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Into the gray zone : a neuroscientist explores the border between life and death / by Owen, Adrian M.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.In this startling and thought-provoking book, which will remind readers of works by Oliver Sacks and Atul Gawande, a world-renowned neuroscientist reveals his controversial, groundbreaking work with patients whose brains were previously thought vegetative or non-responsive but turn out--in up to 20 percent of cases--to be vibrantly alive, existing in the "Gray Zone." Into the Gray Zone takes readers to the edge of a dazzling, humbling frontier in our understanding of the brain: the so-called "gray zone" between full consciousness and brain death. People in this middle place have sustained traumatic brain injuries or are the victims of stroke or degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Many are oblivious to the outside world, and their doctors believe they are incapable of thought. But a sizeable number are experiencing something different: intact minds adrift deep within damaged brains and bodies. An expert in the field, Adrian Owen led a team that, in 2006, discovered this lost population and made medical history. Scientists, physicians, and philosophers have only just begun to grapple with the implications. Following Owen's journey of exciting medical discovery, Into the Gray Zone asks some tough and terrifying questions, such as: What is life like for these patients? What can their families and friends do to help them? What are the ethical implications for religious organizations, politicians, the Right to Die movement, and even insurers? And perhaps most intriguing of all: in defining what a life worth living is, are we too concerned with the physical and not giving enough emphasis to the power of thought? What, truly, defines a satisfying life?
Subjects: Brain damage.; Persistent vegetative state.; Persistent vegetative state; Brain; Neurosciences.; Coma.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Finding Larkspur : a return to village life / by Needles, Dan,author.;
"Bestselling chronicler of village life Dan Needles (author of the Wingfield Farm stage plays) leads an insightful and laugh-out-loud tour through the quirks and customs of today's Canadian small town. Modern literature has not been kind to village life. For almost two centuries, small towns have been portrayed as backward, insular places needing to be escaped. But anthropologists tell us that the human species has spent more than 100,000 years living in villages of 100 to 150 people. This is where the oldest part of our brain, the limbic system, grew and adapted to become a very sophisticated instrument for reading other people's emotions and figuring out how we might cooperate to find food, shelter and protection. By comparison, the frontal cortex, which helps us do our taxes, drive a car and download cat videos, is a very recent aftermarket addition, like a sunroof. And it is the village where almost half the world's population still chooses to live. Finding Larkspur takes a walk through the Canadian village of the twenty-first century, observing customs and traditions that endure despite the best efforts of Twitter, Facebook and Amazon. The author looks at the buildings and organizations left over from the old rural community, why they were built in the first place and how they have adapted to the modern day. The post office, the general store, the church, the school and the service club all remain standing, but they operate quite differently than they did for our ancestors. Drawing from his experience working in rural communities across Canada and in other countries, Needles reveals how a national conversation may be driven by urban voices but the national character is often very much a product of its small towns and back roads."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Sociology, Rural; Villages; Villages;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Year one [sound recording] / by Roberts, Nora,author.; Whelan, Julia,1984-narrator.; Brilliance Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Julia Whelan."A stunning new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author--an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives ... It began on New Year's Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed--and more than half of the world's population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river--or in the ones you know and love the most. As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive"--
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Dystopian fiction.; Survival; Magic; Good and evil;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The wisdom of trauma [videorecording] / by Benazzo, Maurizio,film director,film producer.; Benazzo, Zaya,film director,film producer.; Brand, Russell,1975-interviewee.; Campbell, Caroline,director of photography,editor of moving image work.; Doty, James R.(James Robert),1955-interviewee.; Ferriss, Timothy,interviewee.; Horstman, Fritzi,interviewee.; K, Sheila,film producer.; Maté, Gabor,narrator,interviewee.; Maté, Rae,1948-interviewee.; Nottage, Romie,interviewee.; Wilson, Courtney,composer.; McIntyre Media,film distributor.; Science and Nonduality (Firm),production company.; Sea Stars,performer.; Video Project,production company.;
Executive producer, Sheila K. ; director of photography and lead editor, Caroline Campbell ; assistant editor, Kirk Demorest ; song "Mind over matter" written by Courtney Wilson, performed by Sea Stars.Featuring: Gabor Maté (Psychologist/Physician), Rae Maté (Artist), James Doty (Director/Founder, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University), Tim Ferriss (Entrepreneur), Fritzi Horstman (Founder/Executive Director, Compassion Prison Project), Romie Nottage (Director, Downtown Streets Team San Francisco), Tessa Rose (Harm Reduction Specialist), Russell Brand, Joey Carter, [and others].One in five Americans are diagnosed with mental illness in any given year. In the US, death by suicide is the second most common cause of death for those aged 15-24, killing over 48,000. Annually, drug overdose kill 81,000 in the US. The autoimmunity epidemic affects 24 million people in the US. What is going on? The interconnected epidemics of anxiety, chronic illness, and substance abuse are, according to Dr. Gabor Maté, normal. But not in the way you might think. In The Wisdom of Trauma, we travel alongside physician, bestselling author, and Order of Canada recipient Dr. Gabor Maté to explore the root causes of the myriad health epidemics faced by Western countries. This is a journey with a man who has dedicated his life to understanding the connection between illness, addiction, trauma, and society. Trauma is the invisible, but no less material, force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we form connections, and the way we make sense of the world. It is the root of our deepest wounds. Dr. Maté gives us a new vision: a trauma-literate society in which parents, teachers, physicians, policy makers, and legal personnel seek to understand the sources from which troubling behaviors and diseases spring, in order to better address the issues of the populations they serve. Through his insights a path materializes towards individual and collective healing, with practices that aim to create cures to address root causes before they manifest as physical symptoms.E.DVD.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Maté, Gabor.; Addicts; Alternative medicine.; Compassion.; Drug addiction; Drug addicts; Emotions; Mental healing.; Mental illness; Mind and body therapies.; Physicians; Psychic trauma; Psychic trauma; Substance abuse; Substance abuse; Substance abuse; Vulnerability model of recovery.;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Ghost music : a novel / by Yu, An,1992-author.;
"From the author of the "original and electric" Braised Pork (Time), An Yu's enchanting and contemplative novel of music and mushrooms follows a former concert pianist searching for the truth about a vanished musician. For three years, Song Yan has filled the emptiness of her Beijing apartment with the tentative notes of her young piano students. She gave up on her own career as a concert pianist many years ago, but her husband Bowen, an executive at a car company, has long rebuffed her pleas to have a child. He resists even when his mother arrives from the southwestern Chinese region of Yunnan and begins her own campaign for a grandchild. As tension in the household rises, it becomes harder for Song Yan to keep her usual placid demeanor, especially since she is troubled by dreams of a doorless room she can't escape, populated only by a strange orange mushroom. When a parcel of mushrooms native to her mother-in-law's province is delivered seemingly by mistake, Song Yan sees an opportunity to bond with her, and as the packages continue to arrive every week, the women stir-fry and grill the mushrooms, adding them to soups and noodles. When a letter arrives in the mail from the sender of the mushrooms, Song Yan's world begins to tilt further into the surreal. Summoned to an uncanny, seemingly ageless house hidden in a hutong that sits in the middle of the congested city, she finds Bai Yu, a once world-famous pianist who disappeared ten years ago. A gorgeous and atmospheric novel of art and expression, grief and survival, memory and self-discovery, Ghost Music animates contemporary Beijing through the eyes of a lonely yet hopeful young woman and gives vivid color and texture to the promise of new beginnings"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Missing persons; Musicians; Pianists; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Patron Saint of Second Chances A Novel [electronic resource] : by Simon, Christine.aut; Frances, Tim.nrt; cloudLibrary;
SELECTED FOR THE RUSA 2023 LISTEN LIST FOR OUTSTANDING AUDIOBOOK NARRATION! The self-appointed mayor of a tiny Italian village is determined to save his hometown no matter the cost in this “charming farce that highlights the triumph of hope and community” (People). Vacuum repairman and self-appointed mayor of Prometto, Italy (population 212) Signor Speranza has a problem: unless he can come up with 70,000 euros to fix the town’s pipes, the water commission will shut off the water to the village and all the residents will be forced to disperse. In a desperate bid to boost tourism—and revenue—he spreads a harmless rumor that movie star Dante Rinaldi will be filming his next project nearby. Unfortunately, the plan works a little too well, and soon everyone wants to be a part of the fictional film—the village butcher will throw in some money if Speranza can find roles for his fifteen enormous sons, Speranza’s wistfully adrift daughter reveals an unexpected interest in stage makeup, and his hapless assistant Smilzo volunteers a screenplay that’s not so secretly based on his undying love for the film’s leading lady. To his surprise—and considerable consternation, Speranza realizes that the only way to keep up the ruse is to make the movie for real. As the entire town becomes involved (even the village priest invests!), Signor Speranza starts to think he might be able to pull this off. But what happens when Dante Rinaldi doesn’t show up? Or worse, what if he does? A “warmhearted, original gem of a novel” (Amy Poeppel, author of Musical Chairs), The Patron Saint of Second Chances is perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Maria Semple.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Literary; Humorous;
© 2022., Simon & Schuster,
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The looting machine : warlords, oligarchs, corporations, smugglers, and the theft of Africa's wealth / by Burgis, Tom.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.A curse of riches -- Futungo, Inc. -- "It is forbidden to piss in the park" -- Incubators of poverty -- Guanxi -- when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled -- A bridge to Beijing -- Finance and cyanide -- God has nothing to do with it -- Black gold -- the new money kings -- Complicity.The trade in oil, gas, gems, metals and rare earth minerals wreaks havoc in Africa. During the years when Brazil, India, China and the other "emerging markets" have transformed their economies, Africa's resource states remained tethered to the bottom of the industrial supply chain. While Africa accounts for about 30 per cent of the world's reserves of hydrocarbons and minerals and 14 per cent of the world's population, its share of global manufacturing stood in 2011 exactly where it stood in 2000: at 1 percent. In his first book, The Looting Machine , Tom Burgis exposes the truth about the African development miracle: for the resource states, it's a mirage. The oil, copper, diamonds, gold and coltan deposits attract a global network of traders, bankers, corporate extractors and investors who combine with venal political cabals to loot the states' value. And the vagaries of resource-dependent economies could pitch Africa's new middle class back into destitution just as quickly as they climbed out of it. The ground beneath their feet is as precarious as a Congolese mine shaft; their prosperity could spill away like crude from a busted pipeline. This catastrophic social disintegration is not merely a continuation of Africa's past as a colonial victim. The looting now is accelerating as never before. As global demand for Africa's resources rises, a handful of Africans are becoming legitimately rich but the vast majority, like the continent as a whole, is being fleeced. Outsiders tend to think of Africa as a great drain of philanthropy. But look more closely at the resource industry and the relationship between Africa and the rest of the world looks rather different.LSC
Subjects: Mineral industries; Mines and mineral resources;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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And then all hell broke loose : two decades in the Middle East / by Engel, Richard,1973-;
"Based on two decades of reporting, NBC's chief foreign correspondent's riveting story of the Middle East revolutions, the Arab Spring, war, and terrorism seen up-close--sometimes dangerously so. When he was just twenty-three, a recent graduate of Stanford University, Richard Engel set off to Cairo with $2,000 and dreams of being a reporter. Shortly thereafter he was working freelance for Arab news sources and got a call that a busload of Italian tourists were massacred at a Cairo museum. This is his first view of the carnage these years would pile on. Over two decades Engel has been under fire, blown out of hotel beds, taken hostage. He has watched Mubarak and Morsi in Egypt arrested and condemned, reported from Jerusalem, been through the Lebanese war, covered the whole shooting match in Iraq, interviewed Libyan rebels who toppled Gaddafi, reported from Syria as Al-Qaeda stepped in, was kidnapped in the Syrian crosscurrents of fighting. He goes into Afghanistan with the Taliban and to Iraq with ISIS. In the page-turning And Then All Hell Broke Loose, he shares his adventure tale. Engel takes chances, though not reckless ones, keeps a level head and a sense of humor, as well as a grasp of history in the making. Reporting as NBC's Chief-Foreign Correspondent, he reveals his unparalleled access to the major figures, the gritty soldiers, and the helpless victims in the Middle East during this watershed time. We can experience the unforgettable suffering and despair of the local populations. Engel's vivid description is intimate and personal. Importantly, it is a succinct and authoritative account of the ever-changing currents in that dangerous land"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Engel, Richard, 1973-; Foreign correspondents;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Bees : an identification and native plant forage guide / by Holm, Heather,1972-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.This well-illustrated guide captures the beauty, diversity, and engaging world of bees and the native plants that support them. Superbly designed and organized, this is an indispensable source of information with extensive profiles for twenty-seven bee genera, plus twelve mini profiles for uncommon genera, and approximately one hundred native trees, shrubs, and perennials for the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast regions. With over 1500 stunning photographs, detailed descriptions, and accessible science, environmental educator and research assistant Heather Holm brings to light captivating information about bees' life cycles, habitats, diet, foraging behaviors, crops pollinated, nesting lifestyles, seasonality, and preferred native forage plants. Bees are a singularly fascinating group of insects and this book makes it possible to observe, attract, and support them in their natural setting or in one's own garden. Not only does this guide assist the reader with bee identification in the field or by photo, it also notes microscopic features for the advanced user. The factors impacting bee populations, and the management of farms and public and residential landscapes for bees are also covered. Included in the bee forage (plant) chapters are plant profiles with range maps, habitat information, floral features and attractants, common bees attracted to the particular plant, and details about the ecological connections between the native plant and other flower-visiting insects. Noted also are birds dependent upon the product of the pollinated flowers (fruits and seeds). This is an excellent reference for amateur and professional naturalists, educators, gardeners, farmers, students, nature photographers, insect enthusiasts, biologists, and anyone interested in learning more about the diversity and biology of bees and their connection to native plants and the natural world.
Subjects: Bees; Forage plants;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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If walls could speak : my life in architecture / by Safdie, Moshe,1938-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world's most influential and memorable structures-from the 1967 modular housing scheme in Montreal known as "Habitat" and the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel, to the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas and the Marina Bay Sands development and extraordinary Jewel Changi airport interior garden and waterfall in Singapore. For Safdie, the way a space functions is fundamental; he is deeply committed to architecture as a social force for good, believing that any challenge, including extreme population density and environmental distress, can be addressed with solutions that enhance community and uplift the human spirit. Safdie always refers to the "silent client" an architect mustultimately serve: the people who live, work in, or experience a building. If Walls Could Speak takes readers behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works-"from thespark of imagination through the design process, the model-making, the politics, the engineering, the materials." Relating memorable stories about what has inspired him-from childhoods in Israel and Montreal to the projects and personalities worldwide that have captured his imagination-Safdie reveals the complex interplay that underpins every project and his vision for the role architecture can and should play in society at large. Illustrated throughout with drawings, sketches, photographs, and documentsfrom his firm's voluminous archives that illuminate his stories, If Walls Could Speak ends with a chapter outlining seven projects Safdie would pursue around the world if resources and will were no issue and the choices were his to make. A book like no other, If Walls Could Speak will forever change the way you look at and appreciate any built structure"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Safdie, Moshe, 1938-; Architects;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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