Women’s health Books

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Book SynopsisIn Beyond the Baby Blues: Anxiety and Depression During and After Pregnancy Rebecca Fox Starr gives a candid account of her battle with prenatal and postpartum anxiety and depression. Rebecca’s story has touched readers deeply and, as her own journey has continued, so has her story, having veered in an unexpected direction: the decision about a future baby. What many people do not realize is that the idea of another pregnancy post-postpartum can be cripplingly frightening to a woman and her loved ones. Rebecca addresses this woefully in her first book, opening up about her sadness that her “shop is closed.” Having a baby was an option taken off the table, for a reason completely out of her control. Until it wasn’t. In 2017 Rebecca and her husband began exploring the idea of expanding their family, and, therefore consulted experts in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, perinatal mental health, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, and grief (in coping with the idea that, despite all of the options, the most sound of all could be to not have another child). Books on the topic of pregnancy after postpartum depression are scarce, making it difficult to find support or advice. This book, anchored in Rebecca’s story, offers an informative guide to the expert advice and insight, alongside current research, for women who want to explore pregnancy and other family expansion options after postpartum depression. With heartfelt stories, clinical data, and a consideration of the range of options and the emotions that along with them, Rebecca’s book fills a gaping hole in an area that leaves too many women feeling abjectly alone.Trade ReviewRebecca Fox Starr shares her intimate journey through severe postpartum depression related to childbearing and infertility, including voices from other moms when thinking about subsequent pregnancy. Her second book highlights the internal biological struggle of asking `maybe we can’ balanced with questions about risks associated with medication regimens, adoption and possible surrogacy. A brilliantly written and straightforward lens of her internal journey to survive through two pregnancies while finding a way toward healing and health. -- Ginger Breedlove, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, March for Moms President, Author of "Nobody Told Me About That: The First Six Weeks"As a survivor and perinatal psychologist, I’m delighted that Rebecca has boldly broken new ground with Baby Every After. With beautiful detail, honesty, engaging scenarios and even humor, she sensitively raises the many valid options for families following postpartum depression, including surrogacy and choosing not to have another child. As a fellow advocate supporting whatever feels right for each survivor, I applaud Rebecca and her new book! -- Shoshana S. Bennett, PhD, Author of books including "Postpartum Depression for Dummies", DrShosh.comBaby Ever After, above all else, brings dark things into the light. Starr offers women insight into the calculated risks of growing a family after depression, but also extends grace-filled permission to acknowledge every feeling in the process. Using both research and raw personal reflection, Starr presents a compelling battle between desire and reality, logic and emotion—ultimately landing in a place where every reader can relate, that of surrender. -- Ashlee Gadd, Founder, Writer, Podcast Co-Host, Coffee + CrumbsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I: A Hard Story Prologue Chapter 1: My Shop is Closed Chapter 2: Or is it? Part II: A Hopeful Story Chapter 3: Grand Re-opening Chapter 4: Blueprints: Pregnancy After Postpartum Depression Chapter 5: 24/7, 365: Adoption after Postpartum Depression Chapter 6: Open for Occupancy: Surrogacy After Postpartum Depression Chapter 7: How to Hang the “Closed” Sign: Choosing Not to Expand the Family After Postpartum Depression Chapter 8. When You Leave the Door Ajar, the Weather is Always Windy: When You Just Aren’t Sure Chapter 9: Holding the Keys Bibliography

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Book Synopsis Bearing Witness is a collection of stories from women who went through the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and treatment for it, only to find that the cancer recurred and any hope of recovery was gone. These women represent a spectrum of ages, ethnic backgrounds, marital circumstances, and professional experiences. From their stories we learn how each woman shapes the meaning of her life. Facing a life crisis can make one bitter and angry, but it can also provide the key to a thankful and generous spirit within. Storytelling is an important art form present in many cultures: it is a way of processing life events, of searching for meaning, and of allowing teller and listener to wrestle with the message. It is a form of teaching and learning. For the women in Bearing Witness, stories are tangible legacies for family and friends and a chance to share their thoughts on living with the ""glass half full."" They inspire the reader to reflect on life's struggles and to find within themselves a sense of optimism, perhaps when they least expect to. Kathryn Carter's concluding essay places these stories in the context of contemporary discourses of illness and healing. Trade Review``I have often thought that the reason there is so much breast cancer activism is that there are vast numbers of women who have been diagnosed with cancer-the-killer but who have lived to tell the tale. In contrast, ovarian cancer is silent and deadly, and Carter and Elit have done us a service in bringing these stories to the fore.'' -- Julia A. Ericksen, Temple University -- Signs, Winter 2011, 201012Table of ContentsTable of Contents for Bearing Witness: Living with Ovarian Cancer, edited by Kathryn Carter and Laurie ElitAcknowledgementsIntroduction Dr. Laurie ElitEstherBevLisaMaryBilgayDeniseSarahPatriciaIdaMarthaCherylAfterword: Metastasizing Plots: Telling and Un-Telling the Stories of Cancer Kathryn CarterBibliography

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Book SynopsisThe inspiring memoir of a plus-size woman who summited Kilimanjaro while overcoming fat prejudice and her own demons

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Book SynopsisFor far too long, doctors thought hormone replacement therapy was the answer to menopausal symptoms from hot flashes to sleepless nights to stubborn belly fat. But while it does help, HRT can be risky - and may raise women's chances for breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke. Luckily, there's a growing stack of research that natural remedies can be just as effective. In "The Natural Menopause Solution", the editors of "Prevention" and integrative medicine specialist Melinda Ring, MD, distill that research into the easy-to-follow 30-Day Slim-Down, Cool-Down Diet, which can help women lose 21 percent more body weight. Plus it's proven to help reduce the number and intensity of hot flashes by 50 percent. In addition to this easy eating and exercise program, there are hundreds of drug-free solutions for sleep problems, memory lapses, mood swings, lack of energy, low libido, and more - and strategies to protect against heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis, and cancer.

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Book SynopsisShani Raviv is a misfit teen whose peer-pressured diet spirals down into full-blown anorexia nervosa—something no one in her early-nineties, local South African community knows anything about. Fourteen-year-old Shani spends the next six years being “Ana” (as many anorexics call it), on the run from her feelings. She goes from aerobics addict to Israeli soldier to rave bunny to wannabe reborn, using sex, drugs, exercise and, above all, starvation, to numb out everything along the way. But one night, at age twenty, Shani faces the rude awakening that if she doesn’t slow down, break her denial, and seek help, she will starve to death. Three years later, her hardest journey of all begins: the journey to let go of being Ana and learn to love herself. Being Ana is an exploration into the soul and psyche of a young woman wrestling with anorexia’s demons—one that not only exposes the real horrors of a day in the life of an anorexic girl but also reveals the courage it takes to stop fighting and find healing.Trade Review“A fascinating window into the frightening and relentless world of anorexia and, equally, young womanhood.” —Katherine Boyle, Veritas Literary Agency “Ms. Raviv is a fabulous writer and did an amazing job of simultaneously showing how her eating disorder functioned to keep her from being conscious of the underlying issues while in the depths of it, and showing the reader how all of her behaviors, thoughts and feelings were directly related to those underlying issues.” —Susie Roman, MA, Director of Programs, National Eating Disorders Association “Shani’s openness and clarity in sharing her experience with anorexia gave my students a unique opportunity to gain empathy and understanding for the living of an eating disorder. I know it will make them better therapists.” —Dr. John Deninno, clinical psychologist and eating disorder elective instructor, Bastyr University “Shani Raviv is a great inspiration to the many millions out there struggling with eating disorders. Her book Being Ana is honest, sensitive, witty, brutal, and so much more.” —Graham Alexander, MA (Clin.Psych.)(UCT), Director of Crescent Clinic Eating Disorders Unit “Being Ana is not only an insightful, raw, and thought-provoking memoir detailing a subject most people know little about, it is also a work by an author who understands how to present a difficult subject with humor and aplomb. Even though the book took her eight years to complete, there is an aching immediacy within these pages.” —Leighanne Law, Elliott Bay Book Co.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisDON’T MAKE ANOTHER HEALTHCARE DECISION WITHOUT READING THIS BOOK “If men had cramps, they’d have cured this by now...” “I told my doctors about my pain for years, but they told me it was all in my head...” Sidelined: How Women Manage & Mismanage Their Health discloses how women have been marginalized and hesitate to take control over their own healthcare. But what’s behind this nationwide medical crisis? Too often, women downplay or ignore their symptoms to avoid being “difficult,” often blaming themselves for serious illness.The end result could be inferior care, which can lead to serious consequences.In Sidelined, writer and researcher Susan Salenger explains why women are misdiagnosed more often than men, and why their symptoms often go unrecognized or even disputed. This book teaches readers how to take charge of their health, make informed decisions, and leave their appointments with answers instead of just questions.Knowing how to advocate for your own healthcare can mean the difference between healthy outcomes and years of needless agony, or even death.This important women’s health book equips readers with the knowledge, language, and skill sets they need to overcome the gender bias that is present in the medical industry and get the best healthcare possible. Trade Review2022 Living Now Book Awards Silver Medalist in Sexuality/Femininity “A well-written and empowering work about the challenges facing female patients.” —Kirkus Reviews“Good guidance for turbulent times.”—Library Journal“Simply wonderful! An indispensable resource for women who have ever felt daunted by their interactions with caregivers.”—Carole Browner, PhD, MPH, Distinguished research professor at UCLA’s Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the Departments of Anthropology and Gender Studies“Why do so many women have difficulty feeling heard and understood when they visit their doctor? Why are they misdiagnosed more frequently and later than men—even when their symptoms are exactly the same? And why do they suffer more side effects than men from the medications they're prescribed? Sidelined helps to answer those questions. Backed by extensive research, part memoir, part personal stories, this excellent and informative book offers a voice to those women who have been told (and believed) that their symptoms are ‘all in their head.’ It provides a useful road map on how to get the most effective healthcare and will be a valuable resource for all women interested in improving the quality of their healthcare and making more fully informed decisions.”—Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, author of Birth as an American Rite of Passage and Ways of Knowing about Birth: Mothers, Midwives, Medicine, and Birth Activism“Enjoyable to read and meticulously researched, Sidelined offers profound insights into the unique challenges women face as they handle their healthcare. Salenger includes personal narratives and mines the rich fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, medical history, and current medical research to think deeply about what women need to know to take the most effective care of themselves. This is definitely a book every woman (and every doctor) should read!”—Jill Warburton, PsyD, Berkeley, CA“I absolutely loved reading Susan Salenger’s Sidelined: How Women Manage & Mismanage Their Health. I found it extremely fascinating as well as informative, giving insights into the imbalance of medical treatment when it comes to gender and age. This is not only a book for women but men as well opening up the understanding of the female psyche in conjunction with understanding ourselves and our relationship with medical care. It’s a great read it is filled with fascinating research, history, and an incredible resource directory. I was so embraced in by it I read it in one sitting. I highly recommend this book and its author.”—Nancy Lombardo, host of What’s the BuzzNY Blog Talk Radio “Sidelined is a book I immediately asked my wife to read because it is so beautifully written and well-researched. The essence of this book is succinctly captured in the sub-title — how women manage and mismanage their health. Readers will understand why women easily make the wrong choices when it comes to healthcare decisions and the social context in which such choices are made. They will understand that playing nice at times or putting others first may often do them a disservice. Sidelined teaches women a unique skill — the ability to take care of themselves properly so they can stay strong by their families. Most importantly, Salenger provides compelling insights and writes in a voice that is compassionate, and authoritative, and in prose that is simply gorgeous. Sidelined is the best gift anyone can give a woman.” —Romuald Dzemo, Book Commentary “Sidelined is a thought-provoking and informative guide for women. The book describes how women manage the health of their families while simultaneously mismanage their personal health. The book also goes into what women can do to take charge of their health and medical issues. Sidelined is an important book for women everywhere. It could also be a wake-up call or the motivation and inspiration that some women need to make sure they are heard at their next doctor's appointment. Women are often more concerned over the health of their children, going to as many doctors as needed and asking tons of questions until they get answers, but often they don't take that same care with their own health. This book might be just what the doctor ordered to take charge of our health once and for all.” — Readers’ Favorite

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