The Anorexia Diaries: A Mother and Daughter's Triumph Over Teenage
Eating Disorders
By Linda M. Rio and Tara M. Rio
With Craig Johnson, Ph.D. (Rodale)
The juxtaposition of two accounts of Tara Rio's bulimarexia
provides insight into the effects an eating disorder can have on a
family. Readers expecting a focus on the disorder itself take note: The
book devotes much space to the familial issues and adolescent angst that
precede and follow Rio's battle with the illness.
Letters to a Young Therapist: Stories of Hope and Healing
By Mary Pipher (Basic)
Pipher is the best-selling author of Reviving Ophelia, which
examines the fate of young women in an appearance-obsessed culture. Here,
she recounts lessons from her 30-year career as a psychotherapist in the
form of letters to her favorite graduate student, Laura. Topics such as
family bashing and the responsibility of the therapist to patients she
finds morally offensive are explored.
The Face in the Mirror: The Search for the Origins of
Consciousness
By Julian Keenan with Gordon G. Gallup and Dean Falk (Ecco)
Forget DNA and bipedal locomotion; membership in club Homo sapiens
is earned with the ability to recognize one's own reflection. At least
that's the compelling argument made by neuroscientist Julian Keenan, who
explores self-awareness and consciousness by looking at primates,
children and the mentally ill.
The Brazilian Healer with the Kitchen Knife: And Other Stories of
Mystics, Shamans and Miracle Makers
By Sandy Johnson (Rodale)
Hawaiian spiritual medicine? A former Olympian turned healer?
Breast cancer survivor Sandy Johnson went on a quest for the real miracle
workers. Her uniting theme is inspiration. Johnson's vignettes include a
woman who heals patients over the phone as well as a man armed with a
kitchen knife who cures brain tumors.
Imperfect Harmony: How to Stay Married for the Sake of Your
Children and Still Be Happy
By Joshua Coleman, Ph.D. (St. Martin's Press)
In today's divorce-rampant culture, Coleman's argument sounds
downright inflammatory. He maintains that it is possible, and in some
cases advisable, to stay together "for the kids." The trick, he argues,
is not to seek complete fulfillment in the marriage but to develop more
realistic expectations.
Straight Talk About Your Child's Mental Health: What to Do When
Something Seems Wrong
By Steven Faraone, Ph.D. (Guilford)
Parents don't always get the answers they need. What does it mean
if Johnny threw tantrums at age 4, shoplifted at 12 and sells drugs as a
teen? Straight Talk lays out warning signs, symptoms of psychiatric
disorders and school services available to help parents distinguish
between growing pains and more serious problems.
Breathing for a Living
By Laura Rothenberg (Hyperion)
Laura Rothenberg was a spirited Brown University student who
chronicled her lifelong struggle with cystic fibrosis for National Public
Radio. Episodes include a surprise "lung retirement party" before she
endured a double lung transplant. That audio diary, "My So-Called Lungs,"
is expanded in this posthumous memoir; the author died in March, at the
age of 22.
The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think
Differently... and Why
By Richard Nisbett (Free Press)
Why do the Japanese learn verbs more rapidly than they do nouns,
while the British have it the other way around? Cultural psychologist
Nisbett shows that there are dramatic differences in the way Asians and
Westerners process information, from the inclination to view events in a
larger context (Far Easterners) to a greater willingness to debate
(Westerners).
Tags:
adolescent angst,
bipedal locomotion,
book,
brain tumors,
brazilian healer,
breast cancer survivor,
bulimarexia,
craig johnson,
dean falk,
face in the mirror,
favorite graduate,
gordon g gallup,
imperfect harmony,
julian keenan,
letters to a young therapist,
mary pipher,
miracle makers,
miracle workers,
real miracle,
reviving ophelia,
tara rio
