I swear, I don’t just read nonfiction! I’ve been on a nonfiction kick lately, and I think it’s because of how much I’ve been consuming audiobooks. I love when authors can tell me the story of their own lives in their own words. Having interviewed members of my community, there’s something really special about hearing people share their stories. When my students write personal essays, I am always interested to hear their voices develop on the page and to see what’s really important to them. I think nonfiction gets a bad reputation as being dry and boring, but I think narrative-styles of nonfiction are just as interesting and character-driven as fiction. As with any book, good writing and an interesting topic really make a difference!
Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine by Thomas Hager
After reading Empire of Pain, I was struck by how massive the pharmaceutical companies are and by how much pain and suffering they have brought upon the masses for the sake of profit. While it is easy to condemn opioids as an evil and addictive pill, it’s also necessary to note their necessity in controlling pain in medical emergencies and at the end of life. The duality of a substance that brings suffering and death also brings peace and relief is really at the heart of Ten Drugs. In investigating the medicines that changed the world and how medical breakthroughs can help and hurt us, Hager argues that medicine is an essential part of our survival while also questioning how prevalent and widespread they are in our lives. Coming from a medically complex family, I am grateful for the plethora of drugs that keep my dad and brother alive and well. Drugs prevent hospitalizations, ease the pain of hospitalizations, and aid healing after hospitalizations. However, all drugs have side effects and all drugs have a price. Drugs are seen as a necessity, but are they all the vital solution that they are marketed as? Hager describes in one memorable anecdote how he received a letter in the mail encouraging him to take a pill that, upon further research, he realized would have minimal benefits for the supposed health problem it was working to solve. While the pill wouldn’t hurt him, it had very little chance of actively helping him, either. Can we live without the benefit, and can we live with the cost?
What I loved the most about Hager’s writing was that it felt person-centered and narrative rather than purely educational. Yes, I learned a lot about the development of life-changing drugs, but I learned even more about the people who researched them and championed them. I love when important stories that are not taught in school get center stage, and the mix of entertainment and education was perfect for me. Medicine impacts all of us, and I think the complexity of modern medicine is worth investigating and discussing.
I read this on my Kindle, and I’m glad that I did because there was so much compelling information to process, and I didn’t want to miss anything!
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
Cancer is always a devastating diagnosis, but it’s even more devastating when you’re in your 20s, newly in love, and seeing your world as full of possibilities. Jaouad’s memoir is heart-breaking and vulnerable as she explores the toll that cancer takes on the patient and on all of those around them. Cancer has been romanticized in movies like The Fault in Our Stars, but Jaouad does not flinch from showing the ugly truth of this deadly diagnosis. While her story is one of long suffering and loss, it’s also an inspiration to hear her tell her story after all that she had experienced and to see the friendships she was able to cultivate during her many treatments and healing journey. For me, the experience of hearing her story in her own words and in her own voice as an audiobook was so powerful and moving.
Jaouad has, more than any other writer I’ve seen, made the experience of being ill and in pain for an extended period of time tangible and descriptive. The emotional and mental toll that she and her loved ones carried was a focal point of her narrative, and the tension of her romantic relationship broke my heart. While it will make you sad, you’ll also find a lot of inspiration in this bestseller.
Whiskey Tender: A Memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa
If you’re a fan of Tommy Orange’s books, you’ll enjoy this memoir about growing up in a mixed-race Indigenous family in the American southwest and the challenges that living on and off the reservation bring. Taffa’s young life was defined by trauma and heartache as the mental health challenges, imprisonments, substance abuse, and violence of her family and community haunt her. Despite these challenges, she has an enduring love for the community of the reservation and the history, culture, and resilience of her ancestors. Taffa actively struggles with finding herself as an adolescent as she feels so often that she is missing something or “not enough” within the communities that she inhabits. Her family chooses to move far from the life that they knew on the reservation for the educational and economic opportunities, but Taffa feels like an outsider in her new environment.
As Taffa learns more about her tribe’s history and grapples more with her lack of connection to her father’s tribal heritage and with her family’s distance and her social struggles at school, she defines her life more and more with resistance and anger. However, she comes to learn that she can embrace her heritage without the damaging rebellion, rage, and resentment that strangled her teenage years. I wish we could see more of her coming of age as a young adult and the life that she creates for herself, especially knowing how much she has accomplished.
This is a modern story of searching for the American dream and the importance of opportunity, storytelling, love, acceptance, and support. Often filled with disappointment, frustration, and longing, this memoir shows the importance of belonging, safety, and dreams.
Watching: Tom and I started watching Say Nothing on Hulu, and I love that this brilliant book has been turned into a show. I’m also absolutely binge watching the Ear Scouts Youtube channel whenever Tom is working late. Watching Rob wander through Disney is so soothing, and I wish I could go back to the happiest place on Earth soon.
Eating: I realized that I’ve been making the same meals over and over again, so I’m challenging myself to cook outside of my usual comfort zone. This week I made roasted butternut squash with spinach, sausage, dried cranberries, pecans, and goat cheese. It tasted like fall on a plate and is an easy dish to modify based on what’s in the fridge. I also made my own tikka masala yesterday, however, I added too much tomato puree to it, but it’s a lesson learned on proportions.
Volunteering: Tom and I are volunteering for Operation Christmas Drop this weekend to collect donations, and I’m so excited. The Netflix movie Operation Christmas Drop was our first peek into life on Guam, and I feel like we’ll be living our own Hallmark movie. Operation Christmas Drop is the Department of Defense’s longest-running humanitarian airlift operation, and they deliver food, supplies, educational materials, and toys to the islands surrounding Guam. I also gave students recipes to make dog treats for the local animal shelter, and I wanted to adopt all the puppies when I stopped by. There is a huge stray dog and cat population on Guam that needs a lot of support.
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