Heart in the Right Place - Library Resources

Health Care | Life Transitions | Living Simply

Health Care

Bryson City Tales: Stories of a Doctor’s First Year of Practice in the Smoky Mountains
by Walt Larimore (Book)

It’s a world where the family doctor is also the emergency physician, the coroner, and the obstetrician, and where wilderness medicine is part of the job, search-and-rescue calls in the national forest are a way of life, and the next patient just may be somebody’s livestock or pet.

The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care
by T.R.Reid (Book)

Washington Post correspondent and NPR commentator Reid uses treatment of his chronic shoulder pain to compare the strengths and weaknesses of universal health care systems around the world.

In the Land of Invisible Women: A female doctor’s journey in the Saudi Kingdom
by Qanta A. Ahmed(Book)

Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, a young British Muslim doctor accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia, an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong.

Sick Around the World
(DVD)

"Four in five Americans say the U.S. health-care system needs "fundamental" change. Can the U.S. learn anything from the rest of the world about how to run a health-care system, or are these nations so culturally different from us that their solutions would simply not be acceptable to Americans?” (Frontline website)

Life Transitions

Bait and Switch
by Barbara Ehrenreich (Book, Book on CD, Downloadable)

The best-selling author of Nickel and Dimed focuses on the world of white-collar unemployment as seen through the eyes of the unemployed, describing the woes of "surplus" employees, let go by today's ultra-lean corporations, who are forced to confront, sometimes for months or years at a stretch, the realities of financial hardship with few social supports or security.

The Dollmaker
by Harriette Arnow (Book , VHS)

Strong-willed, self-reliant Gertie Nevels's peaceful life in the Kentucky hills is devastated by the brutal winds of change. Uprooted from her backwoods home, she and her family are thrust into the confusion and chaos of wartime Detroit.

Fitting In Is Overrated: The Survival Guide for Anyone Who has Ever Felt Like an Outsider
by Leonard Felder (Book)

To thine own self be true. But can you do that while still being a valued part of the wider community? Or must you always sacrifice your own inclinations and desires to fit in? Bestselling author Leonard Felder, PhD, has written the first book with advice on how to be successful personally and professionally when you think differently, live differently, create differently, or solve problems differently than those around you.

Half-Broke Horses
by Jeannette Walls (Book, Book on CD)

The bestselling author of The Glass Castle has based her new novel of the life of her grandmother. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold.

Here If You Need Me
by Kate Braestrup (Book, Book on CD, Downloadable)

Ten years ago, writer Kate Braestrup and her husband were enjoying their four young children, and Drew, a Maine state trooper, planned to begin training to become a minister as well. Then early one morning an oncoming driver lost control, and Kate lost her husband. Stunned and grieving, Kate decided to continue her husband's dream and became a Universalist minister herself. She found a most unusual mission: serving as the chaplain on search and rescue missions in the Maine woods, giving comfort to people whose loved ones are missing, and to the game wardens who sometimes have to deal with awful outcomes.

The Leisure Seeker
by Michael Zadoorian (Book)

Recognizing that the final stage of their lives is upon them, John and Ella Robina, the former an Alzheimer's patient, the latter succumbing to cancer, sneak away from their over-protective children and doctors to embark on an RV vacation along Route 66.

The Pursuit of Happyness
by Chris Gardner (Book, Downloadable, DVD)

In a candid memoir, a successful entrepreneur traces his journey from growing up with an abusive stepfather, to life on the streets as a homeless man with a small toddler in tow, to his triumphant battle to the top as a self-made millionaire.

Songcatcher
(DVD)

A musicologist, passed over for a promotion, goes to visit in Appalachia and finds a treasure trove of Scots-Irish songs in the traditions of the generous but fiercely independent mountain people.

What Now?
by Ann Patchett (Book, Book on CD, Downloadable)

From student to line cook to teacher to waitress and eventually to award-winning author, Patchett's own life has taken many twists and turns that make her exploration genuine and resonant.

Living Simply

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology
by Eric Brende (Book)

As part of an MIT program monitoring the impact of technology, grad student Brende spent 12 months with his wife in a Mennonite-like society. His conclusion? Technology makes life harder. (Library Journal)

Choosing Simplicity: Real people finding peace and fulfillment in a complex world
by Linda Breen Pierce (Book)

The popular press has recently held its magnifying glass up to what has been called the "simplicity movement." Pierce, founder of a three-year Simplicity Study that followed the lives of 211 people, takes a closer look with this book about her findings.

Disconnected
(DVD)

Three college students take on the challenge of giving up their computers to see how their academic, social, and work lives are affected. No Facebook. No YouTube. No email. How will they get their work done? Will they cheat? Who will survive the longest? Follow Carleton College students Andrew, Caitlin, and Chel as they go through 'digital detox' and learn to interact with themselves and with others in ways we have largely forgotten.

Give it Up: My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less
by Mary Carlomagno (Book)

"Would it be possible to live without the designer coffee, the Kate Spade Bags, the technology that was a part of my every day existence? Could stripping away some of those items and habits make me appreciate what I was so fortunate to have? I created a plan. Each month for one year, I would choose one of my favorite things and give it up cold turkey for one month. This would become my year to live better with less."

Living Simply With Children
by Marie Sherlock (Book)

Emphasizes voluntary simplicity, with advice on how to replace unnecessary objects and activities with more meaningful ones, how to reclaim precious time with the family, and celebrate the simple joys of family life.