helps families deal with the most common chronic childhood diseases of asthma and allergies.



"Did you know we have 100,000 heartbeats a day? That's a lot of wear and tear over the years as we age. Natural aging leads to artery plaque, high blood pressure, and slower and irregular heartbeats. You can do everything right, and time will still pass. You will still age. While you can influence some aspects of aging on your own, some you cannot--at least not without your doctor's help. Fortunately, the biology of aging is no longer mysterious. Heart and blood vessel health is knowable, measurable, and manageable. In You Can Prevent a Stroke, Dr. Joshua Yamamoto and Dr. Kristin Thomas help us understand what we can do, and what we can ask of our doctors, to manage the effects of aging on our circulation so that we do not have a stroke. For years, they have approached patients with the fundamentals learned at The Johns Hopkins Hospital: "Take responsibility for your patient's health, go in-depth, have an unswerving commitment to solving problems, be thorough, thoughtful, and have attention to detail." There is no one-size-fits-all solution or magical cure for anything. But there are principles that can serve as useful guides for everyone and provide an approach to managing the natural processes that affect us all. Some preventative steps include: Establishing a relationship with a physician Knowing the health of your heart Knowing the health of your arteries Knowing the regularity of your heartbeat Knowing if it's time to take a medicine to prevent plaque in your arteries, and whether you need a pill to prevent a blood clot Strokes are usually said to be tragic and random. They are certainly tragic, but they are not random. Strokes can be avoided, and You Can Prevent a Stroke will explain how"-- Provided by publisher.



Using evidence-based research, first-hand stories and her own experience, the author compiles the latest information about bolstering bones, from prevention to treatment, into a single, easy-to-understand resource. -- From publisher.



The Lupus Encyclopedia is an authoritative compendium that provides detailed explanations of every body system potentially affected by the disease, along with practical advice about coping. People with lupus, their loved ones, caregivers, and medical professionals--all will find here an invaluable resource. Illustrated with photographs, diagrams, and tables, The Lupus Encyclopedia explains symptoms, diagnostic methods, medications and their potential side effects, and when to seek medical attention. Dr. Donald Thomas provides information for women who wish to become pregnant and advises readers about working with a disability, complementary and alternative medicine, infections, cancer, and a host of other topics.



Using the recommendations of the U.S. Preventative Health Services Task Force as a starting point, physicians Michele C. Moore and Caroline M. de Costa describe and explain screening tests for STDs and other communicable diseases, diabetes, thyroid disease, bone loss, various genetic tests, pregnancy, and cancer (including breast, colon, and skin). A section on common blood tests demystifies the numerical results that can be virtually impossible to interpret for women outside the medical profession. The authors detail what is considered "normal" as well as what's not-to help women make sense of their results.

Favorite Books Read in 2024

2024 has been a reading slump for me.  I struggled to select which books to read.  I also struggled to settle myself so I could just sit and...