Best of
Medical

2019

War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line


David Nott - 2019
    From Sarajevo under siege in 1993 to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out lifesaving operations in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major metropolitan hospital. He is now widely acknowledged as the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world.War Doctor is his extraordinary story, encompassing his surgeries in nearly every major conflict zone since the end of the Cold War, as well as his struggles to return to a “normal” life and routine after each trip. Culminating in his recent trips to war-torn Syria—and the untold story of his efforts to help secure a humanitarian corridor out of besieged Aleppo to evacuate some 50,000 people—War Doctor is a blend of medical memoir, personal journey, and nonfiction thriller that provides unforgettable, at times raw, insight into the human toll of war.

Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom


Katherine Eban - 2019
    Drawing on exclusive accounts from whistleblowers and regulators, as well as thousands of pages of confidential FDA documents, Eban reveals an industry where fraud is rampant, companies routinely falsify data, and executives circumvent almost every principle of safe manufacturing to minimize cost and maximize profit, confident in their ability to fool inspectors. Meanwhile, patients unwittingly consume medicine with unpredictable and dangerous effects.The story of generic drugs is truly global. It connects middle America to China, India, sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil, and represents the ultimate litmus test of globalization: what are the risks of moving drug manufacturing offshore, and are they worth the savings? A decade-long investigation with international sweep, high-stakes brinkmanship and big money at its core, Bottle of Lies reveals how the world’s greatest public-health innovation has become one of its most astonishing swindles.

Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come


Richard Preston - 2019
    Now comes a gripping account of the doctors and scientists fighting to protect us, an urgent wake-up call about the future of emerging viruses—from the #1 bestselling author of The Hot Zone, soon to be a National Geographic original miniseries.This time, Ebola started with a two-year-old child who likely had contact with a wild creature and whose entire family quickly fell ill and died. The ensuing global drama activated health professionals in North America, Europe, and Africa in a desperate race against time to contain the viral wildfire. By the end—as the virus mutated into its deadliest form, and spread farther and faster than ever before—30,000 people would be infected, and the dead would be spread across eight countries on three continents.In this taut and suspenseful medical drama, Richard Preston deeply chronicles the outbreak, in which we saw for the first time the specter of Ebola jumping continents, crossing the Atlantic, and infecting people in America. Rich in characters and conflict—physical, emotional, and ethical—Crisis in the Red Zone is an immersion in one of the great public health calamities of our time.Preston writes of doctors and nurses in the field putting their own lives on the line, of government bureaucrats and NGO administrators moving, often fitfully, to try to contain the outbreak, and of pharmaceutical companies racing to develop drugs to combat the virus. He also explores the charged ethical dilemma over who should and did receive the rare doses of an experimental treatment when they became available at the peak of the disaster. Crisis in the Red Zone makes clear that the outbreak of 2013–2014 is a harbinger of further, more severe outbreaks, and of emerging viruses heretofore unimagined—in any country, on any continent. In our ever more interconnected world, with roads and towns cut deep into the jungles of equatorial Africa, viruses both familiar and undiscovered are being unleashed into more densely populated areas than ever before.The more we discover about the virosphere, the more we realize its deadly potential. Crisis in the Red Zone is an exquisitely timely book, a stark warning of viral outbreaks to come.

The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It


Marty Makary - 2019
    Dr. Makary, one of the nation's leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research, and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of price-gouging, middlemen, and a series of elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up. Dr. Makary shows how so much of health care spending goes to things that have nothing to do with health and what you can do about it. Dr. Makary challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine's noble heritage of caring for people when they are vulnerable.The Price We Pay offers a roadmap for everyday Americans and business leaders to get a better deal on their health care, and profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement to restore medicine to its mission, Makary argues, is alive and well--a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save our country from the crushing cost of health care.

The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine


Jennifer Gunter - 2019
    Jen Gunter now delivers the definitive book on vaginal health, answering the questions you've always had but were afraid to ask--or couldn't find the right answers to. She has been called Twitter's resident gynecologist, the Internet's OB/GYN, and one of the fiercest advocates for women's health...and she's here to give you the straight talk on the topics she knows best.Does eating sugar cause yeast infections? Does pubic hair have a function? Should you have a vulvovaginal care regimen?Will your vagina shrivel up if you go without sex?What's the truth about the HPV vaccine?So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it's easy to be overwhelmed--whether it's websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? OB-GYN Jen Gunter, an expert on women's health--and the internet's most popular go-to doc--comes to the rescue with a book that debunks the myths and educates and empowers women. From reproductive health to the impact of antibiotics and probiotics, and the latest trends, including vaginal steaming, vaginal marijuana products, and jade eggs, Gunter takes us on a factual, fun-filled journey. Discover the truth about:- The vaginal microbiome - Genital hygiene, lubricants, and hormone myths and fallacies - How diet impacts vaginal health - Stem cells and the vagina - Cosmetic vaginal surgery - What changes to expect during pregnancy, after childbirth, and through menopause - How medicine fails women by dismissing symptomsPlus: - Thongs vs. lace: the best underwear for vaginal health - How to select a tampon - The full glory of the clitoris and the myth of the G Spot... And so much more. Whether you're a twenty-six-year-old worried that her labia are "uncool" or a sixty-six-year-old dealing with painful sex, this comprehensive guide is sure to become a lifelong trusted resource.

The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir


Steffanie Strathdee - 2019
    What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world.Frantic, Steffanie combed through research old and new and came across phage therapy: the idea that the right virus, aka "the perfect predator," can kill even the most lethal bacteria. Phage treatment had fallen out of favor almost 100 years ago, after antibiotic use went mainstream. Now, with time running out, Steffanie appealed to phage researchers all over the world for help. She found allies at the FDA, researchers from Texas A&M, and a clandestine Navy biomedical center -- and together they resurrected a forgotten cure.

Against All Odds: The inside account of the Thai cave rescue and the courageous Australians at the heart of it


Craig Challen - 2019
    You’re going to dive to the end of the cave. You’re going to see these kids. They’re all looking healthy and happy and smiley. Then, you’re going to swim away, and they’re probably all going to die.’ In June 2018, for seventeen days, the world watched and held its breath as the Wild Boars soccer team were trapped deep in a cave in Thailand. Marooned beyond flooded cave passages after unexpected rains, they were finally rescued, one-by-one, against almost impossible odds, by an international cave-diving team which included Australians Dr Richard Harris and Dr Craig Challen.These two men were chosen for their medical expertise and cave diving knowledge, but this dangerous rescue asked so much more of them. They had to remain calm under extreme pressure and intense scrutiny, adapt to constantly changing circumstances and importantly, build trust among the rescue team and with the young boys and their coach, whose lives were in their hands. Here is the story of these two Australian men who became international heroes – it is a story of determination, cunning and triumph that will long be remembered.

That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour


Sunita Puri - 2019
    Sunita Puri knew from a young age that the gulf between her parents' experiences and her own was impossible to bridge, save for two elements: medicine and spirituality. Between days spent waiting for her mother, an anesthesiologist, to exit the OR, and evenings spent in conversation with her parents about their faith, Puri witnessed the tension between medicine's impulse to preserve life at all costs and a spiritual embrace of life's temporality. And it was that tension that eventually drew Puri, a passionate but unsatisfied medical student, to palliative medicine--a new specialty attempting to translate the border between medical intervention and quality-of-life care.Interweaving evocative stories of Puri's family and the patients she cares for, That Good Night is a stunning meditation on impermanence and the role of medicine in helping us to live and die well, arming readers with information that will transform how we communicate with our doctors about what matters most to us.

Muted


L.H. Owens - 2019
    Although unable to speak since the tragedy that took place on his eighth birthday, his words reach out to people across the globe. When he learns that more than a thousand Friesian stallions are being held by the U.S. pharmaceutical company, Pilatos Industries, he knows he has to do all he can to free them. The heir to Pilatos, the cool and efficient lawyer Karen Lawford, will do everything in her power to stop him. Karen's mother, a breeder of international show jumpers, notes that, "Those stallions represent an evil at the heart of Pilatos, and one wrongdoing is usually an indication of others." The extent of that evil becomes apparent as the release date of their new drug approaches. With Pilatos relying on the success of the revolutionary Stablex, there are no limits to what they will do to ensure Lane does not interfere with the Stablex stallions, which are needed to produce the drug. Lane tries to convince Karen that the stallions at Pilatos must be given their freedom, but his beliefs are losing the battle against the Pilatos creed of greed, and it is only when she learns the shocking truth of what lies at the centre of the laboratories that any change can take place… but is it too late for Lane? Sometimes, you only know how much you love someone once you lose them. The story takes you to The Spanish Riding School, the mountains of Austria and the wilds of America and Australia as Lane tries to reawaken Karen's love of horses and bring back the colour to her grey life. He believes she is the key to saving the stallions, but, since childhood, her father has taught her to put Pilatos ahead of all else, and that loyalty appears to be an insurmountable obstacle in his mission to free the stallions. A moving love story set against the greed of the corporate world. A story that explores what is important in life as the wisdom of Lane Dimity touches all those around him. You don't need to like horses to enjoy the book, but even the most experienced horse people will appreciate the knowledge shared by Lane. Quotes from readers: "I fell in love with Lane...where can I meet him? A great love story and I learned so much about horses." "I couldn't believe what Pilatos were doing, then I looked around where I work and I realised that is exactly what they would do. Chilling, enlightening and, thankfully, uplifting." "I read it for the horses and I wasn't disappointed. Lipizzaners, Friesians, Warmbloods, mustangs and others, presented knowledgably by a writer who knows horses. It left me with a lot to think about. I loved this book."

Letters from the Pit: Stories of a Physician's Odyssey in Emergency Medicine


Patrick Crocker - 2019
    Every day the staff of emergency rooms throughout the world are saving lives - 24/7/365. Dr. Patrick Crocker provides us an intimate glimpse into the growing mind of an emergency physician, from residency to retirement. Told in a unique first-person stream of consciousness style, you are right in the middle of the action, looking over the doctor's shoulder while he works. In this compilation of notable, frightening, funny, sad, and poignant cases, you'll see Dr. Crocker's struggles to Do No Harm in the most challenging of situations. Through these stories, you'll see him find the delicate balance between help and harm, empathy and self-preservatio

Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love


Abby Maslin - 2019
    After her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury, the couple worked together as he recovered--and they learned to love again. When Abby Maslin's husband, TC, didn't make it home on August 18, 2012, she knew something was terribly wrong. Her fears were confirmed when she learned that her husband had been beaten by three men and left for dead mere blocks from home, all for his cell phone and debit card.The days and months that followed were a grueling test of faith. As TC recovered from a severe traumatic brain injury that left him unable to speak and walk, Abby faced the challenge of caring for--and loving--a husband who now resembled a stranger.Love You Hard is the raw, unflinchingly honest story of a young love left broken, and the resilience required to mend a life and remake a marriage. Told from the caregiver's perspective, this book is a daring exploration of true love: what it means to love beyond language, beyond abilities, and into the place that reveals who we really are.At the heart of Abby and TC's unique and captivating story are the universal truths that bind us all. This is a tale of living and loving wholeheartedly, learning to heal after profound grief, and choosing joy in the wake of tragedy.

A Doctor's Promise


Laura Scott - 2019
    Jared O'Connor has given his parents a promise--to find his dead brother's fiancee and child. But his mission is derailed when he meets beautiful flight nurse Shelly Bennett. The sadness in her eyes, mirrors his own, and he is drawn to her and to her young son in a way he's never experienced before. Shelly can't afford to be distracted by Jared's attention. Her son's upcoming testing may confirm he has kidney failure--there's no room for anything else in her life. But when Jared uncovers the truth, she realizes her days of running from the past are over. But can she forgive Jared long enough to accept his love?

Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next


Timothy Faust - 2019
    It's cheaper than our current model, and most Americans (and their doctors) already want it. So what's the deal with our current healthcare system, and why don’t we have something better?In Health Justice Now, Timothy Faust explains what single payer is, why we don't yet have it, and how it can be won. He identifies the actors that have misled us for profit and political gain, dispels the myth that healthcare needs to be personally expensive, shows how we can smoothly transition to a new model, and reveals the slate of humane and progressive reforms that we can only achieve with single payer as the springboard.In this impassioned playbook, Faust inspires us to believe in a world where we could leave our job without losing healthcare for ourselves and our kids; where affordable housing is healthcare; and where social justice links arm-in-arm with health justice for us all. Single payer is the tool—health justice is the goal!

Breaking & Mending: A Doctor’s Story of Burnout and Recovery


Joanna Cannon - 2019
    I was mentally and physically broken. So fractured, I hadn't eaten properly or slept well, or even changed my expression for months. I sat in a cubicle, behind paper-thin curtains, listening to the rest of the hospital happen around me, and I shook with the effort of not crying. I was an inch away from defeat, from the acceptance of a failure I assumed would be inevitable, but I knew I had to carry on. I had to somehow walk through it.Because I wasn't the patient. I was the doctor."A frank account of mental health from both sides of the doctor-patient divide, from the bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie, based on her own experience as a doctor working on a psychiatric ward.

When Death Becomes Life: Notes from a Transplant Surgeon


Joshua D. Mezrich - 2019
    Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day.When Death Becomes Life is a thrilling look at how science advances on a grand scale to improve human lives. Mezrich examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the inspiring and heartbreaking stories of his transplant patients. Combining gentle sensitivity with scientific clarity, Mezrich reflects on his calling as a doctor and introduces the modern pioneers who made transplantation a reality—maverick surgeons whose feats of imagination, bold vision, and daring risk taking generated techniques and practices that save millions of lives around the world.Mezrich takes us inside the operating room and unlocks the wondrous process of transplant surgery, a delicate, intense ballet requiring precise timing, breathtaking skill, and at times, creative improvisation. In illuminating this work, Mezrich touches the essence of existence and what it means to be alive. Most physicians fight death, but in transplantation, doctors take from death. Mezrich shares his gratitude and awe for the privilege of being part of this transformative exchange as the dead give their last breath of life to the living. After all, the donors are his patients, too.When Death Becomes Life also engages in fascinating ethical and philosophical debates: How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death, and what role did organ transplantation play in that definition? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich’s riveting book is a beautiful, poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.

Some Days You Can’t Save Them All


Ronnie E. Baticulon - 2019
    But a physician’s incorrect diagnosis will always be a matter of life and death. Dr. Baticulon’s dispatches from the country’s leading public hospital are told in language that requires no further acrobatics. How do you tell a mother that the smiling ten-year-old boy in her arms will not survive the following week? How do you tell a little girl she’ll never be able to go home to play because her parents can’t afford P54,000 for her surgery? How do you live with yourself after breaking a promise to save an eight-year-old boy’s life? Like the trenches of war zones, the operating room is the frontline of life’s most difficult questions. Here are a neurosurgeon’s gripping ruminations on hope and loss."—Lourd De Veyra"Ronnie Baticulon follows in the footsteps of many other physicians for whom the task of understanding and healing humanity did not stop at the clinic or the operating room. They used words and language not only for their patients but also for themselves—a long and distinguished line from Rabelais, Chekhov, and Maugham to Michael Crichton, Richard Selzer, Oliver Sacks, and of course our own Jose Rizal and Arturo Rotor. Dr. Baticulon is a worthy addition to that tradition."—Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.

Breakthrough: The Miraculous True Story of a Mother's Faith and Her Child's Resurrection


Joyce Smith - 2019
    At the hospital, John lay lifeless for more than sixty minutes. But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She mustered all her faith and strength into one force and cried out to God in a loud voice to save him.Miraculously, her son's heart immediately started beating again.In the coming days, John would defy every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Sixteen days after falling through the ice and being clinically dead for an hour, he walked out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed.The Impossible is about a profound truth: prayer really does work. God uses it to remind us that He is always with us, and when we combine it with unshakable faith, nothing is impossible.

The Gap: A paramedic’s summer on the edge


Benjamin Gilmour - 2019
    And we meet fellow paramedic Tom who, they say, can get a laugh out of everyone except the dead. As the city heats up that summer, however, even Tom begins to lose his sense of humour. People are unravelling – and Benjamin and Tom are no exception.The Gap is a vivid portrait of the lead-up to Christmas; an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at what happens after the triple-zero call is made – the drugs, nightclubs, brothels, drunk rich kids, billionaires, domestic disputes, the elderly, emergency births, even a kidnapping. Patients share their innermost feelings, and we witness their loneliness, their despair and their hopes. Beautifully written and sharply observed, The Gap exposes the fragility of our lives and the lengths the paramedics will go to to try to save us.

The Forever Gift


Brooke Harris - 2019
    There’s a tag dangling from the centre of the red bow which says Love from Kayla in her beautiful, swirly handwriting. I read over the three words countless times, tracing the letters with my fingertip. How is this possible? Heather’s beloved daughter, Kayla, is her world. She is fifteen, a brilliant basketball player and a fierce friend. Heather and Kayla have always had a special relationship. For so many years it was just the two of them, watching Friends, baking cupcakes and laughing together. But now Kayla knows her time is short, and she wants to give something back to the mother she loves more than anyone else in the world. A gift that will change Heather’s life. With just a handful of days left, Kayla will need help from everyone around her to make this last surprise happen. Along the way, the people whose lives have been touched by Kayla’s light will be changed by her loss, and by her plan for Heather. And as Heather’s whole world threatens to fall apart, could Kayla’s forever gift be the key to piecing her life back together?

A Really Bad Idea


Jeannine Colette - 2019
    Mine just happens to be Dr. Christian Gallagher— the gorgeous, green-eyed heart surgeon who wants to have a baby with me. Yes, you read that correctly. When my mother approached me on my thirty-third birthday with a brochure for egg freezing, it was a glaring reminder that my biological clock is ticking toward its expiration date. I’ve always dreamed of being a mom and had a plan — one that was destroyed when I caught my professional hockey player husband in bed with another woman. Despite my broken heart I still believe in love. I want the happily ever after, but I also want a child desperately and won't settle in order to make it happen. That’s why when I decided to take my mother’s advice, Christian came up with his own plan: Let’s have a baby together. It’s a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. And yet...I can’t stop thinking about how great it could be. There’s just one condition. Before we have sex (oh, yes, we’re doing this the old fashioned way!) Christian is adamant we go on three dates. Sounds easy, but it's not.I thought sex would be the hard part, but the dates are only making me fall for the man I’ve known almost my entire life. Whoever said sex doesn't change things never went to bed with their best friend.

Mother Ship


Francesca Segal - 2019
    Apart and all together in this space, our odd craft, we are drawn back into the folds of the unremarkable.’After her identical twin girls were born ten weeks prematurely, Francesca Segal finds herself sitting vigil in the ‘mother ship’ of neonatal intensive care, all romantic expectations of new parenthood obliterated. Her gripping diary of those months combines the tenderness of a love poem with the compulsive pace of a thriller. As each day brings a fresh challenge for her and her babies, Francesca makes a temporary life among a band of mothers who are vivid, fearless, and inspiring, taking care not only of their children but of one another.MOTHER SHIP is an intimate, raucous, sublime and electrifying memoir. It is a hymn to the sustaining power of women’s friendship, and a loving celebration of the two small girls – and their mother – who defy the odds.

The World I Fell Out Of


Melanie Reid - 2019
    She was 52.Paralysed from the top of her chest down, she was to spend almost a full year in hospital, determinedly working towards gaining as much movement in her limbs as possible, and learning to navigate her way through a world that had previously been invisible to her.As a journalist Melanie had always turned to words and now, on a spinal ward peopled by an extraordinary array of individuals who were similarly at sea, she decided that writing would be her life-line. The World I Fell Out Of is an account of that year, and of those that followed. It is the untold ‘back story’ behind Melanie’s award-winning ‘Spinal Column’ in The Times Magazine and a testament to ‘the art of getting on with it’.Unflinchingly honest and beautifully observed, this is a memoir about the joy – and the risks – of riding horses, the complicated nature of heroism, the bonds of family and the comfort of strangers. Above all, The World I Fell Out Of is a reminder that at any moment the life we know can be turned upside down – and a plea to start appreciating what we have while we have it.

Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine


Thomas Hager - 2019
    It could be an oddball researcher’s genius insight, a catalyzing moment in geopolitical history, a new breakthrough technology, or an unexpected but welcome side effect discovered during clinical trials. Piece together these stories, as Thomas Hager does in this remarkable, century-spanning history, and you can trace the evolution of our culture and the practice of medicine.  ​Beginning with opium, the “joy plant,” which has been used for 10,000 years, Hager tells a captivating story of medicine. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies. This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book.

The Gynae Geek: Your no-nonsense guide to ‘down there’ healthcare


Anita Mitra - 2019
    Dr Anita Mitra, AKA The Gynae Geek, believes that we can only be empowered about our health when we have accurate information. This book will be that source.This book takes you from your first period to the onset of menopause and explains everything along the way. From straightforward information about whether the pill is safe, which diet is best for PCOS, what an abnormal smear actually means, if heavy periods are a sign of cancer, right through to extraordinary tales from the Clinic. This straight to the heart, sharp shooting guide will become the go-to reference book for all young women seeking answers about reproductive health as well as a way to dispel the swathe of misinformation that’s out there.Dr Anita Mitra shares her personal experiences with stress and anxiety and her learnings about how the gynaecological health of women can be influenced by lifestyle choices.

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas


Adam Kay - 2019
    With twenty-five tales of intriguing, shocking and incredible Christmas incidents, the British public will finally appreciate the sacrifices made and the challenges faced by the unsung heroes of the NHS.Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas will be fully illustrated (as tastefully as possible) and will delight all of Adam’s fans throughout the festive period of Christmas 2019 and for many years to come.

Reservations of the Heart


T.B. Markinson - 2019
    Her career was on fire, and she had a picture-perfect family--until she was blindsided by her wife doing the unthinkable. Three years after her divorce, Stella's loved ones worry about her non-existent personal life and her stubborn belief that focusing on her career and raising her daughter are all she needs to be fulfilled.Reeling from the revelation of a long-held family secret, 29-year-old Aurora Shirley is just over it all. If her parents could lie to Aurora all her life, won't everyone else? Women are the last thing on her mind as she starts a temporary job at a local medical school. Unfortunately for Aurora, she needs to find a date for her best friend's wedding or be deemed the worst maid of honor in history.When Stella and Aurora unexpectedly come together, sparks fly. Neither is looking for a relationship, but what they discover in one another is so much more than a physical connection. Can two wounded women who believe love is the last thing they want overcome their fears to find healing?Best-selling lesbian romance author T.B. Markinson brings lesfic readers a heartwarming age-gap story about facing one's demons to live a fuller and loving life. Grab your copy of the standalone medical romance novel that will make your heart sing.84,000 words

The Knife’s Edge: The Heart and Mind of a Cardiac Surgeon


Stephen Westaby - 2019
    His thirty-five-year career has been characterised by fearlessness and ruthless ambition; leaving empathy at the hospital door as thousands of patients put their lives in his hands.For heart surgeons, the inevitable cost of failure is death and in The Knife’s Edge, Westaby reflects on the unique mindset of those who are drawn to this exhilarating and often tragic profession. We discover the pioneers who grasped opportunities and took chances to drive innovation and save lives. Often difficult, uninhibited and fearless, theirs is a field constantly threatened by the risk of public failure.Like those before him, Westaby refuses to draw the line in his search of a lifetime solution to problems of the heart. His determination is unerring – a steadfastness underpinned by his unusual mind. But as we glimpse into the future of cardiac surgery, for all its remarkable scientific advancement, one question remains: within the confines of socialised medical healthcare systems, how can heart surgeons – individuals often hardwired with avoidance of self-doubt, a penchant for glory and a flagrant disregard for authority – truly flourish?

Another Five Patients


Melissa Crickard - 2019
    When one of the resident physicians, Dr. Kip Paiva, becomes a critically ill patient herself, the team is forever changed. This suspenseful story of medical fiction traces foreign medical graduate Dr. Kip Paiva, an emigrant and survivor of human trafficking in post-apartheid South Africa. Her refuge from a Zulu militant captor comes to an end, as his brutal violence has finally tracked her across the ocean. While her past catches up to her, Dr. Paiva also becomes the scapegoat of a malpractice suit. Frightened for her and her son’s lives, Dr. Paiva begins a journey fueled by bottomless resiliency and a mother’s love. Her story intertwines through five others, all riveting, and all taking place in the busy Spectrum General Hospital in New York. Debut author Melissa Crickard uses this microcosm to illustrate larger aspects of modern medicine. Another Five Patients combines international intrigue and hospital politics with individual human stories involving hospital staff, patients, and their families. The result is a captivating, at times satirical, experience that reminds us that, whether doctor, mother, or child, we are all people, with flaws and emotions in a world of uncertainty.

Daughter of Family G: A Memoir of Cancer Genes, Love and Fate


Ami McKay - 2019
    In 1895 her great-great aunt, Pauline Gross, a seamstress in Ann Arbor, Michigan, confided to a pathology professor at the local university that she expected to die young, like so many others in her family. Rather than dismiss her fears, the pathologist chose to enlist Pauline in the careful tracking of those in her family tree who had died of cancer. Pauline's premonition proved true--she died at 46--but because of her efforts, her family (who the pathologist dubbed 'Family G') would become the longest and most detailed cancer genealogy ever studied in the world. A century after Pauline's confession, researchers would identify the genetic mutation responsible for the family's woes. Now known as Lynch syndrome, the genetic condition predisposes its carriers to several types of cancer, including colorectal, endometrial, ovarian and pancreatic. In 2001, as a young mother with two sons and a keen interest in survival, Ami McKay was among the first to be tested for Lynch syndrome. She had a feeling she'd test positive: her mother's side of the family was riddled with early deaths and her own mother was being treated for the disease. When the test proved her fears true, she began living in "an unsettling state between wellness and cancer," and she's been there ever since. Intimate, candid, and probing, her genetic memoir tells a fascinating story, teasing out the many ways to live with the hand you are dealt.

Love Doctor


Logan Chance - 2019
    This standalone page-turner will have you questioning your sanity while reading about a strong female lead aspiring to reach her goals, and the man who is going to help.What happens when you ask your boss to teach you about sex? Well, for this quirky personal assistant, she’s about to find out.Rose is ready to publish her first novel. There’s one small problem- besides the fact it’s scary to put yourself out there-her boss, Dr. Sincock was her muse. Let’s just say she took some creative liberties with him.But it’s ok, he’ll never know.Now Rose has a new problem, she can’t stop fantasizing about the things he does to her in the book.She should just quit, find a new job, but now she has another plan. She’s going to ask this six-foot hotter than magma boss of hers to educate her on how to write hotter scenes. He just doesn’t know it yet.Love Doctor is an all new standalone featuring Declan Sincock from the Playboy Series. If you enjoy witty, hilariously funny romantic comedies, then you’ll love the latest installment of this boss-employee romance by USA Today bestselling author, Logan Chance.

Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action


David Fajgenbaum - 2019
    But things changed dramatically when he began suffering from inexplicable fatigue. In a matter of weeks, his organs were failing and he was read his last rites. Doctors were baffled by his condition, which they had yet to even diagnose. Floating in and out of consciousness, Fajgenbaum prayed for a second chance, the equivalent of a dramatic play to second the game into overtime.Miraculously, Fajgenbaum survived--only to endure repeated near-death relapses from what would eventually be identified as a form of Castleman disease, an extremely deadly and rare condition that acts like a cross between cancer and an autoimmune disorder. When he relapsed while on the only drug in development and realized that the medical community was unlikely to make progress in time to save his life, Fajgenbaum turned his desperate hope for a cure into concrete action: Between hospitalizations he studied his own charts and tested his own blood samples, looking for clues that could unlock a new treatment. With the help of family, friends, and mentors, he also reached out to other Castleman disease patients and physicians, and eventually came up with an ambitious plan to crowdsource the most promising research questions and recruit world-class researchers to tackle them. Instead of waiting for the scientific stars to align, he would attempt to align them himself.More than five years later and now married to his college sweetheart, Fajgenbaum has seen his hard work pay off: A treatment he identified has induced a tentative remission and his novel approach to collaborative scientific inquiry has become a blueprint for advancing rare disease research. His incredible story demonstrates the potency of hope, and what can happen when the forces of determination, love, family, faith, and serendipity collide.

The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life


Katy Butler - 2019
    Packed with extraordinarily helpful insights and inspiring true stories, award-winning journalist and prominent end-of-life speaker Katy Butler shows how to thrive in later life (even when coping with a chronic medical condition), how to get the best from our health system, and how to make your own “good death” more likely. This handbook of step by step preparations—practical, communal, physical, and sometimes spiritual—will help you make the most of your remaining time, be it decades, years, or months. Butler explains how to successfully age in place, why to pick a younger doctor and how to have an honest conversation with her, when not to call 911, and how to make your death a sacred rite of passage rather than a medical event. This down-to-earth manual for living, aging, and dying with meaning and even joy is based on Butler’s own experience caring for aging parents, as well as hundreds of interviews with people who have successfully navigated a fragmented health system and helped their loved ones have good deaths. It also draws on interviews with nationally recognized experts in family medicine, palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, hospice, and other medical specialties. Inspired by the medieval death manual Ars Moriendi, or the Art of Dying, The Art of Dying Well is the definitive update for our modern age, and illuminates the path to a better end of life.

For Freddie: A Mother's Final Gift to Her Son


Rachael Bland - 2019
    Courageous and life-affirming, this is a mother's final gift to her son. My beautiful son, I so wish that I didn't have to leave you now. But believe me, I tried EVERYTHING I could to stay around for you, and for every moment I could eke out of this life. From the start, it was not a fair fight. My cancer was too big, and too aggressive, and we didn't start on a level playing field. You were fourteen months old and at the beginning I was so full of fierce intention that we could get past this. I would lay you in your cot each night and silently intone from my mind to yours, 'I will do this Freddie, I will gladly take whatever they throw at me if it means we can stay together'. In 2016, beloved broadcaster and journalist Rachael Bland was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly afterwards she made the brave decision to share her story, and she spoke with beautiful poignancy through her blog and podcast, You Me & the Big C. Having been told that she only had a matter of months left to live and writing this in what was sadly her final days, Rachael brings her warmth, courage and humour to the page in this heart-warming and heart-breaking story. Part memoir, part advice, For Freddie beautifully encapsulates the grace and fearlessness in which Rachael lived her life. This is her legacy and an incredible final gift to her son.

Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story


Leah Hazard - 2019
    No food for ten. And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers… Welcome to the life of a midwife. Life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could ever imagine. From the bloody to the beautiful, from moments of utter vulnerability to remarkable displays of strength, from camaraderie to raw desperation, from heart-wrenching grief to the pure, perfect joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.Through her eyes, we meet Eleanor, whose wife is a walking miracle of modern medicine, their baby a feat of reproductive science; Crystal, pregnant at just fifteen, the precarious, flickering life within her threatening to come far too soon; Star, birthing in a room heady with essential oils and love until an enemy intrudes and Pei Hsuan, who has carried her tale of exploitation and endurance thousands of miles to somehow find herself at the open door of Leah’s ward.Moving, compassionate and intensely candid, Hard Pushed is a love letter to new mothers and to Leah’s fellow midwives – there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives.

Cougars In The Hollow: Complete Series


Sofia Westlake - 2019
    When she zips over to Wicker to have a look at a dead tourist, she’s pretty sure that this is the strangest case she’s ever come across. It doesn’t help that the local sheriff seems unwilling to be helpful. In fact, the only person in Wicker that seems interested in finding the murderer is the guy who owns and runs the local bar. At least Thane Bostick doesn’t tell her to leave five seconds after she introduces herself. Thane is smart and sexy in ways that defy explanation. But Belle isn’t in Wicker to find a man. She’s here to choose. Homicide, Suicide, or Death by Misadventure. Cat’s Cradle Natalie Arrington is just a painter. That’s it. She’s looking for pretty scenery to put on cards and canvases so she can sell them to tourists and make money. When someone leaves a murder victim right in the middle of her scenery, Natalie isn’t amused. Unfortunately for her, neither is anyone in Wicker, Kentucky. It wasn’t like Natalie had intended to be in Wicker. But it seems that once you’re there, you don’t ever leave. Fortunately for Natalie, the local blacksmith doesn’t seem inclined to let the sheriff bully her around. Whoever heard of a blacksmith in this day and age anyway? Cats and Dogs Spencer Evans is having a run of bad luck. Her twin brother has shacked up with his new baby mama in Spencer’s house. There’s no room for her to stick around and she’s too busy trying to pretend that she doesn’t care to admit that she does. Enter Hardison Burlington. The handsome stranger shows up in Wicker and seems to have no respect for boundaries. He shows up in Spencer’s kitchen in the middle of the night without a word of apology. Even worse. He’s charming! When Spencer takes it upon herself to keep an eye on this newcomer to see what he’s about, she finds herself sucked into Wicker’s ongoing battle between the haves and the have nots. But Hardison is too fascinating to leave alone. The man isn’t an average human, but he’s not a cougar shifter either. He’s something else and Spencer cannot imagine how that will ever fit into her life in Wicker. Cats and Kittens Franny Ikenburger is sick and tired of being called the silliest girl in Wicker. If the vicious old gossips in town had anything useful to do, maybe they would stop inventing lies to get Franny into trouble. Then a new rumor starts. But this one doesn’t involve Franny. John Moore is a quiet man who isn’t at all prepared for a whirlwind ride on the rumor mill. As Franny and John are drawn together and sucked into the seedy underbelly of Wicker’s illicit drug trade, they learn to depend on each other for a much needed reality check. Franny might be younger, but she’s not silly. And John is the only one in the world who seems to believe her. Sometimes the love and support of one man can be enough to turn things completely upside down. Cat Scratch Fever Orrin Wilshire is pretty sure he knows exactly who is behind this recent bout of killings in Wicker. He just can’t prove it. Yet. When a state investigator shows up to lend a hand, Orrin doesn’t want anything to do with her. Matilda Harbuck is an outsider. If she sticks around long enough the killer is likely to make her his next victim. But Mattie is no shrinking violet. The woman is peeling back the layers of Wicker like the rotting peel on a piece of fruit.

Darwin's Cipher


M.A. Rothman - 2019
    Over the course of his study, Juan discovers a pattern that allows him to predict the course of a species' evolution across thousands of generations.Using the algorithm he's developed from the pattern, Juan uncovers what he believes to be the key to conquering humanity's susceptibility to cancer.Others are interested in using what Juan has dubbed "Darwin's Cipher," however, instead of cancer research, they see very different applications for the new genetic algorithm.Nate Carrington, an FBI forensic analyst has been struggling with several cold cases when he's alerted to an incident at a nearby ranch. It's a case of a newborn calf who is found in the middle of a herd of dead cattle. It provides a single link to Nate's other cold cases: the DNA analysis of the calf doesn't match anything in the FBI's database.Somewhere in a rural hospital in West Virginia, four hospital workers are dead and a newborn child has been transported to the NIH's level-4 bio-containment unit.It's only when the NIH sends out an alert to all hospitals and law enforcement agencies that the world realizes the danger that faces them.

Christmas in Tinsel Town


Teagan Brooks - 2019
     This year is going to be different though. When her granddaughter comes to visit, expecting a life-size Tinsel Town with all the holiday miracles, Jacquelyn turns to the only person close enough to make it happen... Her live-in bodyguard—Ronan Pierce. Ronan‘s job is to protect Jacquelyn at all costs. But when she needs him to help set up Tinsel Town, he can’t refuse. After years of being around her, watching her work so hard to put together a charity event makes him fall harder for her. When plans fall through and Ronan has to step in and fill some big shoes, he convinces Jacquelyn to be his Mrs. Claus and vows to make her his love for the rest of his life. Adult Content Warning - Intended for audiences 18 years old and older.

Long Walk Out of the Woods: A Physician's Story of Addiction, Depression, Hope, and Recovery


Adam B. Hill - 2019
    

Loving Tiara: Memoir


Tiffani Goff - 2019
    At forty-five years old, my life’s mission was complete. If I died tomorrow, I would be proud of the life I lived.” - Loving Tiara Loving Tiara is a compelling memoir that will encompass your every thought, break your heart, fill you with hope, and leave you with a sense of awe. When Tiffani married the love of her life, Lou, after graduating from college, she assumed she would continue to live the affluent life she had always known, having grown up in Newport Beach, California. She never imagined she would soon be stalked by creditors, driving a car on the repossession list and forced to worry about providing basic necessities for her family, such as buying diapers and groceries. This increasingly desperate situation forced her to decide to return home to her parents with her baby and husband. After getting their life back on track, and with Tiffani in her final year of law school, they decided to have another baby. At eight months old, however, they discovered that their new daughter Tiara had Tuberous Sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder resulting in intractable epilepsy, developmental delay, chronic hospital admissions, and uncontrollable violent behaviors. So how did Tiffani cope with her new reality? She chose to fight. She challenged the doctors, battled the insurance companies, and refused to give up caring for Tiara even when her own life was at risk. The author’s story of unconditional love, unimaginable challenges, and, ultimately, triumph, is a compelling one, which will take hold of your heart and not let go. This memoir will, hopefully, inspire you to tackle fear, encourage you never to give up, and remind you always to trust your gut instincts.

My Every Breath: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Hope


Anna Maynard - 2019
    Throughout her tumultuous childhood, Anna found for a life of normalcy and despite the death of her older sister, France—who succumbed to the same disease—Anna pursued her dream to live a long, productive life with courage, determination and hope.

Hardly Easy: Great Scots Box Set


Donna Alam - 2019
    He was supposed to be arm candy. A strong, sturdy presence to escort me to the party of my crush. Pity he isn’t any of those things. But he is pretty, funny, and charming. And determined to get into my panties. But he’s also a liar. Because Will Travers isn’t a male escort. But one of London’s most eligible bachelors, My new neighbor, And a risk to my heart. HARD – an Amazon top 40s selling title! It was an honest mistake . . . I’m new to the business. So when I’m sent to interview for our next production, I assume the hottie with the coffee is him. Lord knows he’s hot enough to take a starring role. Especially in my fantasies. And with that accent, The aural he gives must be ahh-mazing. I thought a hard man might be fun for the night. But a good man? He might be everything. COMING HOME – an EASY spin-off novella! Going home. It was never going to be easy. Not when I have to see him again. My first love and my brother’s best friend. The man who rejected me . . . HARDLY EASY – an EASY epilogue novella! Falling in love? That's easy. Relationships? Not so much. Join Will, Sadie, and friends for an extended epilogue peek into their lives. Babies, marriage, and all the good stuff! TWICE THE FUN – a Lion’s Den/Easy interlude! An unapologetically smutty visit to the Lion’s Den lifestyle club. Hold onto your undies!!

Priced Out: The Economic and Ethical Costs of American Health Care


Uwe Reinhardt - 2019
    Famously bipartisan, he advised presidents and Congress on health reform and originated central features of the Affordable Care Act. In Priced Out, Reinhardt offers an engaging and enlightening account of today's U.S. health care system, explaining why it costs so much more and delivers so much less than the systems of every other advanced country, why this situation is morally indefensible, and how we might improve it.The problem, Reinhardt says, is not one of economics but of social ethics. There is no American political consensus on a fundamental question other countries settled long ago: to what extent should we be our brothers' and sisters' keepers when it comes to health care? Drawing on the best evidence, he guides readers through the chaotic, secretive, and inefficient way America finances health care, and he offers a penetrating ethical analysis of recent reform proposals. At this point, he argues, the United States appears to have three stark choices: the government can make the rich help pay for the health care of the poor, ration care by income, or control costs. Reinhardt proposes an alternative path: that by age 26 all Americans must choose either to join an insurance arrangement with community-rated premiums, or take a chance on being uninsured or relying on a health insurance market that charges premiums based on health status.An incisive look at the American health care system, Priced Out dispels the confusion, ignorance, myths, and misinformation that hinder effective reform.

Overdose


Rada Jones - 2019
    Emma Steele doesn’t know there’s a killer lurking in her ER. In between fighting to keep her patients alive, struggling with her bipolar daughter and striving to further her career, her dance card is full. A deluge of antidote-resistant overdoses, the gruesome death of her mentor and the near-death of a friend shake her to her core and force her into looking for answers. Since she’s annoyingly competent and uncannily efficient, she finds them - just as the killer finds her. Will Emma live long enough to expose the killer? Or will he silence her first? You’ll love OVERDOSE if you crave ER drama with split seconds separating life from death. You’ll love it if blood, drugs and dislocated joints give you the warm fuzzies. You’ll love it if you long to see what’s inside the mind of a serial killer. OVERDOSE: An ER life novel with strong, flawed characters entangled in complicated relationships, life and death fights, and wine. Mostly red.

Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America


Kate Pickert - 2019
    That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today's patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age.Breast cancer is one of history's most prolific killers. Despite billions spent on research and treatments, it remains one of the deadliest diseases facing women today. From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to an operating suite in Los Angeles to the epicenter of pink-ribbon advocacy in Dallas, Pickert reports on the turning points and people responsible for the progress that has been made against breast cancer and documents the challenges of defeating a disease that strikes one in eight American women and has helped shape the country's medical culture.Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates and patients, as well as on journal entries and recordings collected over the author's treatment, Radical puts the story of breast cancer into context, and shows how modern treatments represent a long overdue shift in the way doctors approach cancer -- and disease -- itself.

Breathe


Cari Hunter - 2019
    The only things she attracts are traumatic jobs, and no one wants to work with her for long.But when Jem bumps into devil-may-care police officer Rosie Jones, her fortunes seem to be changing. Rosie is bright and funny, and she doesn’t mind that Jem can’t go far without her inhaler.Things are looking up, until a suspicious death draws Jem and Rosie into an investigation that spirals beyond their control. As torrential rain floods the city, they face a battle to survive if they’re ever going to have a chance at finding love.

ER Days


Nick Casto - 2019
    Such was the opening line to many patient encounters in the emergency departments and clinics where I spent my career as a physician. Shadow me back through the years in a series of vignettes that will give you a peek into a world of medicine that few on the outside ever see. Along the way you may laugh a little, tear up a bit or even learn something, but through it all you will experience the highs and lows of the day to day practice of emergency and urgent care medicine. Put on your scrubs and come join me now: your first shift working in the emergency department is about to begin.

Hero Boss


Piper Sullivan - 2019
    Scott in his box would keep everybody safe.It would keep things uncomplicated. Simple.But nothing about the former football player was simple.He was a gentle giant, a dominating gentleman.A nice guy.He wasn’t anything like I thought he would be.But we’re all wrong for each other, no matter what Scott thinks.I just have to convince him of it too.Before one of us gets hurt.

Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered


Rebecca Dekker - 2019
     It doesn’t have to be that way. Rebecca planned to give birth at the hospital affiliated with her university, where she was an award-winning nurse researcher finishing her doctoral degree. But hospital practices and policies that were more than twenty years out of date left her with complications that seemed preventable. Worst for Rebecca, her healthy baby was whisked off to a nursery right away. She spent the first few hours after birth begging to see her own baby! A few years later and pregnant again, Rebecca put her research skills to work and examined the hard evidence on what went wrong with her first childbirth experience. She discovered shocking truths that not only impact millions of families every year, but would change the entire course of her life. Embark on a journey with Rebecca as she exposes the stark realities of institutional care during childbirth and reveals inspirational solutions for parents and professionals alike.

These Colors Don't Run: A Collection of Reader-Submitted Medical Stories


Kerry Hamm - 2019
    You can pick up any volume that interests you, as there is no story you need to follow from one volume to the next. Highlights of this volume include: Things first responders wish they would have learned in school/training, hilarious conversations readers have overheard, the miracle that occurred when a child choked, strange things patients have requested of EMS, and times first responders realized they weren't dealing with the sharpest tools in the shed. These stories have been submitted by people just like you: patients, EMS, techs, receptionists, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, LEOs, and other healthcare professionals/first responders.

Playing God: The Evolution of a Modern Surgeon


Anthony Youn - 2019
    But as you will see in Playing God, earning an M.D. is just the first step to becoming a real physician.In this page-turning, thrilling, and moving memoir, Dr. Anthony Youn reveals that the true metamorphosis from student to doctor occurs not in medical school but in the formative years of residency training and early practice. It is only through actually saving and losing patients, taking on the medical establishment, wrestling with financial and emotional survival, and fighting for patients’ lives that a young doctor becomes a mature and competent physician.Dr. Youn takes you from the operating rooms of a university surgery residency program to the gleaming offices of top Beverly Hills plastic surgeons to opening the doors of his empty clinic as a new doctor with no money, no patients, and mountains of debt. Playing God leaves you with an unexpected answer to that profound question: “What does it mean to be a doctor?” In Playing God, you will take a journey through the world of surgery, hospitals, and the practice of medicine unlike any that you have traveled before.

Shatter Proof


Judith Lucci - 2019
    

In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids


Travis Rieder - 2019
    Enduring half a dozen surgeries, the drugs he received were both miraculous and essential to his recovery. But his most profound suffering came several months later when he went into acute opioid withdrawal while following his physician’s orders. Over the course of four excruciating weeks, Rieder learned what it means to be “dope sick”—the physical and mental agony caused by opioid dependence. Clueless how to manage his opioid taper, Travis’s doctors suggested he go back on the drugs and try again later. Yet returning to pills out of fear of withdrawal is one route to full-blown addiction. Instead, Rieder continued the painful process of weaning himself.Rieder’s experience exposes a dark secret of American pain management: a healthcare system so conflicted about opioids, and so inept at managing them, that the crisis currently facing us is both unsurprising and inevitable. As he recounts his story, Rieder provides a fascinating look at the history of these drugs first invented in the 1800s, changing attitudes about pain management over the following decades, and the implementation of the pain scale at the beginning of the twenty-first century. He explores both the science of addiction and the systemic and cultural barriers we must overcome if we are to address the problem effectively in the contemporary American healthcare system.In Pain in America is not only a gripping personal account of dependence, but a groundbreaking exploration of the intractable causes of America’s opioid problem and their implications for resolving the crisis. Rieder makes clear that the opioid crisis exists against a backdrop of real, debilitating pain—and that anyone can fall victim to this epidemic.

Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution


Jennifer Block - 2019
    In Everything Below the Waist, Jennifer Block asks: Why is the life expectancy of women today declining relative to women in other high-income countries, and even relative to the generation before them? Block examines several staples of modern women's health care, from fertility technology to contraception to pelvic surgery to miscarriage treatment, and finds that while overdiagnosis and overtreatment persist in medicine writ large, they are particularly acute for women. One third of mothers give birth by major surgery; roughly half of women lose their uterus to hysterectomy.Feminism turned the world upside down, yet to a large extent the doctors' office has remained stuck in time. Block returns to the 1970s women's health movement to understand how in today's supposed age of empowerment, women's bodies are still so vulnerable to medical control--particularly their sex organs, and as result, their sex lives.In this urgent book, Block tells the stories of patients, clinicians, and reformers, uncovering history and science that could revolutionize the standard of care, and change the way women think about their health. Everything Below the Waist challenges all people to take back control of their bodies.

But Why? : A Collection of Reader-Submitted Medical Stories


Kerry Hamm - 2019
     You'll giggle when an EMT reveals his/her most prized possession, shake your head at some of the RIDICULOUS behavior seen in the emergency room, and you'll relate to the frustrations and joy healthcare workers across the globe express in their submissions. Special sections within this volume include: That Darn Cat, DOGgonit!, As Heard on the Scanner, and many more.

The Alexandra Destephano Series


Judith Lucci - 2019
     A Gripping New Orleans Medical Thriller Series! A multi-dimensional medical thriller series featuring Virginia-born nurse/attorney Alexandra Lee Destephano, Commander Jack Francoise of the New Orleans Police Department, and Dr. Robert Bonnet, Alex’s former husband and a prominent New Orleans surgeon. Thrillers center on the characters as they encounter murder, malpractice, the supernatural and a serial killer in The Big Easy’s most famous hospital. Alex Destephano Medical Thriller series blends hospital drama, murder, romance, political intrigue, terrorism, and the grisly work of a serial killer. (Books 1-5) Kindle Edition Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center A New Orleans Attorney’s Mardi Gras Takes A Bloody Turn Alex wanted a new life, but that often seemed out of reach as long as she was still tied to the same hospital as her ex-husband. Mardi Gras Season brought a welcome change in pace, and her upcoming date to the Mardi Gras Ball with art historian, Mitch Landry, was a step in the right direction. However, when she is called to a grisly scene at the hospital her plans are upended. The Imposter In New Orleans, The Criminally Insane Pose A Growing Threat It is hotter than hell in New Orleans and newly promoted Police Commander Jack Francoise is battling horrific crime in the Vieux Carre. The number of criminally insane continues to rise without explanation and nurses at the Psychiatric Pavilion are doling out Thorazine cocktails to these viciously psychotic patients to the best of their ability. Viral Intent The President Is In New Orleans, And a Deadly Virus Is On The Loose While the President and members of Congress visit the Big Easy for a political convention, an unidentified killer virus is wreaking havoc in the Crescent City emergency room. Physicians are baffled, hospital staff frightened, and the CDC is en route to assist. Toxic New Year The Party Of The Year In Virginia Turns Deadly What began as rural Virginia’s premier New Year celebration turns into a day of horror when the enemies of Alex Destephano's grandfather, Congressman Adam Patrick Lee, bring the war to his Virginia estate killing, maiming and destroying everything in their path. EVIL For Fans of Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Palmer Alex returns to Wyndley Farm, her childhood home in Virginia, to await the birth of her baby. An urgent call from Crescent City Medical Center compels her to return to New Orleans to investigate cruel, questionable incidents and heinous patient deaths. Digger Stildove returns from Yemen where he has searched for Jacob Stark. Michaela McPherson travels from Richmond with police dog Angel to consult with Commander Francoise in his search for St. Germaine. Events unfold as the evil continues and the hospital attempts to safeguard patients and staff.

Snowbound


Christine Sterling - 2019
    Chelsea Tory needs is to be snowbound with the man she’s in love with, especially since he doesn’t seem to notice. However, she took an oath to help the sick, so when he needs a doctor for his sick mother, she goes home with him knowing she’s going to end up trapped. Brawny Winters loves the beautiful doctor. But if he can’t stand to look at himself since the accident that scarred him, how can he expect Chelsea to? It’s even worse: now she has to help with his sick mother and becomes snowbound at their home. To save her reputation, he has to marry her. Can they both overcome their misunderstandings? Can Chelsea heal her love's heart? Can Brawny see past his own scars to heal the ones he’s causing Chelsea?  Or is their love destined to be Snowbound for all eternity?***This is a companion tale to the popular Silverpines series. It is an opportunity to visit the Silverpines Community with additional stories.You can join the Silverpines Reader's Group by visiting https://www.facebook.com/groups/silve...Read all of Christine's Black Hill Brides Romances:1. Her Secret Past2. Her Secret Baby3. Her Secret Shame4. Her Secret Love5. Her Secret HusbandRead all of Christine's Silverpines Romances:1. Wanted: Medicine Man2. The Coffin Maker3. Wanted: Gravedigger4. Snowbound5. Wanted: RedemptionRead all of Christine's Proxy Bride Romances:1. A Bride for Jeremiah2. A Bride for ElijahRead all of Christine's Pinkerton Matchmaker Romances:1. The Pinkerton Matchmaker2. An Agent for Claudette3. An Agent for PenelopeRead all of Christine's Holiday Romances1. Wynter's Bride2. A Cozy Mitten Christmas

Fierce-Sam


Natalie Ann - 2019
    Sam Fierce is intelligent, sexy, and charming with a personality and carefree nature that has women flocking to him left and right. He’s still single though and has no plans on changing that any time soon. He’s seen things in his line of work that has scarred him emotionally, but he’d never let anyone know that either. So for now, he’s happy with his life...sort of. Dani Rhodes spent her teenage years trying to find a place in the ground next to her younger sister that she felt she failed. She blamed herself and couldn’t understand why no one else did. With her parents standing by her, she pulled her life together and made something of herself. But a decade later she is still single because her rotten taste in men just can’t seem to escape her. After all, she doesn’t deserve anything better in her mind. Fierce Family Sam- Sam Fierce and Dani Rhodes Bryce - Bryce Fierce and Payton Davies Other books: First Fierce Series Brody- Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed Aiden- Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti Mason- Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning Cade- Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall Ella- Ella Fierce and Travis McKinley Love Collection Vin Steele and Piper Fielding - Secret Love Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald- True Love Erik McMann and Sheldon Case- Finding Love Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love Ian Price and Cam Mason - Intense Love Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers - Autumn Love Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan- Holiday Love Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett- Christmas Love Zeke Collins and Kendall Hendricks- Winter Love Troy Walker and Meena Dawson- Chasing Love Jace Stratton and Lauren Town - First Love Gabe Richards and Leah Morrison - Forever Love Blake Wilson and Gemma Anderson- Simply Love Lake Placid Series Second Chance - Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning Give Me A Chance - Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker Our Chance - Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire Take A Chance - Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan Deserve A Chance - Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon Last Chance - Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton Another Chance- Matt Winters and Dena Hall All Series All for Love- Book 0- William Harper and Isabel Carmichael All or Nothing - Book 1 - Ben Harper and Presley James All of Me - Book 2 - Phil Harper and Sophia Mansfield All the Way - Book 3 - Alec Harper and Brynn Palmer All I Want - Book 4 - Sean Callahan and Carly Springfield All My Love - Book 5 - Drew Palmer and Jordyn Montgomery All About You - Book 6 - Finn Abraham and Olivia Hartman All of Us- Landon Barber and Kristen Reid Check out where it all started for the Harpers in the Road Series! Road to Recovery - Book 1 - Lucas Mathews and Brooke Malone Road to Redemption - Book 2 - Cori Summers and Jack Reynolds Road to Reality - Book 3 - Mac Malone and Beth Campbell Road to Reason- Book 4 - Ryan Mathews and Kaitlin Harper

Neurofitness: The Real Science of Peak Performance from a College Dropout Turned Brain Surgeon


Rahul Jandial - 2019
    Rahul Jandial is on the cutting edge of the latest advancements in neuroscience. This fascinating book draws on Dr. Jandial’s broad-spectrum expertise and brings together the best of various fields-–surgery, science, brain structure, the conscious mind–-all to explain the bigger picture of brain health and rejuvenation. It is a journey into his operating room, around the world on his surgical missions, inside his laboratory, and to the outer edges of neuroscience to reveal the latest brain breakthroughs that are turning science fiction into reality, translating their implications for everyday life. Busting myths along the way, Jandial helps readers get wired for success at work and school, perform better when the pressure is on, boost memory, control stress and emotions, minimize pain, stick to a healthy eating plan, unleash creativity, raise smarter kids, and stay sharp as they age. Combining the treatment guidelines he gives his patients, the most promising concepts from frontier science, and the smartest super-achiever hacks, he provides practical takeaways for optimizing brain function and leading a healthier, happier, more productive life.

High October


Elena Graf - 2019
    Maggie gave up her dream of becoming an actress and married her high school boyfriend. Liz became a famous breast surgeon. Maggie is performing in a summer stock production near the Maine town where Liz is now a general practitioner. When Maggie breaks her leg in a stage accident, she lands in Dr. Stolz’s office. Is forty years too long to wait for the one you love?

Anatomicum (Welcome To The Museum)


Jennifer Z. Paxton - 2019
    The 2019 offering from Welcome to the Museum guides readers through the human body, from the muscles we use to show emotion, to the delicate workings of the brain. With sumptuous artwork by Katy Wiedemann and expert text by professor Dr Jennifer Z Paxton, this beautiful book is a feast of anatomical knowledge.

No Such Thing as a Snow Day: A Collection of Reader-Submitted Medical Stories


Kerry Hamm - 2019
    First responders share unique baby names, we hear stories about clueless newbies, bitter veterans, and patients with good intentions but bad ideas. We also hear more about the not-so-happy side of this industry. Grab a blanket, a mug of hot chocolate, and cozy up in front of the fire to catch up with submissions from people like you!

Rainbow Diner: a memoir


Astrid Arlen - 2019
    Mother saved black widow spiders and the homeless. Brother Benny was Astrid’s immutable compass. He kept a straight face, his eyes glazed. All Benny wanted was to stay in one place.With all hell breaking loose, will Astrid and her beloved little brother navigate the ’70s and ’80s and survive childhood?

Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-Of-Life Medical Care


Kathryn L. Butler - 2019
    Today, 80 percent of Americans die in institutions such as hospitals or nursing homes. The dying process--once a visible reality of life--now hides behind a complex web of medical technology, and few Americans discuss end-of-life care before it becomes urgent. Faced with crucial decisions, Christian patients and loved ones struggle to understand how their faith should inform their treatment. Covering topics such as ventilators, dialysis, artificially administered nutrition, physician-assisted suicide, hospice, and more, this book offers a distinctly Christian guide to end-of-life care, simplifying common medical jargon and exploring biblical principles that individuals and families need in order to navigate the transition from this life to the next.

Just One More Question: Stories from a Life in Neurology


Niall Tubridy - 2019
    He shares the stories of encounters that are, by turn, poignant, dramatic and funny.Using simple and illuminating language Tubridy also explains well-known conditions like multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease and Parkinson's and and brings us into the examining room as he accompanies patients with these diagnoses on their challenging path.In addition, he reflects candidly on the reasons he, a doctor's son, went into medicine, how he has been tested, and what he has learned about people - and about himself - along the way.

The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last


Azra Raza - 2019
    A lyrical journey from hope to despair and back again, The First Cell explores cancer from every angle: medical, scientific, cultural, and personal. Indeed, Raza describes how she bore the terrible burden of being her own husband's oncologist as he succumbed to leukemia. Like When Breath Becomes Air, The First Cell is no ordinary book of medicine, but a book of wisdom and grace by an author who has devoted her life to making the unbearable easier to bear.

Breaking Destiny


Mitty Walters - 2019
     A quiet businessman—known by most as Joe Kettleman—narrowly survives an attempt on his life. While recovering from surgery to remove a bullet, imaging reveals a lethal tumor. Unwilling to spend his final days under chemical bombardment, he returns to a remote cabin in New Mexico to die in peace. But when death takes its time and Joe outlives his supplies, he’s forced to take a perilous journey through the deserts of the Bisti Badlands. Two days into what was supposed to be a five day trek, Joe comes across a town. A small city, really. Right in the middle of nowhere. And it’s not on any map. That’s when Joe’s fate collides with that of a beautiful young woman, desperate to escape the strange city and making wild claims about a genetically enhanced pandemic that will soon wipe out most of humanity. Clearly she’s delusional. But something has her genuinely terrified. To unravel the mystery, Joe will have to put his death on hold.

Can Medicine Be Cured?: The Corruption of a Profession


Seamus O'Mahony - 2019
     'A deeply fascinating and rousing book' Mail on Sunday. 'What makes this book a delightful, if unsettling read, is not just O'Mahony's scholarly and witty prose, but also his brutal honesty' The Times. Seamus O'Mahony writes about the illusion of progress, the notion that more and more diseases can be 'conquered' ad infinitum. He punctures the idiocy of consumerism, the idea that healthcare can be endlessly adapted to the wishes of individuals. He excoriates the claims of Big Science, the spending of vast sums on research follies like the Human Genome Project. And he highlights one of the most dangerous errors of industrialized medicine: an over-reliance on metrics, and a neglect of things that can't easily be measured, like compassion.

Did He Save Lives?: A Surgeon's Story


David Sellu - 2019
    There followed a sequence of extraordinary events that led to David being prosecuted and convicted for the patient’s death and sent to prison. His licence to practise medicine was suspended, his career cut short. Events that took place later showed that this was an unfair trial with tinges of racism, and he won an appeal against his conviction and is now a free man. But the damage had already been done. This book tells his extraordinary story for the first time, in his own words.

Tight Hip, Twisted Core: The Key To Unresolved Pain


Christine Koth - 2019
    The truth is that almost everyone has tightness in this area and this tightness twists the core of the body. As a result of too much sitting, driving, running, biking, kicking, heavy lifting, yoga, dance, gymnastics, or stress, a tight hip could be the missing link to enjoying a pain-free life. In Tight Hip, Twisted Core you will: - Discover how this muscle impacts your body from head to toe - Determine if you are one of the millions of people with a tight iliacus muscle and why - Release the tension in the muscle for good - Get your body aligned for pain-free performance - Prevent this muscle from getting tight ever again Based on decades of physical therapy study and clinical practice, this book outlines 3 simple steps to get your hip healthy and your core aligned, helping you to resolve your pain without expensive treatments, surgeries, and medications. “I am astounded by Christine’s ability to clearly articulate this mysterious concept in a way that anyone can understand it. This is a huge discovery in how the hip area works, and how one tight muscle affects the rest of the body. This book will significantly impact the way health care professionals treat the hip from now on.” - Zach

Your Heart, My Hands: The Remarkable Life of One of America's Most Prolific Cardiac Surgeons


Arun K. Singh - 2019
    Arun Singh has witnessed life and death from a vantage point nearly unmatched in medical history, while performing over 15,000 open heart surgeries. Revered by colleagues and patients, under the hot lights of the O.R. this award-winning surgeon has spent thousands of hours performing life-saving operations, while witnessing the miraculous, the joyous, and the devastating. He has held the life-giving heart in his hand and has been praised for his tireless devotion to preserving the lives this organ sustains.Dr. Singh's decorated career is an odyssey of remarkable determination. To illuminate the power of perseverance, Dr. Singh recounts how the same two hands that have so expertly worked to extend life were once crushed and his future nearly shattered. In YOUR HEART, MY HANDS he recalls the fortitude that saw him through a complicated boyhood in India, struggles with dyslexia, and finding his way as an immigrant, to become one of America's most highly-regarded and preeminent surgeons. Reflecting on over 40 years of practice, Dr. Singh shares intimate O.R. secrets, riveting patient accounts, and the life lessons he learned treating his most memorable patients. This book will inspire, enlighten, and captivate readers.

Worth Waiting For


Jax Burrows - 2019
    No strings sex. But there were consequences. When Dr Casey O'Connor returns to his home town of Leytonsfield to take up the post of trauma consultant, the last person he expects to see is the woman who has haunted his dreams for the past four years.Staff Nurse, Lexi Grainger, has made a home for herself and her daughter in Leytonsfield. She is happy with her life as A&E nurse and single mother. Now everything is about to change.If you enjoy medical dramas, second chance romances, and secret baby stories, then you'll love this series starter, Book One of "The O'Connors".

Life Without Diabetes: The definitive guide to understanding and reversing your type 2 diabetes


Roy Taylor - 2019
    Even worse, it seemed to be inevitably progressive – but no longer.Professor Roy Taylor is one of the world’s leading experts on type 2, the man who in 2006 finally found the missing piece of the jigsaw explaining that it was actually a reversible condition. With his team of researchers at Newcastle University, he launched a series of studies leading to a remarkable, multi-million-pound trial, which in 2019 confirmed that simple advice about diet could bring about lasting remission.In this book, Taylor brings all the knowledge and experience of four decades of treating people with diabetes. He explains exactly what is happening in the body as type 2 diabetes develops and shows how you can live a full and healthy life beyond it.** Includes the 3-step Newcastle weight loss programme, as well as delicious tried-and-tested recipes from participants of the diabetes reversal trials **

The Removalist: On the Front Line of Death Care (Silent Siren #2)


Matthew Franklin Sias - 2019
     Step into the hidden world of death care and explore the challenge of removing the deceased from the often-difficult, regularly awkward, and sometimes downright bizarre circumstances in which they die, the art and science of embalming, and the intrigue of forensic pathology. Sias is a veteran death investigator, former funeral director/embalmer intern, and paramedic with twenty-eight years of emergency response experience.

The Dark Side of the Mind: True Stories from My Life as a Forensic Psychologist


Kerry Daynes - 2019
    The job: to delve into the psyche of convicted men and women to try to understand what lies behind their often brutal actions. Follow in the footsteps of Kerry Daynes, one of the most sought-after forensic psychologists in the business and consultant on major police investigations. Kerry's job has taken her to the cells of maximum-security prisons, police interview rooms, the wards of secure hospitals and the witness box of the court room. Her work has helped solve a cold case, convict the guilty and prevent a vicious attack. Spending every moment of your life staring into the darker side of life comes with a price. Kerry's frank memoir gives an unforgettable insight into the personal and professional dangers in store for a female psychologist working with some of the most disturbing men and women.

90 Days to Live: Beating Cancer When Modern Medicine Offers No Hope


Rodney Stamps - 2019
    This heart-wrenching and heartwarming book chronicles Rodney's triumphant journey to full remission after following a little known but highly effective cancer treatment.What if you were told you had 90 days to live?For Rodney and Paige Stamps, Rodney's "out-of-the-blue" cancer diagnosis quickly turned a normally hypothetical question horribly real.When Paige met Rodney, a nationally touring heavy-metal drummer, they both fell hard. Rodney swapped his drumsticks for marriage, family, a job, and then, his own business.The '90-Days' diagnosis hit just as their business was starting to soar."You're going to die" was the solemn verdict from numerous MDs, who promised only to briefly extend Rodney's life. With both a growing family and business, and so much living still to do, Rodney's response to the no-hope prognosis? "I don't think so."90 Days to Live recounts the Stamps' incredible and inspirational journey to find an alternative "answer to cancer." In the end...They'd beaten the cancer and built a million dollar business.While his weight dropped from 190 to 138 lbs., Rodney and Paige explored countless cancer "cures" of widely varying value. They even exposed a scam treatment being peddled by a mob boss--crossing paths with the FDA and FBI!Alternately heart-wrenching and heart-warming--and delivered in an engaging dual-author format--90 Days to Live will speak to anyone struggling with an "incurable" disease, building a business under trying circumstances, or anyone who just loves a good old-fashioned, "beating-the-odds" story.

Critical: Science and stories from the brink of human life


Matt Morgan - 2019
    Michael Mosley'This book is marvellous: buy it, share it, recommend it.... We are fortunate to have dedicated, caring and humble folks such as Doc Morgan on the Critical Care front line. We are even better off when a writer can capture all that this exciting, mad, glorious and even exasperating job means. If you work in healthcare, know somebody that does, or simply inhabit a body then this book is for you: in fact it's critical.' Peter Brindley, Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, Medical Ethics University of Alberta'Just wonderful. I love the exploration of what it means to survive, at what cost and so on. Such an important factor and it's a real problem with what we do. An old surgeon once told me ‘just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Operating is the easiest thing in the world, not doing so is incredibly challenging’. A lovely book.' Dr Nikki Stamp FRACS Cardiothoracic and Transplant Surgeon and author of Can You Die of a Broken Heart?‘An illuminating, compassionate insight into the fascinating world of intensive care.’ Leah Hazzard, author of Hard PushedCritical is an intelligent, compelling and profoundly insightful journey into the world of intensive care medicine and the lives of people who have forever been changed by it. Being critically ill means one or more of your vital organs have failed – this could be your lungs, your heart, your kidneys, gut or even your brain. Starting with the first recognised case in which a little girl was saved by intensive care in 1952 in Copenhagen, Matt writes brilliantly about the fascinating history, practices and technology in this newest of all the major medical specialties. Matt guides us around the ICU by guiding us around the body and the different organs, and in this way, we learn not only the stories of many of the patients he’s treated over the years, but also about the various functions different parts of the body.   He draws on his time spent with real patients, on the brink of death, and explains how he and his colleagues fight against the odds to help them live. Happily many of his cases have happy endings, but Matt also writes movingly about those cases which will always remain with him – the cases where the mysteries of the body proved too hard to solve, or diagnoses came too late or made no difference to the outcome.

Private Parts; How To Really Live With Endometriosis


Eleanor Thom - 2019
    It takes an average of seven and a half years to get a diagnosis in the UK and affects sufferers' capacity to work, their fertility and their ability to enjoy sex.What Eleanor Thom can tell you about endometriosis:You are so much more than the sum of your private parts.Part memoir, part guide book and part survival guide, Private Parts retraces Eleanor's own journey with endometriosis, offering readers practical, down-to-earth and friendly advice covering everything from what actually happens in an internal exam, to finding the right specialist for you, the perfect post-op wardrobe and to why you should look to Frida Kahlo for inspiration in your darkest moments.Written for those looking to live well with their endometriosis and for those who are looking for help to understand the disease and how it affects those with it, Private Parts is a call to action for people to speak up about an illness which is still so misunderstood.Will feature exclusive interviews with Hilary Mantel and Lena Dunham.

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives


Matt Richtel - 2019
    An epic, first-of-its-kind book, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist.A terminal cancer patient rises from the grave. A medical marvel defies HIV. Two women with autoimmunity discover their own bodies have turned against them. Matt Richtel's An Elegant Defense uniquely entwines these intimate stories with science’s centuries-long quest to unlock the mysteries of sickness and health, and illuminates the immune system as never before.The immune system is our body’s essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Its legion of microscopic foot soldiers—from T cells to “natural killers”—patrols our body, linked by a nearly instantaneous communications grid. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats.For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition—hallmarks of modern life—and even by excessive hygiene. Paradoxically, it is a fragile wonder weapon that can turn on our own bodies with startling results, leading today to epidemic levels of autoimmune disorders.Richtel effortlessly guides readers on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to the cutting-edge laboratories that are revolutionizing immunology—perhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. The foundation that Richtel builds makes accessible revelations about cancer immunotherapy, the microbiome, and autoimmune treatments that are changing millions of lives. An Elegant Defense also captures in vivid detail how these powerful therapies, along with our behavior and environment, interact with the immune system, often for the good but always on a razor’s edge that can throw this remarkable system out of balance.Drawing on his groundbreaking reporting for the New York Times and based on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists, Matt Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our “elegant defense.”

Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap


Judy Goldman - 2019
     Together is her unforgettable account of the struggle to regain their "normal" life and a nuanced portrait of a marriage tested. When Judy Goldman's husband of almost four decades reads a newspaper ad for an injection to alleviate back pain, the outpatient procedure sounds like the answer to his longtime backaches. But rather than restoring his tennis game, the procedure leaves him paralyzed from the waist down--a phenomenon none of the doctors the family consults can explain. Overnight, Goldman's world is turned upside down. Though she has always thought of herself as the polite, demure wife opposite her strong, brave husband, Goldman finds herself thrown into a new role as his advocate, navigating byzantine hospital policies, demanding and refusing treatments, seeking solutions to help him win back his independence. Along the way, Goldman flashes back to her memories of their life together. As she tries envision her family's future, she discovers a new, more resilient version of herself. Together is a story of the life we imagine versus the life we lead--an elegant and empathetic meditation on partnership, aging, and, of course, love.

Dance Me to the End: Ten Months and Ten Days with ALS


Alison Acheson - 2019
    Seven weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist. Ten months and ten days later, Marty passed away.From day one, Alison, Marty’s spouse of over twenty-five years, kept a journal as a way to navigate the overwhelming state of her mind and soul. Soon the rawness of her words harmonized to tell the story of Marty’s diagnosis, illness, and decline. Her journal became a chronicle of caregiving as well as an emotional exploration of the tensions between the intuitive and the pragmatic, the logical and illogical, and the all-consuming demands of being both spouse and nurse. Divided into short pieces, some of which reads as free verse, Alison’s words are at times profoundly intense and painfully private.The composition of the intricate notes of a life in its final movements includes another stanza of the journal that became Dance Me to the End: the guiding of children grappling with the imminent loss of a parent, and the shifting roles of family, friends, and community—all of which add their own complex rhythms.Dance Me to the End is an evocative memoir about the emotional impact of witnessing a loved one suffer from a neurological, degenerative, and terminal disease. This is a detailed account of grief, shock and pain coexisting with the levity, laughter and love shared with her husband and sons in those final months of Marty's life.

Nurses On The Inside: Stories Of The HIV/AIDS Epidemic In NYC


Ellen Matzer - 2019
    It is the story of two nurses who witnessed the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the frontline. It focuses on their lives and their experiences. Some of the story is raw, sometimes graphic, but familiar for people with HIV infection, family members, friends, and other nurses and medical professionals such as Ellen and Valery. There were hundreds of nurses who went through what Ellen and Valery experienced. They want to tell this story to give a voice to a generation lost, encouraging the world to remember one simple thing: this history cannot be repeated.

Your Brain, Explained: What Neuroscience Reveals About Your Brain and its Quirks


Marc Dingman - 2019
    Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Neuroscientist Marc Dingman gives you a crash course in how your brain works and explains the latest research on the brain functions that affect you on a daily basis.You'll also discover what happens when the brain doesn't work the way it should, causing problems such as insomnia, ADHD, depression or addiction. You’ll learn how neuroscience is working to fix these problems, and how you can build up your defenses against the most common faults of the mind.Along the way you'll find out:· Why brain training games don't prevent dementia· What it's like to remember every day of your life as if it were yesterday· Which popular psychiatric drug was created from German rocket fuel· What triggers sleep loss or lapses in concentrationDrawing on the author's popular YouTube series, 2-minute Neuroscience, this is a friendly, engaging introduction to the human brain and its quirks from the perspective of a neuroscientist - using real-life examples and the author's own eye-opening illustrations. Your brain is yours to discover!

Irma's Endgame


Paulette Mahurin - 2019
    Particularly impacted was an attorney, Irma Mullins, who found it inconceivable that the man she once loved could have committed the heinous act for which he had been arrested. Determined to find out what happened, she embarks on a course of action to uncover the truth. But when all paths lead to one dead-end after another, and Dayton continues to maintain his innocence, she detours. Through desperation, frustration, fear, and determination she grasps at thin threads for anything that might uncover facts to help exonerate Dayton. What she ultimately discovers is both shocking and unbelievable. Written by the award-winning, international best-selling author, Paulette Mahurin, Irma’s Endgame is a story of friendship and loyalty, of betrayal and revenge, of mystery and discovery, of enmity and love. It is a narrative that shakes the very core of the scientific ground we all walk on and proves that what we think is real is not always solid terrain. This is a novel that will be remembered long after the last page is finished.

The Doctors Secrets


L.A. Pepper - 2019
    I never plan to see him again.Fate has other plans.He turns out to be my daughters doctor and the son of the powerful icon that I'm spying on.He's hiding something deep and dark.Something that could destroy both of us.Little does he know that I have secrets myself.One being that I'm falling for him...hard.Two being that I'm a private investigator hired to spy on his father.And three, that we are both in danger more than he knows.What will happen when our secrets are revealed?Is there a chance for us in the midst of this chaos?

Baby, It's Cold Outside


Kimberly Kincaid - 2019
    He’s arrogant. He’s drop-dead sexy. He drives her crazy in every sense of the word. Even worse, he’s her boss. And now they’re stuck together for the holidays. Sofia Vasquez eats determination for breakfast. She’ll do anything to fulfill her dream — and her father’s dying wish — of becoming a doctor. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way. Especially not her ridiculous attraction to Emmett Mallory, a.k.a. Dr. Cocky. Sofia’s here to become a doctor, not play doctor. No matter how much the sexy surgeon turns her on. Emmett shouldn’t want his resident. From her sharp tongue to her even sharper tenacity she’s like a walking, talking off limits sign. But she needs his help to pass her boards and he’s got no plans for the holidays. So what if they argue every time they’re together? So what if it makes him want her even more? But as Christmas draws closer and the passion between them grows hotter Emmett and Sofia begin to realize they’re not explosive because they don’t mix. They’re explosive because they do. From USA Today best-selling author Kimberly Kincaid comes a scorching hot romance featuring a cocky bad-boy hero and the headstrong heroine who’s protective of the heart he wants to steal. This steamy holiday happily-ever-after contains sexy banter, cupcakes, and a complete love story. No cliffhangers, all hotness!

Reminiscence: Life of A Country Doctor


Carl Matlock - 2019
    Doctor Matlock practiced medicine for forty-seven years, long enough to witness profound changes in medical practice, technology, and society. He was board certified in both Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine during his career, but the early years of his practice centered in family medicine in a small town and farm community in Indiana. Celebrate with him and his office staff as they rejoice over a newborn's safe arrival. Experience the concern when a patient faces the crisis of a severe illness. Grieve as the ravages of cancer threatens family coherence. Join in living life to the full in small town USA.

The First Breath: How Modern Medicine Saves the Most Fragile Lives


Olivia Gordon - 2019
    Unveiling the intense patient-doctor relationship at work with every birth, this book reflects on the cutting-edge medicine that has saved a generation of babies, the combination of love and fear a parent feels for a child they haven’t yet met and what can happen before a baby’s first breath. Olivia Gordon was twenty-nine weeks pregnant when a scan found that her baby was critically ill. Thanks to a risky operation in utero and five months in neonatal care, her son survived. The First Breath is the first popular science book to tell the story of the fast developing fields of fetal and neonatal medicine. It explores motherhood and the female experience of medicine through Olivia’s personal story and sensitive, intimate case histories of other mothers' high risk births. The First Breath asks what it means to become the mother of a child who would not have survived birth only a generation ago, showing how doctors and nurses save the most vulnerable lives and how medicine has developed to make it possible for these lives to even begin.

Codependence


Amy Long - 2019
    Long documents her coming of age as an ambitious young writer plagued by chronic headache and entangled with a boyfriend’s opioid addiction. The essays that result explore the complexities of care, hurt, and hope with elegance and precision. Long exposes her every nerve, crafting a story both intimate and deeply relevant. An essential book for the opioid era.Praise for Codependence: This gutsy memoirist of opioid addiction and pain management has not prevailed over her predicament. The electric prose of this book is not written from that vantage. Nor, as she persuasively demonstrates, is there necessarily a triumphant position to which to aspire, when a case is as precarious and enveloping as hers. The art of the essay and the practice of life writing benefit from Amy Long's decisions on every page to present a narrator who is as self-excusing, furtive, and volatile as she is candid, searching, and bracingly expert in our country’s labyrinthine industry of relief and the hurt of protracted hope. Codependence gives you the room key and invites you to inspect the parameters of Purgatory. —Brian BlanchfieldAgainst all the easy recovery narratives, against all the Opioid Crisis Hand-Wringing, stands this heart-stopping book—ferociously felt, powerfully written, absolutely persuasive in its extraordinary nakedness, bravery, and gallows humor. Brilliant. —David ShieldsVividly drawn, disarmingly forthright, and darkly seductive, Amy Long’s Codependence redefines what it means to take drugs, fall in love, and belong to a family. Exhibiting a mastery of narrative form and structure while documenting one woman’s attempt to articulate her pain—as well as the lengths she will go to eradicate it—this book represents a stunning and singular debut. —Matthew VollmerAmy Long holds an MFA in creative writing from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in women’s studies from the University of Florida. She serves as a contributing editor at the drug history blog Points.

Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again


Eric J. Topol - 2019
    The doctor-patient relationship--the heart of medicine--is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound. In Deep Medicine, leading physician Eric Topol reveals how artificial intelligence can help. AI has the potential to transform everything doctors do, from notetaking and medical scans to diagnosis and treatment, greatly cutting down the cost of medicine and reducing human mortality. By freeing physicians from the tasks that interfere with human connection, AI will create space for the real healing that takes place between a doctor who can listen and a patient who needs to be heard.Innovative, provocative, and hopeful, Deep Medicine shows us how the awesome power of AI can make medicine better, for all the humans involved.

Gallows Humor


Carolyn Elizabeth - 2019
    At thirty-three, she’s in the best shape of her life and has a satisfying position at Jackson City Memorial Hospital. With a good paycheck, great friends, and occasional relationships with smart, beautiful women, she couldn’t be happier. She thinks.Dr. Thayer Reynolds, whiling away some time before the start of her Emergency Department fellowship at JCMH and intrigued by the stories she’s heard, crashes the morgue to get a look at Corey—the woman her young colleagues are whispering about.Totally spinning from her first interactions with Thayer, Corey throws herself into the post mortem exam of a construction worker who fell to his death, which isn’t at all suspicious—until it is. With no support from her boss or the police, Corey investigates the death on her own. Making bad decisions with good intentions, she recklessly endangers her own life and Thayer’s. Even worse—she potentially dooms any chance of a real relationship with Thayer before it even gets started.Genre: Romance, ThrillerEditor: Ann RobertsCover Designer: Judith Fellows

Survivor's Guilt


Michelle Arnold - 2019
    Abi and Greta quickly form an unshakable bond, but Abi, though usually bold, is afraid to act on her romantic feelings for Greta. Makeup artists don't get involved with actresses, do they?Just when they are prepared to admit their feelings for each other, however, tragedy strikes: Greta's plane crashes, leaving her life in the balance. Now Abi must be there for her in more ways than she ever imagined. She is determined that her love for Greta will pull them both through.But Abi is keeping a horrible secret: Greta is the only survivor of the plane crash. Will Greta be able to handle it when she finally finds out?

Forged Through Fire: A Reconstructive Surgeon's Story of Survival, Faith, and Healing


Mark D. McDonough - 2019
    It also left Mark with burns on over 65 percent of his body. During a long and painful recovery, his faltering faith in God was strengthened by a remarkable near-death experience. Inspired to pursue a career as a plastic surgeon to help those who suffer as he has, McDonough has overcome numerous other adversities on his journey, including addiction and a stroke. Now he shares his incredible true story of survival and perseverance to bring hope and healing to those dealing with great physical and emotional pain.Anyone who has suffered or watched a loved one suffer from a personal trauma, disease, or loss that has tested or stolen their faith and exhausted their emotional resources will find real hope in this redemptive story.

Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story


Elizabeth Anne Wood - 2019
    Throughout their journey, Wood uses her notebook as a shield to keep unruly emotions at bay, often taking comfort in her role as advocate and forgetting to “be the daughter,” as one doctor reminds her to do. Meanwhile, her mother’s penchant for denial and her childlike tendency toward magical thinking lead to moments of humor even as Wood battles the red tape of hospital bureaucracies, the frustration of planning in the midst of an unpredictable illness, and the unintentional inhumanity of a health care system that too often fails to see the person behind the medical chart.

A Hero's Love


Posey Parks - 2019
    I plan to learn what makes her body tick. The more my fingers stroll along her curves causing sparks to fly, I realize the occasional hook-ups aren't enough. The physical chemistry is a bonus but just the tip of the iceberg. I want it all with Malaysia. I may work sixty-plus hours a week, but I'm never too tired to spend time with Malaysia. During the day I'm a brain surgeon. At night, I protect the streets of Boston from the scum of the earth who prey on the less fortunate. Can Malaysia handle my after-hours duties? Or will the weight of the danger prove to be too heavy?

This Is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines


Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, PhD - 2019
    Her first year abroad was an adventure. She dated sailors and attended dances. But as 1941 progressed, signs of imminent war grew more urgent. Military wives and children were shipped home to the States, and the sailors increased their daily drills. Days after Pearl Harbor was attacked, the Japanese military assaulted the Philippines. When Manila fell to Japan in early January 1942, Dorothy was held captive in a hospital and then transferred to a civilian prison camp.  Under the direction of Chief Nurse Laura Cobb, Dorothy and ten other navy nurses maintained rank and reported each day to a makeshift hospital. Cramped conditions, disease, and poor nutrition meant the navy nurses and their army counterparts were overwhelmed caring for the camp. In May 1943, a civilian physician asked Cobb if the navy nurses would consider transferring to a new prison camp in the countryside. The twelve nurses feared the unknown, but they could not deny they were needed. On the morning of their departure, inmates used the public address system to play the navy fight song, "Anchors Aweigh." The nurses were overwhelmed by the response. They had indeed been the anchors of the camp, who kept ill inmates form drifting. In the new prison camp, the "twelve anchors" turned a stripped infirmary into a functioning hospital. Despite their own ailments, they provided nonstop care for starving, diseased, and abused inmates. Over the years, their friendships deepened, and several of the women, including Dorothy, even found love.This Is Really War is an inspiring story about a young nurse who fought for life during a dark time.

Animal Matters: Diary of an Inner City Vet


Charlotte Rea - 2019
    The book provides readers with a revealing, honest, emotional experience, with deeply sad moments followed by amusing and unimaginable ones. Charlotte writes both short amusing diary entries along with more detailed accounts and reflections back on her training and the experiences and difficulties she has come up against over the decade since she graduated. Throughout the book you will get to know both the animals and the people and how close the bond between us can be. Charlotte also discusses contemporary issues in veterinary medicine such as animal euthanasia, RSPCA welfare cases, mental health issues within the veterinary profession, ethical concerns around pedigree dog breeding and the laws on dangerous dogs. Animal Matters is a moving and heartwarming book about the unconditional love between animals and humans, and how deep the bond can be.

Aly's Fight: Beating cancer, battling infertility, and believing in miracles


Aly Taylor - 2019
    At just 24 years old, Aly was diagnosed with breast cancer. Everything they had known, hoped for, and dreamed of came to a screeching halt with the news of her diagnoses.Aly's cancer journey is only the beginning of their incredible story. With grit, fierce love, and unyielding faith, Aly and Josh fight for her life and dream of building a family. They battle infertility, face heart-wrenching struggles while trying to adopt, and experience God in miraculous ways. Aly and Josh inspire readers to cling to life, faith, and love, especially when all hope seems lost.

The More The Merrier


Elena Graf - 2019
    Maggie and Liz have been dreaming of a quiet Christmas since they got back together after being separated for forty years. This year, they are determined to celebrate a romantic holiday alone. Their plans of sitting by the fire, drinking mulled wine and watching old Christmas movies get scuttled by surprise visits from friends and family. The Christmas chaos provides some holiday cheer and a touching lesson in the real meaning of the holidays.20,000 words

Doctor's Secret


Lyz Kelley - 2019
    He’s over-the-top demanding and putting her family name at risk. If she can’t get him to see reason, the hospital operating room project—the robotic suite her family has funded—will fail.Garrett Branston is a workaholic with a sharp wit and irresistible charm—but his charm isn’t working on gorgeous McKenzie Carver. She might suggest he chill, but the attraction between them is anything but cold.When she tells him he needs some serious PR intervention and suggests a fake engagement to redeem his reputation, he agrees, as long as she’s the one to pose as his fiancee.But Garrett is still hiding something, and McKenzie fears his secrets will ruin everything her family has built.From the award-winning author of Blinded, download Doctor’s secret today and start falling in love.

Christmas at Sleigh Bell Farm


Kaylie Newell - 2019
    But when he has to drop out of vet school to try and rescue his grandparents’ Marietta-based sleigh ride business and family farm, Lucky faces his hardest struggle yet.Podcaster Rachel O’Rourke is done with broken hearts, but she can still find joy in other people’s happily-ever-afters. When she holds a contest on her show for the best first kiss story, her bruised heart beats a little faster when she reads Lucky’s submission. He doesn’t have a story, but his grandparents do, and free advertising for the winner is just what he’s looking for.As they start spending time on the farm, Rachel finds herself not only drawn to the sweet setting, but also to the man. But when a real estate developer sets his sights on the Elliott land, Lucky will have to decide if the money means security for his family, or if he’ll fight for Sleigh Bell with Rachel by his side.