Staff Picks: The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph by Oksana Masters

The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph by Oksana Masters

If you don't know who Oksana Masters is, you will want to. This is a biography of Oksana Masters who was adopted by a single mother in America from a Ukrainian orphanage. Her birth mother had been exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster while carrying her. Oksana had multiple issues resulting from this, including legs of differing lengths as a result of a lack of weight-bearing bones, feet with six toes, webbed fingers with no thumbs, and missing her right bicep and one kidney. After deciding to adopt Oksana, it took several years of diplomatic issues, bureaucratic red tape, and the requisite bribery, but she finally had her very first home at the age of seven years old. Despite these repeated setbacks, neither of them gave up.

Collection Highlight: Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Forsyth County Public Library offers patrons a wide array of current books about keeping the mind healthy, preventing and healing mental illness, and practicing self-care.

A few new titles are shared below. Visit our Community Resources Guide and Mental Health Helplist under eResources or ask a librarian for additional mental health resources for you or for a loved one. 

Change Your Brain Every Day: Simple Daily Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Memory, Moods, Focus, Energy, Habits, and Relationships by Daniel G. Amen, MD. 2023

Psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist Daniel Amen, MD, draws on over 40 years' clinical practice with tens of thousands of patients to give you the most effective daily habits he has seen that can help you improve your brain, master your mind, boost your memory, and make you feel happier, healthier, and more connected to those you love.

Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder by Gabor Maté, MD. 2023

Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) as genetically based and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition.

Asian American Heritage Month Staff Picks The Sense of Wonder by Matthew Salesses

 The Sense of Wonder by Matthew Salesses

I've recently become a fan of author Matthew Salesses, whose witty, unpredictable stories offer a unique perspective on issues of identity and race in America.  

Salesses’ latest novel, The Sense of Wonder, focuses on two Asian NBA stars, Won Lee, dubbed “The Wonder,” and his idol, Powerball!. A trouble-making sports reporter and a television producer who creates popular Korean soap operas add extra drama to mix.      

Sense of Wonder skewers celebrity culture, modern relationships, and professional rivalry. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy this wry satirical tale.