By Sigall K. Bell

This comprehensive review examines the biological, medical, social, historical, and political aspects of HIV/AIDS.

By Nicoli Nattrass

Examines conspiracy theories surrounding HIV and AIDS, focusing on two main widely believed falsehoods - that America manufactured AIDS to be a biological weapon and the belief that HIV is harmless and the true cause of AIDS is antiretroviral drugs.

By Maria Shriver and the Alzheimer's Association

Offers the latest research about the disease, proposals on ways to support both the patient and caregiver, and essays written by patients, family members, and caregivers about living with the disease.

By Marwan Sabbagh and Beau MacMillan

A cookbook and health guide featuring nearly 100 recipes designed to reduce the risk and delay the onset of Alzheimer's, dementia, and memory loss.

By Gary Small

Offers a complete plan for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, covering nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction and including memory-boosting workout, puzzles, and games.

By Nancy K.Bristow

In 1918-1919, influenza raged around the globe in the worst pandemic in recorded history. Focuses on those closest to the crisis: patients, families, communities, public health officials, nurses and doctors. This book explores the epidemic in the United States.

By Adrian Raine

A criminologist who specializes in the neurological and biosocial bases of antisocial and violent behavior explains how impairments to areas of the brain that control fear, decision-making, and empathy can increase the likelihood of criminal activity.

Is becoming the TV show: The Anatomy of Violence.

By Oliver W. Sacks

“Profiles seven neurological patients, including a surgeon with Tourette's syndrome and an artist whose color sense is destroyed in an accident... (From the Publisher).”

By Rosemary Gibson

Drawing on decades of experience in health care policy reform and economics, the authors provide a non-partisan analysis of President Obama's health care reform.

By John Elder Robison

The author of Look Me in the Eye presents an anecdotal guide to individuals with Asperger's and their families that offers insight into the Aspergian mind while outlining recommendations for improving communication skills and embracing differences.

By Allison Pataki
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian

Recounts how the author's healthy thirty-year-old husband suffered a life-threatening stroke that placed everything they had worked for in jeopardy, a struggle she navigated by writing daily letters to her husband that helped her make sense of the challenges they faced.

By Atul Gawande

A prominent surgeon argues against modern medical practices that extend life at the expense of quality of life.

By Allen Rucker

A humor-tinged account by a man who was suddenly rendered a paraplegic by the rare condition transverse myelitis describes how his changed circumstances forced him to reevaluate his life and the larger questions of human existence.

By Jane Gross

In telling the story of her own struggle to learn how to care for her again and ailing mother, a journalist offers helpful insights and advice to other caregivers who feel overwhelmed.

By Daniel Tammet

Tuesday, April 24. 1 PM & 7:30 PM.

In honor of National Autism Awareness Month

"Traces the inspiring story of an autistic savant with genius-level mathematical talents, describing how he was eschewed by his classmates in spite of his near-photographic memory and super-human capacity for math and language, in a firsthand account that offers insight into how he experiences the world (From the Publisher)."

By Visiting Nurse Associations of America

Addresses the needs of the home caregiver, offering guidance and emotional support, and including basic nursing procedures, advice on equipment, and hygiene tips.

By Pam Fessler
Recommended By Donna Burger, Readers' Services Librarian

Explores the hidden history of Carville, the only leprosy colony in the continental United States which lasted from 1894 to 1999, and the shameful treatment of the thousands of Americans who were needlessly exiled there.

By John Gunther
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

The father of a seventeen-year-old who died of a brain tumor describes his son's courage in the face of certain death.

By Candice Millard
Recommended By Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian
With Sonia Grgas, Health Reference Librarian

Tuesday, March 25, 2014. 1:30 PM.

A narrative account of the twentieth president's political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment, and Alexander Graham Bell's failed attempt to save him from an assassin's bullet.

By Temple Grandin

Fourteen individuals with autism, Asperger's syndrome, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder share the challenges they experienced growing up, their lives, relationships, and eventual careers.

By Jean Dominique Bauby
Recommended By Rosemary Moran, Senior Library Clerk

The author, former editor of French Elle magazine, describes the rare stroke to the brain stem that left his mind intact in a nearly totally paralyzed body.

Became the movie: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

By Tim Bauerschmidt
Recommended By Stacey Mencher, Technology and Applications Manager

Describes how, after being advised to undergo extensive therapy for her cancer diagnosis, ninety-year-old Miss Norma decides to skip the hospital bed and instead travel the country with her retired son Tim, his wife Ramie, and their dog Ringo.

By Louise Aronson
Recommended By Donna Burger, Readers' Services Librarian

A geriatrician, writer and professor of medicine challenges the way people think and feel about aging and medicine through stories from her twenty–five years of patient care as well as from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life.

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

A historical assessment of cancer addresses both the courageous battles against the complex disease and the misperceptions and hubris that have compromised modern understandings, covering such topics as ancient-world surgeries and the developments of present-day treatments.

By David A. Kessler

The former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, cracks the code of overeating by explaining how our bodies and minds are changed when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat, and salt.

By Max Lugavere
Recommended By Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian

Draws on the author's in-depth research into dementia in the wake of his own mother's mysterious diagnosis to outline practical recommendations for optimizing mental performance and balance through a high-nutrition diet tailored specifically for brain health.

By Charles Graeber

After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed "The Angel of Death". But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a son, husband, father, best friend, and caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history.

By Robert Kolker
Recommended By Donna Burger, Readers' Services Librarian

Tells the heartrending story of a midcentury American family with 12 children, 6 of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

By Bill Hayes
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

Author and photographer Bill Hayes offers an ode to our shared humanity—capturing in real time this strange new world we're now in (for who knows how long?) with his signature insight and grace. As he wanders the increasingly empty streets of Manhattan, Hayes meets fellow New Yorkers and discovers stories to tell, but he also shares the unexpected moments of gratitude he finds from within his apartment.

By Rebecca Skloot
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services
With Lisa Jones, Readers' Services Librarian

Tuesday, March 29, 2011. 1 PM & 7:30 PM.

Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization and gene mapping.

By Anthony Youn
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

The celebrity cosmetic surgery blogger describes his misfit youth as a nerdy Korean-American student with a misshapen jaw whose life–changing surgery led him to become a successful plastic surgeon.

By Tori Kropp

This comprehensive guide to pregnancy and birth provides a chapter for each month of gestation and another for the postpartum period, covering such topics as fetal development, the effects of pregnancy on the mother’s body, and how to prepare for the newborn baby as well as for the delivery.

By Sanjay Gupta

The Emmy Award–winning CNN chief medical correspondent and best–selling author of Chasing Life draws on cutting–edge scientific research to outline strategies for protecting brain function and maintaining cognitive health at any age.

By Randy Pausch
Recommended By Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

“Over the years, numerous professors have given talks entitled "The Last Lecture." For Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, however, the topic was no mere formality... he already knew that he had metastatic pancreatic cancer (From Barnes and Noble).”

By Sheila M. Rothman

Rothman presents the story of tuberculosis from the perspective of those who suffered, and in doing so helps us to understand the human side of the disease. The letters, diaries, and journals piece together what it was like to experience tuberculosis, and eloquently reveal the tenacity and resolve with which people faced it.

By Deborah Serani

Serani outlines the various forms of depression, describes the different treatments, and outlines methods for living with depression and getting the help you or a loved one needs. Tips on how to choose a good therapist, negotiate the labyrinth of healthcare, and minimize stigma are addressed, as is learning how to use biology and biography as tools of empowerment. Listings of national and global resources make this a ready resource for everything you need to know about depression.

By John T. Cacioppo

A neuroscientist demonstrates the correlation between social environments and health, offering insight into the differences between chronic loneliness and depression while explaining how social isolation can affect perceptions, behavior, and physiology.

By Libby Copeland
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

A journalist investigates the business practices of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe and explores the stories of individuals who participated in home genetic testing and had their lives turned upside down by the results.

By Deborah Shouse

The author details her Mother’s decent into Alzheimer’s disease and her role as caregiver.

By Elton John

The superstar musician and songwriter describes the personal toll the AIDS epidemic has taken on his life and discusses his efforts to break down social barriers and build compassion through his charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

By Laura Wayman

A guide on how to deal with having a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of memory loss.

By David Dosa
Recommended By Jean Buchholtz, Library Clerk, Pam Martin, Assistant Library Director

 “Making Rounds with Oscar is the story of an unusual cat, the patients he serves, their caregivers, and of one doctor who learned how to listen. Heartfelt, inspiring, and full of humor and pathos, this book allows readers to take a walk into a world rarely seen from the outside, a world we often misunderstand (From the Publisher).”

By Alan B. Hollingsworth, M.D.

Written by one of the first physicians in the country to specialize in breast cancer risk assessment, genetic testing and high-risk interventions, this book focuses on the screening controversy and explains the arguments used on both sides. The author covers the history of screening, from the first mobile unit to the cutting edge imaging technology of today.

By Oliver Sacks

Neurologist who claims to be equally interested in disease and people, Sacks (Awakenings, etc.) explores neurological disorders with a novelist's skill and an appreciation of his patients as human beings. These cases, some of which have appeared in literary or medical publications, illustrate the tragedy of losing neurological powers.

By Elliot N. Dorff

Author Elliot Dorff thoroughly addresses the unavoidable confluence of medical technology and Jewish law and ethics.

By Mary Ellen Geist

Documents the story of a WCBS radio anchor who left her high-powered job to care for her Alzheimer’s patient father, describing the lifestyle differences she embraced, her observations about the caregiver’s role, and her relationships with her father and his doctors.

By Kelly Corrigan

“A cancer survivor's memoir with a welcome twist: a laughter-filled celebration of family… The author is, in her words, living in "the middle place-that sliver of time when childhood and parenthood overlap (Kirkus Reviews).”

By James Frey

A memoir of drug and alcohol abuse and the rehabilitation experience examines addiction and recovery through the eyes of a man who had taken his addictions to deadly extremes, describing the battle to confront the consequences of his life.

By Christopher Hitchens
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

"Traces the author’s battle with esophageal cancer while he continued to write columns on politics and culture for ‘Vanity Fair,’ and describes his personal and philosophical view of life and death (From the Publisher)."

By Dennis McCullough

Counsels baby boomers on caring for aging parents through their final years, addressing the negative aspects of intensive care, discussing the pros and cons of alternative therapies, and sharing advice about the challenges of overseeing a parent’s death.