Books of Soul

Seeing Patients: Unconscious Bias in Health Care

February 27, 2011
If you’re going to have a heart attack, an organ transplant, or a joint replacement, here’s the key to getting the very best medical care: be a white, straight, middle-class male. This book by a pioneering black surgeon takes on one of the few critically important topics that haven’t figured in the heated debate over health care reform–the largely hidden yet massive injustice of bias in medical treatment.

Growing up in Jim Crow-era Tennessee and training and teaching in overwhelmingly white medical institutions, Gus White witnessed firsthand how prejudice works in the world of medicine. And while race relations have changed dramatically, old ways of thinking die hard. In Seeing Patients White draws upon his experience in startlingly different worlds to make sense of the unconscious bias that riddles medical treatment, and to explore what it means for health care in a diverse twenty-first-century America.

White and co-author David Chanoff use extensive research and interviews with leading physicians to show how subconscious stereotyping influences doctor-patient interactions, diagnosis, and treatment. Their book brings together insights from the worlds of social psychology, neuroscience, and clinical practice to define the issues clearly and, most importantly, to outline a concrete approach to fixing this fundamental inequity in the delivery of health care.

Seeing Patients: Unconscious Bias in Health Care
Augustus A. White III (Author), David Chanoff (Contributor)

Harvard University Press
Available January 15, 2011 in Hardcover

21 Days to Ultimate Health and Wellness by Erich C. Nall

February 18, 2011
The Ultimate Transformations process of 21 Days to Ultimate Health and Wellness has supported hundreds of individuals, as they work to correct and replace bad habits that have taken several decades to form. These bad habits stand in the way of current achievements.

Erich C. Nall has spent more than 20 years perfecting the Ultimate Transformation process, a system that assists all individuals with the necessary tools to change their lives and reach tremendous heights that were initially thought to be unattainable. The Ultimate Transformations process has been used by aspiring and veteran actors to reshape themselves for greater success in their field. Everyday laymen, and weekend warriors use the Ultimate Transformation process to help them lose tremendous amounts of weight, achieve the mindset necessary to run marathons, start a business, or find the inner sanctuary of peace. The process is used by youth to overcome extreme odds to make their way into college, to graduation, and by young athletes to reach their goal of playing professional sports. Professional athletes that achieve top performances such as all-pro and gold medal status, have given credit to this process. Regardless of the goals, the process of choice, belief and commitment remain the same. Take the first steps to your Ultimate Transformation and spend 21 days on your journey to Ultimate Health and Wellness. The life you desire is worth 21 days of commitment.

Takama Publishing House
Available January 1, 2011 in Paperback

True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself by Janet Jackson

January 23, 2011
True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself
by Janet Jackson, David Ritz

Karen Hunter
Available February 8, 2011 in Hardcover

Janet Jackson emerged from the shadows of an already famous family to become one of the most beloved, recognizable, and influential performers in the world. But at what cost?

From the age of ten, when she made her acting debut on Good Times, Janet was told by Hollywood that she needed to slim down. Her well-meaning brothers, especially fun-loving Michael, teased her relentlessly until she began to believe that who she was wasn’t good enough. It was an idea that no amount of critical acclaim in television and film or, later, international platinum success in music could change.

Janet turned to food for comfort and escape. She developed a self-destructive pattern familiar to so many of us: fear and uncertainty led to bad feelings about herself and ultimately depression. The depression led to overeating. And her yo-yoing weight was painfully obvious in the bright lights of the entertainment world.

It has taken Janet most of her adult life to come to terms with who she is. But she has finally broken free of the attitudes that brought her down and has embraced realistic goals that help her eat better, exercise better, feel better, and ultimately be better.

This book is about meeting those challenges that face all of us. With candor and courage, Janet shares her painful journey to loving herself. She addresses the crazy rumors that have swirled around her for most of her life, shines an intimate light on her family, and pulls us behind the velvet rope into her unforgettable career. She also shares lessons she has learned through contact with friends and fans and reveals the fitness secrets she has learned from her trainer. Finally, her nutritionist, David Allen, unveils the wholesome, delicious recipes and lifestyle-changing tips that helped Janet get in shape — mind and spirit, heart and soul.

True You is a call to tune in to your own fundamental wisdom, to let go of the ugly comparisons, and to understand that who you are, the true you, is more than enough.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

January 31, 2010

Crown
Available 02/02/10 in Hardcover

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells — taken without her knowledge — became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons — as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia — a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo — to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits.

As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family — past and present — is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family — especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry

February 19, 2009

Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine
by Bryant Terry

Available 03/02/09

The mere mention of soul food brings thoughts of greasy fare and clogged arteries. Bryant Terry offers recipes that leave out heavy salt and refined sugar, “bad” fats, and unhealthy cooking techniques, and leave in the down-home flavor. Vegan Soul Kitchen recipes use fresh, whole, high-quality, healthy ingredients and cooking methods with a focus on local, seasonal, sustainably raised food.Terry’s new recipes have been conceived through the prism of the African Diaspora – cutting, pasting, reworking, and remixing African, Caribbean, African-American, Native American, and European staples, cooking techniques, and distinctive dishes to create something familiar, comforting, and deliciously unique. Reinterpreting popular dishes from African and Caribbean countries as well as his favorite childhood dishes, Terry reinvents African-American and Southern cuisine – capitalizing on the complex flavors of the tradition, without the animal products.Includes recipes for: Double Mustard Greens & Roasted Yam Soup; Cajun-Creole-Spiced Tempeh Pieces with Creamy Grits; Caramelized Grapefruit, Avocado, and Watercress Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette; and Sweet Cornmeal-Coconut Butter Drop Biscuits.

Living Well by Montell Williams

February 6, 2009

Living Well Emotionally: Break Through to a Life of Happiness
by Montel Williams, William Doyle

Available 01/06/09

New York Times bestselling author Montel Williams offers a pathway to emotional wellness. In his inspiring New York Times bestseller Living Well, renowned talk show host Montel Williams chronicled his personal battle against a life threatening disease, the foods and regimen that countered his illness, and revealed how everyone could benefit from his dynamic plan for better health. Now, just as he shared the story of his physical triumph, Montel now shares inspiration, advice, and a practical program so that readers can overcome personal obstacles to find the peace and love that everyone deserves.

Living Well: 21 Days to Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health, and Feel Spectacular
by Montel Williams, William Doyle

Available 12/30/08
NAL Trade Paperback

Montel WilliamsNew York Times bestselling battle plan for better living. Now in paperback! In Living Well, Montel explains the science behind his successful battle against multiple sclerosis, interviewing a global “SWAT Team” of doctors, scientists, and researchers, and reveals the amazing effects of healthy eating and regular exercise. Most importantly, Montel shares his groundbreaking 21-Day Living Well Food and Workout Program — a hard-hitting health plan of diet changes, a step-by-step exercise plan, and the gradual addition of raw and whole foods to daily menu plans. This three-week regimen forms the cornerstone of Montel’s successful dietary health plan. Also included are simple, wholesome recipes that are as healthful as they are delicious. For anyone who wants to fight obesity, cancer, heart disease, and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or multiple sclerosis — or if they just want to feel spectacular every day — it’s time to push life to the next level, by Living Well with Montel!

The 4 Day Diet by Dr. Ian Smith

January 16, 2009

The 4 Day Diet
by Ian K. Smith

Available 12/30/08

Dr. Ian Smith’s diets really work. America has lost millions of pounds following his Fat Smash and Extreme Fat Smash diets. Now, in The 4 Day Diet, Smith has developed a program that allows readers to avoid the normal (and fatal) pitfalls of dieting: boredom, no treats allowed, too much repetition, plateauing. The 4 Day Diet is an ingenious program of dieting modules lasting only four days each:

Induction (detox/cleansing)
Transition (to reintroduce all food groups)
Protein Stretch (to avoid plateaus)
Smooth (when you can have some formerly forbidden foods like pizza and French fries)
Push (the sprint just before the final stretch, back to a stricter eating plan)
Pace (a comfortable module for you to catch your breath)
Vigorous (the final module to lose those last few pounds)

You can follow The 4 Day Diet straight through for a month for stunning results. But Smith also designed The 4 Day Diet so you can customize your own program. After the first two modules, you can do the remaining 5 in whichever order suits your schedule or preferences or you can repeat the modules you like best. It also features over sixty delicious recipes for breakfasts, lunches and dinners and a complete snack list—food that will make you forget you’re on a diet.

Full of Ian Smith’s motivating tips and tricks and his smart, sensible eating advice that really works to take weight off fast, The 4 Day Diet is a diet you’ll be able to stick to, have success on, and even enjoy!

Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat: A Story of Bulimia

January 10, 2009

Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat: A Story of Bulimia
by Stephanie Covington Armstrong

Available 08/01/09

Describing her struggle as a black woman with an eating disorder that is consistently portrayed as a white woman’s problem, this insightful and moving narrative traces the background and factors that caused her bulimia. Moving coast to coast, she tries to escape her self-hatred and obsession by never slowing down, unaware that she is caught in downward spiral emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Finally she can no longer deny that she will die if she doesn’t get help, overcome her shame, and conquer her addiction. But seeking help only reinforces her negative self-image, and she discovers her race makes her an oddity in the all-white programs for eating disorders. This memoir of her experiences answers many questions about why black women often do not seek traditional therapy for emotional problems.

Body with Soul by Randy Jackson

January 8, 2009

Body with Soul
Slash Sugar, Cut Cholesterol, and Get a Jump on Your Best Health Ever
by Randy Jackson

Available December 2008

From beloved American Idol judge Randy Jackson, a complete, inspiring wellness plan for taking control of your health.

Mixing memoir, a wellness program, and inspirational advice, Randy Jackson’s book is a work of personal passion. The American Idol judge’s struggles with his health and weight have been well- documented; he’s tried every diet, spent countless hours in gyms, and even had gastric bypass surgery in 2003. Now, he’s taken all that he’s learned throughout these trials and codified their strengths into an easy-to-follow, super-useful maintenance regimen, filled with meal plans (drawn from the accompanying recipes for healthy versions of down-home Southern favorites), exercise routines, and inspiring stories from his unique life as one of the music business greats.

With his New You Plan, Randy Jackson aims to focus on the epidemic of obesity-related disorders like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes—as a Type II diabetic himself, he knows that this effort is now more crucial than ever. Straight from the “dawg pound” this is Randy at his most passionate and at his most persuasive, all in the effort to make America “a’ight” once again.