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Tessa Miller was an ambitious twenty something writer in New York City when, on a random fall day, her stomach began to seize up. At first, she toughed it out through searing pain, taking sick days from work, unable to leave the bathroom or her bed. But when it became undeniable that something was seriously wrong, Miller gave in to family pressure and went to the hospital—beginning a years-long nightmare of procedures, misdiagnoses, and life-threatening infections. Once she was finally correctly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Miller faced another battle: accepting that she will never get better.

Named one of BuzzFeed's "Best Books of 2021"

Throughout her career, Oprah has teamed up with Dr Bruce Perry, one of the world’s leading experts on childhood trauma. He has treated thousands of children, youth, and adults and has been called on for decades to support individuals and communities following high-profile traumatic events. A survivor of multiple childhood challenges herself, Oprah Winfrey shares portions of her own harrowing experiences because she understands the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma at a young age. Now, Oprah joins forces with Dr Perry to marry the power of storytelling with the science and clinical experience to better understand and overcome the effects of trauma.

The girls at North Bay Academy are taking sides. It all started when Mike Parker's girlfriend showed up with a bruise on her face. Or, more specifically, when she walked into the principal's office and said Mike hit her. But her classmates have questions. Why did she go to the principal and not the police? Why did she stay with Mike if he was hurting her? Obviously, if it's true, Mike should face the consequences. But is it true? Some girls want to rally for Mike’s expulsion—and some want to rally around Mike. As rumors about what really happened spread, the students at North Bay Academy will question what it means to be guilty or innocent, right or wrong.

In her searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma, searches for and reveals the little-understood science behind Complex PTSD or C-PTSD. In learning about how it has shaped her life, she shares her journey about how she has learned to live with her past. In her opening Author’s Notes, Foo addresses other readers who may suffer from PTSD and then shares these hopeful words, “this book has a happy ending.”

In What the Dead Know, Barbara Butcher writes with the kind of New York attitude and bravado you might expect from decades in the field, investigating more than 5,500 death scenes, 680 of which were homicides. In the opening chapter, she describes how just from sheer luck of having her arm in a cast, she avoided a boobytrapped suicide. Later in her career, she describes working the nation’s largest mass murder, the attack on 9/11, where she and her colleagues initially relied on family members’ descriptions to help distinguish among the 21,900 body parts of the victims.

Now featured in the five-part docuseries on Netflix, Homicide: New York

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at the city’s public hospital, took state officials at their word and encouraged the parents and children in her care to continue drinking the water that flowed from their taps in Flint, Michigan —after all, it was American tap water, blessed with the state’s seal of approval. But a conversation at a cookout with an old friend, leaked documents from a rogue environmental inspector, and the activism of a concerned mother raised red flags about lead—a neurotoxin whose irreversible effects fall most heavily on children. Even as circumstantial evidence mounted and protests grew, Dr. Mona knew that the only thing that could stop the lead poisoning was undeniable proof—and that to get it, she’d have to enter the fight of her life.

Former television broadcast journalist Vivian King was taking a seemingly harmless prescription pill and suddenly suffered a stroke that robbed her of her voice. She battled through neurological intensive care and hours of therapy, leading to a miraculous recovery which astounded even her doctors. King admits the medical care she received was unparalleled, but she believes her secret weapons were her faith, family, and friends converging to lead her from trauma to triumph. When the Words Suddenly Stopped is Vivian’s story. 

Born in 1954, Cleve Jones was among the last generation of gay Americans who grew up wondering if there were others out there like himself. There were. By turns tender and uproarious, When We Rise is Jones' account of his remarkable life. He chronicles the heartbreak of losing countless friends to AIDS, which very nearly killed him, too; his co-founding of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation during the terrifying early years of the epidemic; his conception of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community art project in history; the bewitching story of 1970s San Francisco and the magnetic spell it cast for thousands of young gay people and other misfits; and the harrowing, sexy, and sometimes hilarious stories of Cleve's passionate relationships with friends and lovers during an era defined by both unprecedented freedom and violence alike.  

2017 Lambda Literary Award Winner

Frost takes a frank look at colon cancer as he shares his own story, along with ideas that might help other patients and their families. He shares approaches that worked for him, as well as what did not, and deals with the reality of life with a colostomy.

For the sober curious, those who may need help, and readers just interested in a popular science book on what happens when we sip a glass of wine, Why We Drink Too Much explains the science behind drinking and invites us to examine our relationship with alcohol. Pairing scientific expertise with his personal experiences, Dr. Charles Knowles offers us an accessible window into what really happens in our brains and bodies when we drink and why we do it. The pleasure people derive from alcohol varies greatly, both physically and mentally. Our response is influenced by the genes we were born with and the environment in which we grew up. For some of us, alcohol is greatly enhancing; for others, it is not much fun at all.