I've read some YA, some adult fiction and some non-fiction over the past week. Most of it was fine. Enjoyable, even. But the two non-fiction books were ones that really stood out to me. Neither is published yet, which gives you plenty of time to pre-order them from somewhere or reserve them at your library.
What The Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha is set for release in June. Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician in Flint, Michigan, who writes passionately of her discovery of the lead polluting the water that she was recommending her young, innocent patients drink. Once she discovers the crisis she is sure it will only take notifying the right people, and this wrong will be righted. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, and there are many roadblocks, including the government who turned a blind eye to the data presented to them. The crisis in Flint has finally gained national attention (there's a Netflix documentary and a movie already out about this tragedy), and it's a fascinating - and disturbing- story about a town that already is so rife with poverty being ignored and mistreated even more. This book is well written. The author tells of her own background - her family leaving Saddam Hussein's Iraq - which helped me identify with her. She's able to use her own life story as the backdrop for the Flint water crisis, and ties it all in nicely by book's end. Reading this piqued my curiosity even further and I am needing to find time to watch the documentary about this soon.
There Are No Grown-ups: A Midlife Coming of Age Story by Pamela Druckerman - Druckerman's book, Bringing Up Bebe was one I read and enjoyed when it was first published. I had young children at the time and could easily relate to her anecdotes and advice. In this book, I am feeling Druckerman is once again a kindred spirit. She writes of the surprise she felt when she realized that she was no longer being called mademoiselle, but madame instead. She shares anecdotes, advice and includes "you know you're in your forties" lists between chapters. And to almost all of them, I found myself nodding along. (There is one chapter where she sets up a threesome for her husband for his fortieth birthday that made me wonder what in the world I felt I had in common with this woman). I feel like most of my friends would find something interesting in this book and nod their heads as they read, just like I have. I appreciate there is someone out there who is my age and not afraid to write about what the forties are like.
Do either of these appeal to you? What non-fiction have you read that I need to put on my TBR?
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