Abby Norman does a fantastic job of framing her personal story and struggle because of endometriosis into a broader conversation about women's ability to be taken seriously as patients especially when they are in pain. She's brilliantly smart and funny and snarky and very open about the challenges that she's faced (and is facing) and the lengths that she's had to go to in order to be treated.

I don't think I can come up with enough words to describe how devastatingly amazing this was.

I think this was a good account of modern American female friendship, and tackled a lot of the stereotypes that women encounter about friendship. The author is writing from her own perspective, so take that for what it is. There are a lot of TV/ movie/pop culture references, but I really would have loved to hear about friendships among women within or across cultural lines ( like American women from immigrant families, etc)

Control is a drug, and we are all hooked, whether or not we believe in the prosperity gospel's assurance that we can master the future with our words and attitudes. I can barely admit to myself that I have almost no choice but to surrender, but neither can those around me.

If you're looking for neat conclusions, a three-step action plan, and a tidy ending to a complex story, skip this one. What you will find here is a funny, thoughtful, pain-filled, contemplative, yet totally real look into the life of someone facing life's most difficult scenarios. Kate Bowler takes us through her life's struggles, the biggest of which is her diagnosis with stage IV colon cancer at 34. She's funny and snarky, and so insightful about the nature of blessing, and control, and God's goodness, and all the things we cling to when we realize that we have absolutely no control over some of the biggest things that happen in life. She examines what we do when those close to us (or complete strangers writing articles in the NY Times) are facing something terrifyingly insurmountable. She doesn't wrap things up nicely in a bow for us, she asks difficult, earth-shifting questions and leaves us to consider their answers for ourselves. This book is messy, there's plenty that's undefined and unresolved, and that's what makes it absolutely perfect, because life is messy and undefined and unresolved too.

I love that children's literature has the ability to break up major historical events into child-sized pieces so kids can learn about things that may not appear on a traditional curriculum. This book tells the story of Sylvia Mendez and Mendez v. Westminster, a California school desegregation case that preceded (and influenced) the landmark Brown v Board of Education.

SO GOOD. I could not put it down!

Very corporate, but good strategies.

The collection of poetry takes you on a journey through a young man's life: it's challenges and heartbreaks and turning points.