Reading Recommendations from EHSL’s Administrative Department and Public Services Team
Heidi Greenberg, Director of Operations & Logistics, Recommends:
“Tara Westover tells the story of her early life as she endured both physical and verbal abuse at the hands of family members. She tells story after story of the restricted and limiting life she was allowed to live but as she grows, she begins to see the abuse and neglect and the confinement of her situation. As she watches another family member leave to pursue education, she gathers the courage to do the same and eventually believes that she deserves a better life. She uses her education to heal from the trauma, expand her views, and build a meaningful, successful life. The stories are grim, but you gain admiration and respect for the person she has become despite these life altering events. This story of survival is compelling and inspiring.”
Hanna Colm, Administrative Assistant, Recommends:
“Seek You by Kristen Radtke is a graphic novel. I read Seek You during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic after moving to new city where I did not know anybody. The subtitle “A journey through American loneliness” was especially topical at the time. The illustrations captured me right away. Radkte offers substantial evidence of collective loneliness through science, history, statistics, and narrative examples. It’s a good way to get back into reading after a slump; it’s quick yet captivating.”
Kenda Connors, Library Aide, Recommends:
“Set in Alabama, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg weaves together the past and the present through the blossoming friendship between Evelyn Couch, a middle-aged housewife, and an elderly woman who lives in a nursing home. Every week Evelyn visits Ninny who recounts stories of her youth in Whistle Stop in Alabama. I liked this book because two strangers that did not know each came to be wonderful friends.”
“Part of our “Graphic Health” collection, the format of Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechancisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened, is described as “a quirky, humorous memoir/collection of illustrated essays” by Kirkus Reviews, which seems totally accurate to me. Another review compared her to David Sedaris. It’s especially praised for Brosh writing about her experiences with depression and what it really feels like (or doesn’t) to have it. I thought it was a riot when I discovered it in 2014, and I was barely older than the author’s 13-year-old self, whom she addresses in chapter 1. I rediscovered it in 2023 during my first week working here, and there I was again, laughing out loud at my desk. I’m a lot more like 25-year-old Brosh now – I know what it is to experience depression, my 20s, and train a kooky dog – but I didn’t enjoy it any less. I’m still amazed by how Brosh can portray so much emotion and personality in her “badly drawn” dogs and stick people – a characteristic that I think makes the drawings great. You might recognize her art from a now ancient meme that debuted in 2010.
The “sequel” (as far as memoirs go) to Hyperbole and 1/2, Solutions and Other Problems has a greater focus on existentialism and mortality. It was somewhat less lighthearted than I expected, but in a way, it seemed fitting, because the way Allie Brosh’s life and persona seemed to change between 2013 and 2020 were not dissimilar to the way I changed during the same time period. There are still a number of weird anecdotes about funny things from Brosh’s past (e.g. Bucket, Dandelions, Fish video, Sister). It’s still written in the same format with just as many pictures – pictures that have subtle art style evolution. I didn’t enjoy it any less than Hyperbole, but I enjoyed it in a bit of a different way. I laughed harder than I had in a long time at “Richard,” and I cried like a baby at “Losing” and “The Pile Dog.” Separately, those stories are very different – their main similarity is that they both discuss death. But together they felt just like a loss I myself experienced. Another ongoing theme is being kind to yourself, which gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling even when I was also totally confused (“Friend”).”
Ryan Cooper of Public Services Recommends:
“Tibetan Buddhism has long been surrounded by an air of mystery and romance, and it doesn’t help that its main sourcebook is titled The Book of the Dead. Buddhism seems on the outset preeminently obsessed with human expiry, but The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying shows just how integral knowledge of death is to living life. Presented in wonderful flowing prose, this treatise on the inevitable presents as a warm hug. This book holds a wealth of spiritual knowledge for the religious and atheist alike, and is appropriate for both the casual reader and serious academic.”
Catherine Soehner, Executive Director of EHSL Recommends:
“This is a fascinating walk through the macabre beginnings of surgery, which included dissections of human cadavers that were pulled from graves. He also dissected and performed surgeries on a variety of animals to gain a better understanding of the human body. The life of John Hunter, often dubbed the father of modern medicine, is followed from childhood through his career in surgery. He based his practice on his own observations rather than medieval teachings and was often considered a heretic. However, his more successful surgeries soon brought him notoriety and a successful practice. Wendy Moore’s writing style is compelling and brings clarity to typical life in the 1700’s.”
