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The age of diagnosis : how our obsession with medical labels is making us sicker / by O'Sullivan, Suzanne,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From a neurologist and award-winning author of The Sleeping Beauties, a meticulous and compassionate exploration of how our culture of medical diagnosis can harm, rather than help, patients. I'm a neurologist. Diagnosis is my bread and butter. So why then would I, an experienced medical doctor, be very careful about which diagnosis I would pursue for myself or would be willing to accept if foisted upon me? We live in an age of diagnosis. The advance of sophisticated genetic sequencing techniques means that we may all soon be screened for potential abnormalities. The internet provides a vast array of information that helps us speculate about our symptoms. Conditions like ADHD and Autism are on the rapid rise, while other new categories like Long Covid are driven by patients themselves. When we are suffering, it feels natural to seek a diagnosis. We want a clear label, understanding, and, of course, treatment. But is diagnosis an unqualified good thing? Could it sometimes even make us worse instead of better? Through the moving stories of real people, neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan explores the complex world of modern diagnosis, comparing the impact of a medical label to the pain of not knowing. With scientific authority and compassionate storytelling, she opens up new possibilities for how we might approach our health and our suffering"--
Subjects: Diagnosis; Diagnosis.; Medical care.; Medical ethics.; Medicine and psychology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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American breakdown : our ailing nation, my body's revolt, and the nineteenth-century woman who brought me back to life / by Lunden, Jennifer(Jennifer L.),1967-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A Silent Spring for the human body, this wide-ranging, genre-crossing literary mystery interweaves the author's quest to understand the source of her own condition with her telling of the story of the chronically ill 19th-century diarist Alice James--ultimately uncovering the many hidden health hazards of life in America. When Jennifer Lunden became chronically ill after moving from Canada to Maine, her case was a medical mystery. Just 21, unable to hold a book or stand for a shower, she lost her job and consigned herself to her bed. The doctor she went to for help told her she was "just depressed." After suffering from this enigmatic illness for five years, she discovered an unlikely source of hope and healing: a biography of Alice James, the bright, witty, and often bedridden sibling of brothers Henry James, the novelist, and William James, the father of psychology. Alice suffered from a life-shattering illness known as neurasthenia, now often dismissed as a "fashionable illness." In this meticulously researched and illuminating debut, Lunden interweaves her own experience with Alice's, exploring the history of medicine and the effects of the industrial revolution and late-stage capitalism to tell a riveting story of how we are a nation struggling--and failing--to be healthy. Although science--and the politics behind its funding--has in many ways let Lunden and millions like her down, in the end science offers a revelation that will change how readers think about the ecosystems of their bodies, their communities, the country, and the planet."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Lunden, Jennifer (Jennifer L.), 1967-; James, Alice, 1848-1892; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Diagnosis; Discrimination in medical care; Women authors, American; Women; Women's health services;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Living [videorecording] / by Burke, Tom,1981-actor.; Burton, Hubert,actor.; Chris, Oliver,1978-actor.; Cochrane, Michael,actor.; Hermanus, Oliver,film director.; Nighy, Bill,1949-actor.; Rawlins, Adrian,actor.; Sharp, Alex,1989-actor.; Wood, Aimee Lou,1995-actor.; Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Firm),publisher.;
Music, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch ; editor, Chris Wyatt ; director of photography, Jamie D. Ramsay.Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Hubert Burton, Oliver Chris, Bill Nighy, Michael Cochrane, Aimee Lou Wood, Tom Burke.In a career-defining performance, Bill Nighy (Love Actually) plays Williams, a 1950's London civil servant who struggles to maintain order under mountains of paperwork. Overwhelmed at work and lonely at home, his life takes a heartbreaking turn when a medical diagnosis tells him time is short. Influenced by a local decadent (Tom Burke) and the vibrant Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood), Williams continues to search for meaning until a simple revelation gives him the purpose to create a legacy for the next generation.Canadian Home Video Rating: PG.MPAA rating: PG-13.Subtitled for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).DVD ; wide screen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Feature films.; Fiction films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Bureaucrats; Cancer; Life change events; Older men; Terminally ill;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Home all along / by Wiseman, Beth,1962-author.;
"The third and final installment in the critically-acclaimed Amish Secrets series by bestselling author Beth Wiseman -- Charlotte has made a home for herself in Amish Country with Daniel. But unforeseen events rock their fragile world and may move them even further away from the life they long for. Charlotte, an Englisher, is living in Amish Country, and she has formed strong and lasting bonds with the people in her new community. She has even fallen in love with an Amish man. But just when she is considering a permanent conversion to the Amish way of life, her world crashes around her. An unexpected death and a mysterious visitor unsettle Charlotte, and she begins to question her faith and her choices. Daniel loves Charlotte and wants to share his life with her, even it if means leaving the only world he's ever known. But as he walks alongside of her through her struggles, his own world is turned upside down when a loved one receives a grim medical diagnosis and a prodigal relative returns home. Will Charlotte and Daniel's relationship succumb to the many pressures around them, or will their faith and the strong community around them allow them to weather the storms of their own lives in order to build a life together?"--
Subjects: Religious fiction.; Amish; Life change events; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The wish / by Sparks, Nicholas,author.;
"1996 was the year that changed everything for Maggie Dawes. Sent away at sixteen to live with an aunt she barely knew in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina's Outer Banks, she could think only of the friends and family she left behind ... until she meets Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island. Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point, Bryce gradually shows her how much there is to love about the wind-swept beach town-and introduces her to photography, a passion that will define the rest of her life. By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer. She splits her time between running a successful gallery in New York and photographing remote locations around the world. But this year she is unexpectedly grounded over Christmas, struggling to come to terms with a sobering medical diagnosis. Increasingly dependent on a young assistant, she finds herself becoming close to him. As they count down the last days of the season together, she begins to tell him the story of another Christmas, decades earlier--and the love that set her on a course she never could have imagined"--
Subjects: Christmas fiction.; First loves; Man-woman relationships; Women photographers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 4
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The ice house / by Smith, Laura Lee,1968-author.;
"The Ice House follows the beleaguered MacKinnons as they weather the possible loss of the family business, a serious medical diagnosis, and the slings and arrows of familial discord. Johnny MacKinnon might be on the verge of losing it all. The ice factory he married into, which he's run for decades, is facing devastating OSHA fines following a mysterious accident and may have to close. The only hope for Johnny's livelihood is that someone in the community saw something, but no one seems to be coming forward. He hasn't spoken to his son Corran back in Scotland since Corran's heroin addiction finally drove Johnny to the breaking point. And now, after a collapse on the factory floor, it appears Johnny may have a brain tumor. Johnny's been ordered to take it easy, but in some ways, he thinks, what's left to lose? This may be his last chance to bridge the gap with Corran--and to have any sort of relationship with the baby granddaughter he's never met. Witty and heartbreaking by turns, The Ice House is a vibrant portrait of multifaceted, exquisitely human characters that readers will not soon forget. It firmly establishes Laura Lee Smith as a gifted voice in American fiction"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The wish [sound recording] / by Sparks, Nicholas,author.; Lee, Mela,narrator.; Collyer, Will,narrator.; Hachette Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Mela Lee & Will Collyer."1996 was the year that changed everything for Maggie Dawes. Sent away at sixteen to live with an aunt she barely knew in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina's Outer Banks, she could think only of the friends and family she left behind ... until she meets Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island. Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point, Bryce gradually shows her how much there is to love about the wind-swept beach town-and introduces her to photography, a passion that will define the rest of her life. By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer. She splits her time between running a successful gallery in New York and photographing remote locations around the world. But this year she is unexpectedly grounded over Christmas, struggling to come to terms with a sobering medical diagnosis. Increasingly dependent on a young assistant, she finds herself becoming close to him. As they count down the last days of the season together, she begins to tell him the story of another Christmas, decades earlier--and the love that set her on a course she never could have imagined"--
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Christmas fiction.; First loves; Man-woman relationships; Women photographers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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This too shall pass : stories of change, crisis and hopeful beginnings / by Samuel, Julia,1959-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A leading therapist shares memorable patient stories to explore the key crises in life and what we can learn from them. If change is the natural order of things, why do so many people struggle with the milestones of life--from first jobs and first loves to children leaving home and retirement? We live in a culture of limitless choice--and life is now more complex than ever. In This Too Shall Pass, acclaimed psychotherapist Julia Samuel draws on hours of conversations with her patients to show how we can learn to adapt and thrive during our most difficult and transformative experiences. Illuminated by the latest social and psychological research, this book unflinchingly deals with the hard times in family, love, work, health and identity. From a woman deciding whether to leave her husband for a younger lover, to a father handling a serious medical diagnosis. And from a new mother struggling with the decision to return to work, to a young man dealing with the aftermath of coming out, and a woman starting over after losing her job. These twenty powerful, unforgettable and deeply intimate stories about everyday people will inform our understanding of our own unique response to change and enlighten the way we approach challenges at every stage of life."--
Subjects: Life change events.; Change (Psychology);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Contesting intersex : the dubious diagnosis / by Davis, Georgiann,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."When sociologist Georgiann Davis was a teenager, her doctors discovered that she possessed XY chromosomes, marking her as intersex. Rather than share this information with her, they withheld the diagnosis in order to 'protect' the development of her gender identity; it was years before Davis would see her own medical records as an adult and learn the truth. Davis' experience is not unusual. Many intersex people feel isolated from one another and violated by medical practices that support conventional notions of the male/female sex binary which have historically led to secrecy and shame about being intersex. Yet, the rise of intersex activism and visibility in the US has called into question the practice of classifying intersex as an abnormality, rather than as a mere biological variation. This shift in thinking has the potential to transform entrenched intersex medical treatment. In Contesting Intersex, Davis draws on interviews with intersex people, their parents, and medical experts to explore the oft-questioned views on intersex in medical and activist communities, as well as the evolution of thought in regards to intersex visibility and transparency. She finds that framing intersex as an abnormality is harmful and can alter the course of one's life. In fact, controversy over this framing continues, as intersex has been renamed a 'disorder of sex development' throughout medicine. This happened, she suggests, as a means for doctors to reassert their authority over the intersex body in the face of increasing intersex activism in the 1990s and feminist critiques of intersex medical treatment. Davis argues the renaming of 'intersex' as a 'disorder of sex development' is strong evidence that the intersex diagnosis is dubious. Within the intersex community, though, disorder of sex development terminology is hotly disputed; some prefer not to use a term which pathologizes their bodies, while others prefer to think of intersex in scientific terms. Although terminology is currently a source of tension within the movement, Davis hopes intersex activists and their allies can come together to improve the lives of intersex people, their families, and future generations. However, for this to happen, the intersex diagnosis, as well as sex, gender, and sexuality, needs to be understood as socially constructed phenomena"--
Subjects: Intersex people.; Intersexuality; Sexual disorders.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The mindful body : thinking our way to chronic health / by Langer, Ellen J.,1947-author.;
"A groundbreaking account of the power of our thoughts to improve our health--by the "mother of mindfulness" and first female tenured professor of psychology at Harvard. When it comes to our health, too many of us think that a medical diagnosis describes a static or worsening condition. We then live our lives as though our ailments--our stiff knees or frayed nerves or failing eyesight--can only change in one direction: for the worse. Ellen J. Langer's life's work proves the fault in that logic. She has spent more than forty years testing the limiting effects of our negative assumptions as well as the healing power of being mindful--present in the moment and not distracted by memories or projections into the future. In The Mindful Body she unpacks her findings and boldly demonstrates how our thoughts and perspectives have the potential to shape our well-being for the better. Taking us into Langer's trailblazing Harvard lab, The Mindful Body recounts many of her colorful experiments to illustrate the influence of expectation and belief on how our bodies function, how we heal, and even how we age. In one study, Langer rigged eye charts so that participants would get some of the smaller letters correct right away, giving them the expectation that they could improve their overall eye test scores. And they did. In another, she showed that wounds heal faster when subjects are placed in rooms with accelerated clocks; when you think that time is passing faster, your body heals faster! On the other hand, her work reveals that discouraging health news can lead to a worsening physical state: she showed that learning you are pre-diabetic--even when only a fraction separates your blood sugar from a "normal" categorization--may actually play a part in the development of the disease. A paradigm-shifting book by one of the great psychologists of the twenty-first century, The Mindful Body returns the control over our bodies back to us and reveals that a true understanding of health begins with our mindset"--
Subjects: Mind and body.; Mindfulness (Psychology); Thought and thinking.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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