Public Health Book Club : Past Picks

We are in our 3rd year! During our discussions, we also explore other resources that cover the topic covered in the book. Some of those are included with the book here.

Check out the titles with separate pages containing Extras.

BANNED BOOK!

September 6, 2018, Betsy Gomez 
"The buzz for Angie Thomas’s debut novel The Hate U Give came well in advance of its publication. The young adult novel debuted to rave reviews, won several awards, and sat atop The New York Times bestseller list for 50 weeks. But the story about black teen Starr Williams, who witnesses the police shooting of a childhood friend, has drawn the attention of would-be censors, who have attacked it for being “pervasively vulgar” and for the depiction of drug use, profanity, and offensive language. Released in early 2017, the book landed in the eighth spot on the American Library Association’s top ten challenged and banned books list."

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy.    Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest.  Lia Lee 1982-2012    Lia Lee died on August 31, 2012. She was thirty years old and had been in a vegetative state since the age of four. Until the day of her death, her family cared for her lovingly at home.

Fadiman: In 'Spirit,' "The Villain is Cultural Misunderstanding"-an interview with the author in 2013

The book focuses on the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman born in 1920 who lived in Baltimore, MD. During treatment for cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a sample of Henrietta's cells were taken without her permission. Those cells gave rise to a multitude of advancements in medicine, including treatment for cancers and infectious diseases vaccines, gene therapy, and much more. This book will give you the opportunity to discuss ethics, the history of racism and discrimination, scientific advancement and privacy, and much more, all through the lens of one family's story. This book is perfect for those new to the field of public health, as well as those that will soon be wrapping up their public health education and are thinking about life beyond graduate school.