May is Mental Health Awareness Month

About 20% of people in the United States have some kind of mental health condition. There are many misconceptions about mental illness that often lead to stigmatization of people dealing with these conditions. This month, take some time to read and become more informed about what mental illness is and isn't. Consider these facts from the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

1 in 25 (10 million) adults in the United States lives with a serious mental illness.

60 million people in the United States face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental illness.

Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24, but early intervention programs can help.

African Americans and Hispanic Americans used mental health services at about half the rate of whites in the past year, and Asian Americans at about one-third the rate.

90% of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, but suicide is preventable.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Awareness-Messaging?utm_source=awareness&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=intoMH#sthash.qdVrbNBv.dpuf

For more information see these library resources:

Non-fiction:

Kemp, Donna R. Mental Health in America. 2009.

Miklowitz, David J. The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide. 2002.

Owens, Michael L. and Amy Gelman. I'm Depressed, Now What?. 2012.

Torrey, E. Fuller and Michael B. Knable. Surviving Manic Depression. 2002.

Watkins, Heidi. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 2010.

Wylie, John V. Diagnosing and Treating Mental Illness. 2010.

Fiction:

King, Wesley. OCDaniel. 2016.

Scelsa, Kate. Fans of the Impossible Life. 2015.

Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep. 2015.

Whaley, John Corey. Highly Illogical Behavior. 2016.

In the News- Drought and Famine in North Africa

In the News

A devastating drought and famine are threatening millions of lives in North Africa and the Middle East. South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen are experiencing record drought conditions. What is worse, political instability limits the amount of aid that can be distributed. Millions of people have migrated out of these regions which could potentially cause instability in other regions. The health consequences are already deadly illness to children and the elderly. 

Learn more about the causes of this humanitarian disaster here:

You can also check out these books for more background.

Hirsch, Rebecca E. Climate migrants : on the move in a warming world. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2017.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. Field notes from a catastrophe : man, nature, and climate change. New York: Bloomsbury Pub., 2006.

Rawlence, Ben. City of thorns : nine lives in the world's largest refugee camp. New York: Picador, 2017.

Singer, Peter, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates. Famine, affluence, and morality ; foreword by Bill and Melinda Gates. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Singer, Peter. One world : the ethics of globalization. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.

Turse, Nick. Next Time They'll Come to Count the Dead. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016. Print.

Withington, John. Disaster! : a history of earthquakes, floods, plagues, and other catastrophes. New York: Skyhorse Pub., 2010.

Pick of the Week- Underground Railroad

is Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for fiction, this novel is a compelling story of Cora a woman born enslaved in Georgia and who escapes through the Underground Railroad.  In a way, Cora's story reflects hundreds of years of United States History as she encounters different social reactions to race and slavery. Though the subterranean train and the societies she encounters are fictionalized, the journey and characters are compelling. One reviewer called the book "devastating;" I couldn't agree more. You will be riveted by Whitehead's latest triumph.

Pick of the Week- Loving vs. Virginia

is Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell. This novel is uniquely structured alternating between Mildred and Richard's perspective and integrating primary source documents to enhance the story of an ordinary couple, whose case had sweeping changes for laws of the nation. Mildred and Richard always saw themselves a typical, but in the eyes of the law their relationship was criminal. They were fined, jailed, and harassed when they tried to live together in Caroline County, Virginia. After nine long years of legal battles, their case was decided in the Supreme Court and finally over-turned the unjust miscegenation laws in the United States. 

April is Autism Awareness Month

The CDC estimates that 1 in 68 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with autism. Autism Spectrum Disorder has many types and can show up in many different ways. There are many ways in which autism is misunderstood. Take some time this month to educate yourself about autism and the people struggling, managing, and thriving with this disorder.

Non-fiction resources:

Perspectives on diseases and disorders: Autism by Carrie Fredricks The reason I jump : the inner voice of a thirteen-year-old boy with autism by Naoki Higashida, translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell  Sisterhood of the spectrum : an Asperger chick's guide to life by Jennifer Cook O'Toole; illustrated by Anne-Louise Richards The Asperkid's (secret) book of social rules by Jennifer Cook O'Toole ; illustrated by Brian Bojanowski Coping with Asperger Syndrome by Maxine Rosaler. National Institutes of Mental Health. Fiction Books: Anything but typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. Rain reign by Ann R. Martin. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.

Pick of the Week- Magnus Chase: Hammer of Thor

is Magnus Chase: Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. This sequel to The Sword of Summer tops the first book in action, character development, and humor. You will laugh out loud at the wit of the protagonist, Magnus Chase as he navigates the complex world of Norse gods and creatures. You learn even more about Norse myths, the depth and complexity of Magnus' friends Hearthstone and Samirah, and are introduced to Alex Fierro who might just steal Magnus' heart. Rick Riordan has created another engaging series that puts a modern spin on an ancient mythology.

Cybersecurity Knowledge Quiz

The Pew Research Center released a report recently that assessed Americans knowledge of cyber security. You can take the test and compare your results to the thousands who took the test for the study. You can also learn valuable information about your privacy and data.

http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/cybersecurity-knowledge/