With cooler air on the way, it’s time to Fall in love with books. Read on to learn about the Eccles Health Sciences Library Staff Reading Recommendations this semester.
Elaine Thornton, Assistant Director for the History of Health Sciences recommends Never Caught: the Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, written by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. Never Caught is the compelling true story of George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave, Ona Judge. When George Washington was elected as president, he served in New York and then Philadelphia, which at the time was the temporary seat of the nation’s capital. Pennsylvania law required enslaved people to be set free after six months of residency in the state. Rather than comply with this law, Washington sent his nine slaves back south or out of the state to avoid freeing them. At 22 years old, Ona Judge fled Washington’s estate in pursuit of freedom in New England.
Shawn Steidinger, Associate Librarian for Clinical Services recommends Cutting for Stone, written by Abraham Varghese. Twin brothers, Marion and Shiva, are the children of an Indian nun and a British surgeon. When their mother dies and their father disappears, they come of age on the brink of the Ethiopian revolution. The story explores the brothers’ shared fascination with medicine through the waves of love, betrayal, and fate from Ethiopia to New York City and back again.
Nena Schvaneveldt, Associate Director of Clinical, Research, and Education recommends Felix Ever After, written by Kacen Callender. Felix has never been in love, and desperately wants to know what being in love might be like and why it seems easy for everyone but him to find someone. Even though he is proud of his identity, Felix secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to get his own happily-ever-after.
Olivia Kavapalu, Public Services Supervisor, recommends Lighter Than My Shadow, a graphic novel by Katie Green. Content warnings include eating disorder, self-harm, and sexual violence. The memoir explores Green’s experiences with disordered eating. Olivia says, “[This book] is a vulnerable autobiographical graphic novel depicting ongoing struggles and recovery throughout a lifetime. I love the dialogue it opens about our relationships to our bodies, food and our identity.” –Olivia
Donna Baluchi, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Librarian, recommends Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. “This is the first best-seller from Caitlin Doughty, a mortician and educator known for her YouTube series “Ask A Mortician” and founding The Order of the Good Death organization. Her book is a series of funny, insightful stories from the early days of her career. It taught me so much about funerary practices in America, and how to advocate for less expensive, more sustainable, and more empathetic ways we can honor our bodies after we die.” –Donna
