Nonfiction Round-Up: Health Spotlight (3/24/21)

This nonfiction round-up spotlights works on health and life with a diagnosis of the flaws in the healthcare system, an incisive account of the Right to Die movement, and the biggest questions of life and death.

THE HOSPITAL: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town by Brian Alexander

3 starred reviews!

“Alexander’s scorching reportage provides a distressing, infuriating picture of health care delivery and highlights the heroic fight of a little hospital and humble hamlet to stay vital.”–Booklist, starred review

“The time Alexander spent embedded in the community gives continuity and depth to the stories of the individuals he connected with and puts a human face on broader issues of social inequality. This expertly reported account will resonate and find a wide audience.”–Library Journal, starred review

“Journalist Alexander (GLASS HOUSE) delivers an anguished and incisive look at the struggles of an independent community hospital in northwestern Ohio between March 2018 and August 2020…This wrenching account brilliantly diagnoses the flaws in America’s healthcare system.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE INEVITABLE: Dispatches on the Right to Die by Katie Engelhart

“Journalist Engelhart, rather than rehashing the arguments for and against assisted suicide (preferably known now as Medical Aid in Dying or Physician Assisted Death), presents the current state of the debate in the stories of six people…A must-read for anyone concerned about quality of life at the end of life.”–Library Journal, starred review

THINGS WORTH DYING FOR: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living by Charles J. Chaput

“Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia Chaput begins his book with a long essay on death. Because American culture tries to deny its truth and inevitability, he is not afraid to remind readers of their final chapter…Throughout, his writing affirms that things worth dying for make life worth living.”–Booklist

THE HOSPITAL: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town by Brian Alexander; 9781250237354; available now.
THE INEVITABLE: Dispatches on the Right to Die by Katie Engelhart; 9781250201461; available now.
THINGS WORTH DYING FOR: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living by Charles J. Chaput; 9781250239785; available now.