Notes
from the Chair
Message
from the Chair
By Eris Weaver
In my column last issue,
I off-handedly mentioned that I had resigned from my position at the
Redwood Health Library. I didn't realize what a flurry of interest
that would engender! The first response when folks first hear the
news is "Why?!" (Librarians follow that question with "Did
your funding get cut?")
I'll explain a bit further.
One of the keys to a healthy
life is balance. A nutritionally balanced diet includes a variety
of different types of foods: protein, carbohydrates, fats, etc. Our
muscles and bones develop and stay healthy only with the right balance
of rest and exercise. Our psychological well-being depends upon a
healthy balance between the demands of work and family and the pleasures
of play and relaxation. We even seem to seek balance by choosing partners
and friends whose personality traits complement our own.
I am currently embarking
on a new adventure, seeking a different balance between work and the
other facets of my life. I resigned in order to open a space in my
life for some deep rest and reflection. I have been working or going
to school (or both!) continuously for the past 30 years; I have raised
a son to adulthood and helped build a co-housing community. I am tired
and cranky and ready for a break -- and I don't want to wait until
I'm 65 to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labors! I feel incredibly
lucky to have both a supportive spouse and the financial security
necessary to take this flying leap, trusting that when the time is
right the next new opportunity will present itself.
This wasn't driven by problems
at work. I have had the best boss in the world, loved my co-workers,
and believed that the work we were doing was important. But it became
clear to me that it was time for something new, even though I had
no idea what that might be.
As soon as I gave notice,
I began to get interview offers. Kind colleagues have called to tell
me about the times they have made this leap, and what a wonderful
experience it was for them. I have been called courageous. (I'm not
sure I deserve that one.) I have been looked upon with envy. ("I
wish I could do that!")
I'm sitting here writing
this on my first unemployed Monday. I don't know where I'll end up,
whether it will be doing consumer health or if I'll even still be
in a library. But I do intend to enjoy the ride, wherever it takes
me.
BOOK
REVIEWS
Wilson,
Michael R. The Other Midlife Crisis: Arthritis and All
Those Aches and Pains. Whiskey Hollow Press, 2003. vi, 314
p. ISBN 0-9742976-0-7. pbk.
$21.95
A board-certified orthopedic
surgeon has written this unabashedly personal book "by a boomer
and for the boomers" on common musculoskeletal complaints. And
there are many, as arches collapse and connective tissues age.
After reviewing basic medical
terminology, nine chapters are dedicated to common injuries, overuse
conditions, fractures and diseases of specific joints and bones.
Well-known topics such as tennis elbow, low back pain and cartilage
tears are matched with those on less frequently discussed nail infections,
hammertoe, and frozen shoulder. These and many more are explained,
often using spirited informal case histories, with information on
prevention and current treatments, both surgical and non-surgical.
There are separate chapters on arthritis, osteoporosis, and “conditions
I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy” (gout, pseudogout,
osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and tumors).
This book is written in
a conversational style that should appeal to and be easily understood
by the intended audience. Text boxes highlight important preventive
or treatment information, and the clear diagrams of joints and bones
are very useful. The author emphasizes careful diagnosis and least
invasive treatment possible, recommending exercises and physical therapy
for both injury prevention and recovery.
The Other Midlife Crisis
has better diagrams and is more fun to read than I.M. Siegel's All
About Joints, a Maintenance Guide (Demos, 2000), but has no glossary,
index or bibliography. Prefer the copiously illustrated The Body
Almanac (American Academy of Surgeons, 2nd ed., 2004)
as a first choice or for a more general audience. Recommended.
Reviewed by Nancy Crossfield,
Saint Agnes Medical Library, Fresno, CA.
Minkin,
Mary Jane and Wright, Carol V.
A Woman's Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause. Yale
University Press, 2005. 394p. Index. ISBN 0-300-10435-9
Mary Jane Minkin, MD, clinical
professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of
Medicine and Carol V. Wright, PhD, health writer, collaborate on their
third book. The book goes beyond the topics of menopause and perimenopause
to discuss related issues in women's health, ranging from cancer to
osteoporosis to PMS. Most of the book is in question and answer format,
with answers ranging from a sentence to a few pages. There is a glossary,
a resource list, and some computer illustrations and charts. The
book recommends hormone therapy for all of the discomforts of menopause
and states that numerous scientific studies as well as mountains of
anecdotal evidence show that HRT does work for everyone. The book
starts with a chapter about the history and politics of the Women's
Health Initiative and its findings on HRT, before even beginning to
explain what menopause is about. The authors feel that the potential
risks of HRT, as identified in the Women's Health Initiative, are
not completely understood. In fact, many therapies other than HRT
(ranging from St. John's Wort to Dilatation and Curettage) are explained
by some version of "nobody knows how or why this works".
The chapter entitled "You
and your Doctor" reads like a litany of the doctor's pet peeves
(patients who ask the same question more than once, patients who expect
their doctor to be available during her maternity leave, etc.), without
offering helpful advice for improving physician/patient communication.
This book is not recommended
Reviewed by Cara Helfner,
Kessler Health Education Library, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston,
MA
Editors note: For another point of view about this book, see
the review in Library Journal, January, 2005, p. 139. "Owing
to its objective coverage of the HRT controversy and the Women's Health
Initiative, this is a valuable resource and worthy replacement for
Morris Notelovitz and Diana Tonnesson's Menopause and Midlife Health
and is essential for all public and consumer health
libraries".
Harris,
Sandra L. Ph.D. and Beth A Glasberg, PhD.
Topics in Autism: Siblings of Children with Autism, a Guide
for Families. Woodbine House, 2003.
168p. index. resource
guide. references. ISBN
1-890627-29-1. $16.95
The purpose of Topics
in Autism is " to help the children become more fully siblings." (p
132) The primary audience is parents rather than siblings, although
there are many sibling vignettes from participants in the authors'
support groups and from their sibling research study, from which this
book arises.
The authors have spent
more than 40 years working with families affected by autism, and autistic
persons of all ages. The book is filled with practical information
on topics that include how parents can explain autism to their normal-developing
children, sensitivity to the social issues confronting their children
whose sibling is “differently developing,” building family
support systems, establishing mutual relationships, training siblings
to become teacher for their autistic brother or sister.
I find the presentation
circular and indirect at times, but Chapter 7, about adult siblings
is an exception in which framework and content are tightly knit.
The Resource Guide and References are excellent. This book can give
parents and siblings (from preschool through adulthood) what they
need in order to accomplish that mission and to recognize and deal
with their own personal issues.
Reviewed by Arlen Gray,
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
Kruszka,
Bonnie J. Eating Gluten-Free with Emily: a Story
for Children with Celiac Disease.
Woodbine House, 2004. 14
leaves. ISBN 1890627623. $14.95.
Written for children from
3 to 8 years this book is written in an easy-to-understand, matter-of-fact
style. The message is that there are many things about a child that
make them an individual; having celiac is just one of Emily's characteristics.
It explains the tests for diagnosis in a non-scary way and gives suggestions
on how to handle common situations such as parties, eating dinner
at a friend's house, going to camp and comments from kids at school.
It also suggests having an emergency snack bag and what to look for on food labels. This
book has just the right amount of information for a child. It is a welcome
addition to the children's consumer health literature.
Kate Smith, Family Health
Library, The Children's Hospital, Denver,
CO
Chamberlin,
Stacy L., and Narins, Brigham, editors. The
Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders. Thomson
Gale, 2005. 1011p. index. ISBN
0-7876-9150-X (2-volume set). $325.00.
The complexity of the brain
and the range of its possible malfunctions make a comprehensive encyclopedia
of neurological disorders a tall order. The Gale Encyclopedia of
Neurological Disorders succeeds at creating a bridge from the
complex science of neurology to the language of the general public
and offers a tool non-neurologists can use to understand basic terms
and concepts.
Among the almost 400 full-length
articles are the expected topics such as Parkinson Disease, epilepsy,
stroke, etc. These are complemented by broader neurological topics
(back pain, headache, and fatigue) as well as fairly rare conditions
such as Sandhoff disease and monomelic amyotrophy. The Encyclopedia
also covers drugs, treatments, therapies, and diagnostic equipment.
Disease and syndrome articles
follow a standardized format that includes definition, description,
demographics, causes and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, recovery
and rehabilitation, clinical trials, prognosis and special concerns.
Key terms are highlighted in sidebars, and articles end with excellent
resource lists.
While the language can
sometimes be at a higher level than other Gale encyclopedias, the
authors have generally done an excellent job at explaining potentially
complex diseases processes and medications. Medical and science terminology
is not shied away from, but rather addressed head-on and explained
in an easy to understand manner. Cross-referencing also directs readers
to other areas to help round out their knowledge.
Essays were written by
over 70 medical writers, physicians, nurses, and pharmacists from
10 countries, and edited by Stacey L. Chamberlin and Brigham Narins,
editor of several other Gale publications. This text would be a good
addition to a public or consumer health library and is also available
as an eBook.
Reviewed by Amy Bayley,
Stanford Health Library, Stanford, CA
Brown,
Gregory Bays and O'Boyle, Jane.
About Face: A Plastic Surgeon's 4-Step Nonsurgical Program for
Younger, Beautiful Skin. Ballantine Books,
2005. 2244p. ISBN: 0-345-46728-0. $24.95.
Dr. Brown has over 20 years
experience as a plastic surgeon. About Face is divided into
two main parts. After a brief section, How Skin Works, Part 1 provides
an overview of the four steps for younger, beautiful skin:
1. Eat Right: Systemic
Skin Care for the Whole Body;
2. Keep Your Face in Shape
by Moving Your Arms and Legs;
3. Topical Creams, New
and Old: Which Ones Work to Build New Skin; and
4. New Medical Procedures
for Skin Rejuvenation Without Surgery.
Part 2 provides customized
skin care programs for different age groups and seasons. The dietary
advice is generic and follows a low-glycemic index program and includes
some vitamin and dietary supplements recommendations. A section on
yoga is excerpted from the 20-Minute Yoga Workouts by the American
Yoga Association. The sections on topical creams and new medical procedures
are very thorough. Although the author did recommend the product
developed with his patent for epidermal growth factor, it was not
heavily or exclusively promoted. His program is reminiscent of Dr.
Perricone's popular Wrinkle Cure. The tone is conversational
and matter-of-fact. Dr. Brown provides basic information, along with
personal stories of patients.
Reviewed by Linda King,
MLS, AHIP, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Lewis
Library, Fort Worth, Texas
Wilson,
Kathleen W. Dispatches From the Frontlines
of Medicine: Your Husband's Health: Simplify Your Worry List.
Whiskey Hollow Press, 2003. 197p.
glossary. ISBN 0-9742976-1-5. $14.95.
Dr. Kathleen Wilson, an
internal medicine physician specializing in midlife medicine, delights
the reader of her new book Your Husband's Health: Simplify Your
Worry List with her straight-forward and practical advice for
women who are worried about their man's health. At once, the book
is humorous and engaging, providing the reader with helpful and relevant
information on the most common health concerns which men in midlife
face. Research has shown that women between the ages of 30 and 45
are most often the ones in the family to seek out consumer health
information for themselves and their families. Dr. Wilson's book, written with
a lens that focuses on a wife's concerns for her husband, zeroes in
on this phenomenon, assimilating in one volume information on the
hot topics women would be looking for.
Dr. Wilson has succeeded
in "simplifying the worry list" for women by starting with
a man's head - where he is at emotionally and how to help him recognize
a stumbling block and get "back on track." She continues
down the body, with sections on heart disease, cholesterol, and hypertension
and cancer, while sharing personal vignettes from her own life or
practice along the way in illustration. "Further Down the Worry List" she presents sections with advice
on health issues that may not seem as critical, but yet are important
to consider in a man's overall health and quality of life, such as
weight, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, urologic problems and sleep
disorders.
While other books have
been published on men’s health as they age, Dr. Wilson's book
comes from a different vantage point; the point at which the woman
stands as the caregiver and the one who safeguards her husband’s
health. Readers will appreciate the book's focus, readability, and
style.
Reviewed by Elizabeth K.
Hill, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, Idaho
Walker,
Beth. The Girls' Guide to AD/HD. Woodbine
House, 2005. 174 p. index. ISBN
1-890627-56-9. $17.95.
The majority of the scientific
research and consumer health literature about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (AD/HD) is based on studies of boys. As girls with AD/HD
more often have the inattentive subtype, it may go unnoticed or not
be recognized until a later age. There is little reading material
available specifically for girls with AD/HD and Beth Walker, whose
daughter has AD/HD, has attempted to meet this need. She has created
a fictional teenage girl as her narrator, and has interspersed occasional
comments from two fictional friends throughout this book. At times,
however, her tone is somewhat uneven, with the narrator sounding like
an adult providing advice. Nevertheless, this is an engaging book
filled with quizzes, tables, humorous footnotes and "Fun Facts
to Forget," which provide frequent changes of pace helpful to
readers unable to remain focused on long sections of prose.
This book contains valuable
information about strategies for dealing with AD/HD, particularly
in the chapters on school and social relationships. It provides more
detailed information on some topics, such as the sections on neurology
and neurochemistry. The book could have benefited from additional
information about driving, substance use/abuse and early sexual activity,
as adolescents with AD/HD have been identified as being at high risk
for difficulties in these areas. In addition, the author includes
some anecdotal information not substantiated by research, especially
in the sections that identify the positive aspects of having AD/HD.
This book is recommended,
with reservations, as an additional purchase for libraries that serve
teenagers and their parents, and already have respected titles such
as the American Academy of Pediatrics" recent ADHD: A Complete and Authoritative Guide, in their collections.
It is a good age appropriate introduction to this topic for adolescents.
Reviewed by Deborah Magnan,
Samuel and Sandra Hekemian Medical Library, Hackensack University
Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
Naam,
Ramez. More than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement.
Broadway Books, 2005. 288p. ISBN 0-7679-1843-6. $24.95.
The science of human enhancement,
is it something to fear or to embrace? Ramez Naam, a computer engineer
formerly of MS Internet Explorer fame, guides our exploration of the
world of biotechnology. Maintaining the latter, Naam persuades the
reader that "human nature" is actually relative and that
in essence we have been reengineering ourselves all along. By purposefully
stacking the deck with certain physical and intellectual characteristics
through our mating and IVF choices; and by simply providing better
nutrition and vaccinations to our offspring; Naam argues we are already
enhancing the next generation. Taking this to the next level is not
really altering "human nature" but simply reaching beyond
health maintenance and the prolonging of life to augmenting our "natural"
capabilities. You will be amazed to discover where the research is
at, what the experts are already capable of doing and the array of
possibilities for the not so distant future. The deaf will indeed
be hearing, the blind seeing and the lame walking! The accomplishments
in gene therapy, brain-computer interfaces, and stem cell research
are truly marvelous and frankly the stuff of science fiction! Yet
who can argue with people's desire to live forever in a healthy twenty-something
body, of course. Naam confronts with balance and fairness, the fine
line between healing the sick and augmenting the healthy; correcting
disabilities and redesigning nature, as well as assisting reproduction
and cloning. The cloning of humans, Naam claims is widely misunderstood,
pointing out that if one thinks of a clone as simply the identical
twin one never had, it is easier to make the mental leap. Naam believes
that "never to say enough, always to want more" that is
what it means to be human.
Whether
one personally agrees or not with either the science or the ethics
of biologically enhancement, the author's premise is that it is already
impacting the lives of thousands, soon to be millions, of people.
For those who rest their hope in science to guarantee mankind's future
well-being and survival, and dare to hope of transcending current
limitations of the human existence, you won't want to miss this bold
addition to the literature.
Ann Celestine, HealthLink
– Kitchener Public Library, Kitchener ON Canada
