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This is your mind on plants / by Pollan, Michael,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan, a radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants -- and the equally powerful taboos Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance, beauty, fragrance, flavor, fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them is to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: people around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. We don't usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable. So then what is a "drug?" And why, for example, is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable, but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime? In THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS, Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs -- opium, caffeine, and mescaline -- and throws the fundamental strangeness, and arbitrariness, of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs, while consuming (or in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants, and the equally powerful taboos with which we surround them. Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and such fraught feelings? A unique blend of history, science, memoir, as well as participatory journalism, Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts, and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively -- as a drug, whether licit or illicit. But that's one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants, Pollan shows, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. Based in part on an essay written more than 25 years ago, this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants, and our attraction to them through time, holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds, and our entanglement with the natural world"--
Subjects: Psychotropic plants.; Opium.; Mescaline.; Caffeine.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Blood orange night : my journey to the edge of madness / by Bond, Melissa,author.;
"From journalist and poet Melissa Bond, a gripping account of the author's addiction to benzodiazepines (a family of drugs that includes Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan) and the hidden dangers they pose. As Melissa mothers her infant daughter and a special-needs one-year-old son, she suffers from unbearable insomnia, sleeping an hour or less each night. She loses her job as a journalist (a casualty of the 2008 recession), and her relationship with her husband grows distant. Her doctor casually prescribes benzodiazepines with little fanfare, increasing her dosage on a regular basis. Following her doctor's orders, Melissa takes the pills night after night; her body begins to shut down and she collapses while holding her infant daughter. Only then does Melissa learn that her doctor-like many doctors-has over-prescribed the medication, and quitting cold-turkey could lead to psychosis or fatal seizure. Benzodiazepine addiction is not well studied, and few experts know how to help Melissa begin the months-long process of tapering off the pills without suffering debilitating, potentially deadly consequences. Lyrical and immersive, Blood Orange Night shine a light on the dark underside of benzodiazepines. According to the FDA, approximately 92 million benzodiazepine prescriptions were filled in the US in 2019. In 2018, half of all benzodiazepine prescriptions filled were for two months or longer, despite recommended use of no more than 14 days and evidence that physical dependence can occur within a week. Much like the opioid crisis that has rocked the nation, prescription benzodiazepine addiction is an epidemic reaching a crisis point"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Bond, Melissa; Benzodiazepine abuse.; Insomnia; Insomniacs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A knock at midnight : a story of hope, justice, and freedom / by Barnett, Brittany K.,author.;
"An urgent call to free those buried alive by America's legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity--from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system. Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever--that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America's devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole--for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of her own life, both as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother and as the once-girlfriend of an abusive drug dealer. As she studied this case, a system came into focus: one where widespread racial injustice forms the core of America's addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda's plight, Brittany set to work to gain her freedom. This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda's case opened the door to a harrowing journey through the criminal justice system. By day she moved billion-dollar deals, and by night she worked pro bono to free clients in near-hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her path transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself. Brittany's riveting memoir is at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Barnett, Brittany K.; Jones, Sharanda; Clemency; Criminal defense lawyers; Judicial error; Prisoners;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Love or die trying : how I lost it all, died, and came back for love / by Ramsay, Bob,1949-author.;
"A story of addiction and recovery, love and perseverance, and a reminder that it's never too late to start over. Bob Ramsay had it all--and lost it all, often. At forty, he lived in a drug treatment centre in Atlanta. Starting over back in Toronto, he began dating an older woman, a doctor named Jean Marmoreo, who had three angry kids of divorce. The chances of this relationship lasting were zero. But they married and created a very different "out there" life for themselves, climbing mountains, running marathons, and exploring the ends of the earth. Then one day Bob's heart stopped, and life got much worse after it was re-started. But once again, perseverance and love won over fate, and today, Bob turns connection into an art form, while Jean Marmoreo is a MAiD doctor--leading her patients across the thin veil between life and death. Love or Die Trying is a love story that unfolded against all odds and a reflection on a life anchored between a first death and the future."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Ramsay, Bob, 1949-; Marmoreo, Jean; Families.; Recovering addicts.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Black City / by Richards, Elizabeth(Elizabeth Fleur),1980-;
Ash, a sixteen-year-old twin-blood who sells his addictive venom, "Haze," to support his dying mother, and Natalie, the daughter of a diplomat, discover their mysterious--and forbidden--connection in the Black City, where humans and Darklings struggle to rebuild after a brutal war.LSC
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Teenagers; Race relations; Drugs; Social classes;
© 2013, c2012., Speak,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Candace Pert : genius, greed, and madness in the world of science / by Ryckman, Pamela,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Candace Pert stood at the dawn of three revolutions: the women's movement, integrative health, and psychopharmacology. A scientific prodigy, she was 30 years ahead of her time, preaching a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to healthcare and medicine long before yoga hit the mainstream and "wellness" took root in our vernacular. Her bestselling book Molecules of Emotion made her the mother of the Mind/Body Revolution, launching a paradigm shift in medicine. Deepak Chopra credits her with creating his career, and he said as much in his eulogy at her funeral. Candace began her career as an unbridled maverick. In 1972, as a 26-year-old graduate student at Johns Hopkins, she discovered the opiate receptor, revolutionizing her field and enabling pharmacologists to design new classifications of drugs from Prozac to Viagra to Percocet and OxyContin. The tragic irony of her breakthrough, touted as the first step to end heroin addiction, is that it helped spawn a virulent epidemic of drug dependence. Facing the largest public health crisis of the 21st century, Candace was incensed that the Hippocratic oath-"first, do no harm"--would succumb to greed, and as witness to this abuse of power, she was one of few scientists courageous enough to protest. Later, as Chief of Brain Biochemistry at the National Institutes of Health, Candace created Peptide T, the non-toxic treatment for HIV featured in Dallas Buyers Club. As the AIDS pandemic raged, triggering panic across Reagan-era America, the U.S. government poured massive amounts of money into finding a cure, sparking a battle among scientists for funding and power. Bested by rivals with competing drugs yet desperate to help, Candace went rogue, becoming a lynchpin in the black market for Peptide T. After a scandalous departure from her tenured position at the NIH, Candace launched a series of private companies with Michael Ruff, her second husband and collaborator. Naïve to the world of business, she was manipulated by investors keen to wrest control of her discoveries. But Candace too became tainted, believing that her noble ends would justify devious means. Like a mythic hero, she succumbed to a fatal flaw, and her greatest strengths--singularity of purpose and blind faith in her own virtuosity--would prove to be her undoing"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Pert, Candace B., 1946-2013.; Feminists; Integrative medicine; Psychopharmacologists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Diet, drugs, and dopamine : the new science of achieving a healthy weight / by Kessler, David A.,1951-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Overeating comes an illuminating understanding of body weight, including the role of the latest weight loss drugs, and the possibility of changing our health forever. The struggle is universal: we work hard to lose weight, only to find that it slowly creeps back. In America, body weight has become a pain point shrouded in self-recrimination and shame, not to mention bias from the medical community. For many, this battle not only takes a mental toll but also becomes a physical threat: three-quarters of American adults struggle with weight-related health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. We know that diets don't work, and yet we also know that excess weight starves us of years and quality of life. Where do we go from here? In Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler unpacks the mystery of weight in the most comprehensive work to date on this topic, giving readers the power to dramatically improve their health. Kessler, who has himself struggled with weight, suggests the new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs have provided a breakthrough: they have radically altered our understanding of weight loss. They make lasting change possible, but they also have real disadvantages and must be considered as part of a comprehensive approach together with nutrition, behavior, and physical activity. Critical to this new perspective is the insight that weight-loss drugs act on the part of the brain that is responsible for cravings. In essence, the drugs tamp down the addictive circuits that overwhelm rational decision-making and quiet the "food noise" that distracts us. Identifying these mechanisms allows us to develop a strategy for effective long-term weight loss, and that begins with naming the elephant in the room: ultraformulated foods are addictive. Losing weight is a process of treating addiction. In this landmark book, one of the nation's leading public health officials breaks taboos around this fraught conversation, giving readers the tools to unplug the brain's addictive wiring and change their relationship with food. Dr. Kessler cautions that drugs, on their own, pose serious risks and are not a universal solution. But with this new understanding of the brain-body feedback loop comes new possibilities for our health and freedom from a lifelong struggle. Eye-opening, provocative, and rigorous, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled to maintain their weight-which is to say, everyone"-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Reducing diets.; Weight loss preparations.; Weight loss;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Shuggie Bain / by Stuart, Douglas,1976-author.;
"Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcher's war on heavy industry has put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie's mother Agnes walks a wayward path: she is Shuggie's guiding light but a burden for his artistic brother and practical sister. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a "whoremaster" of a husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good-her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor. But under the surface, Agnes finds increasing solace in drink, and she drains away the lion's share of each week's benefits-all the family has to live on-on cans of extra-strong lager hidden in handbags and poured into tea mugs. Agnes's older children find their own ways to get a safe distance from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to look after her as she swings between alcoholic binges and sobriety. He is meanwhile doing all he can to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be, but everyone has realized that Shuggie is "no right," and now Agnes's addiction has the power to eclipse everyone close to her-even and especially her beloved Shuggie. A heartbreaking novel of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Children of alcoholics; Family secrets; Mothers and sons; Working class families;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Glass Girl [electronic resource] : by Glasgow, Kathleen.aut; cloudLibrary;
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a raw, heart-wrenching novel about a teenager facing down her struggles with alcohol—and the journey she must take to heal. Everyone in fifteen-year-old Bella’s life needs something from her. Her mom needs her to help around the house, her dad needs her to not make waves, her ex needs her to not be so much. The only person who never needed anything from her was her grandmother—and now she’s dead. There’s only one thing that dulls the pressure: alcohol. Vodka, beer, peppermint schnapps—alcohol smooths the sharp edges of Bella’s life. And what’s the big deal? Everyone drinks. Besides, Bella can stop whenever she wants. But after she gets blackout drunk at a Thanksgiving party and wakes up in the hospital, it’s time to face reality. And for Bella, reality means rehab. Gorgeously written and deeply compassionate, Kathleen Glasgow’s The Glass Girl is a candid exploration of the forces pushing young women toward addiction—and what it really takes to help them get better.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Girls & Women; Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse; Emotions & Feelings;
© 2024., Random House Children's Books,
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Angry queer Somali boy : a complicated memoir / by Ali, Mohamed Abdulkarim,1985-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Writing from a homeless shelter in downtown Toronto, Mohamed "Mo" Ali chronicles how he ended up there in this powerful and often irreverent memoir of exile, addiction, and racism. Kidnapped by his father on the eve of Somalia's societal implosion, Ali was taken first to the Netherlands by his stepmother, and then on to Canada. With its promise of freedom, opportunity, and multiculturalism, his new home seemed to offer a new lease on life. But unable to fit in, he turned to partying and drugs. Interwoven with world history and sociopolitical commentary on Somalia, Canada, and Europe, the story of this gay Muslim immigrant is told with tenderness in a refreshing and welcome new voice."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Ali, Mohamed Abdulkarim, 1985-; Somalis; Muslim gays; Somalis; Somalis; Gay immigrants; Gay immigrants; Muslim gays; Muslim gays;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 121 to 130 of 146 | « previous |