Receiving a diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can be an overwhelming experience. And, it can be difficult for newly-diagnosed patients to ask the hard, personal questions in clinic. These thought-provoking stories contain the answers to many of those difficult questions. This book is a window into the thoughts, feelings, and coping techniques of real people struggling with the effects of a life-altering disease. It is a must-read for newly-diagnosed COPD patients and their loved ones.
 
In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease:  A Collection of Personal Stories, you will learn what COPD is and what it is not. Written in the actual voices of real patients and family members, you will hear what worried them, what helped them, the good advice they have to share, and even some unexpected joys discovered in the course of their journey. There is also a long list of resources for those who are exploring COPD topics. This collection of personal stories and photos was written by COPD patients and family members for the benefit of newly-diagnosed patients and their families. The authors want you to know that you are not alone.
 
Proceeds from this book will be used to improve the patient experience at Michigan Medicine.

Receiving a diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary (IPF) can be an intimidating experience.  And it can be difficult for new patients to ask hard, personal questions in clinic.  But these powerful stories, written byIPF patients and fornewly-diagnosed IPF patients, are where those hard questions are answered.  That makes this book a must-read for newly diagnosed patients, their families and loved ones.  
 
In “Chronicling Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis:  A Collection of Personal Stories,” you’ll hear the voices of real patients and family members as they talk about what worries them, the coping techniques they have tried and the bright spots of beauty they have found in the course of their journey with this disease.  Readers will learn what IPF is and what it is not.  They will find new resources and even some questions to help guide their own thoughts when reflecting on what an IPF diagnosis means to them.

The author is grateful to the FRIENDS of the University of Michigan Hospitals Patient Education Library for their generous support of this book.  Proceeds from this book will be used to improve the patient experience at the University of Michigan Health System.

 

You see them as faceless shapes on the median or in city parks. You recognize them by their cardboard signs, their bags of aluminum cans, or their weathered skin. But you do not know them.

In Nomads of a Desert City Barbara Seyda meets the gazes of our homeless neighbors and, with an open heart and the eye of an accomplished photographer, uncovers their compelling stories of life on the edge.

Byrdy is a teenager from Alaska who left a violent husband and misses the young daughter her mother now cares for. Her eyes show a wisdom that belies her youth. Samuel is 95 and collects cans for cash. His face shows a lifetime of living outside while his eyes hint at the countless stories he could tell. Lamanda worked as an accountant before an act of desperation landed her in prison. Now she struggles to raise the seven children of a woman she met there. Dorothy—whose earliest memories are of physical and sexual abuse—lives in a shelter, paycheck to paycheck, reciting affirmations so she may continue “to grace the world with my presence.”

They live on the streets or in shelters. They are women and men, young and old, Native or Anglo or Black or Hispanic. Their faces reflect the forces that have shaped their lives: alcoholism, poverty, racism, mental illness, and abuse. But like desert survivors, they draw strength from some hidden reservoir.

Few recent studies on homelessness offer such a revealing collection of oral history narratives and compelling portraits. Thirteen homeless women and men open a rare window to enrich our understanding of the complex personal struggles and triumphs of their lives. Nomads of a Desert City sheds a glaring light on the shadow side of the American Dream—and takes us to the crossroads of despair and hope where the human spirit survives.

Revisits the inspiring and heroic stories of the Freedom Riders, through their own words.
 
In May 1961, despite multiple Supreme Court rulings, segregation remained alive and well within the system of interstate travel. All across the American South, interstate buses as well as their travel facilities were divided racially. This blatant disregard for law and morality spurred the Congress of Racial Equality to send thirteen individuals—seven black, six white—on a harrowing bus trip throughout the South as a sign of protest.
 
These original riders were met with disapproval, arrests and violence along the way, but that did not stop the movement. That summer, more than four hundred Freedom Riders continued their journey—many of them concluding their ride at Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm, where they endured further abuses and indignities. As a result of the riders sacrifice, by November of 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission finally put an end to interstate commerce segregation, and in the process, elevated the riders to become a source of inspiration for other civil rights campaigns such as voter registration rights and school desegregation.
 
While much has been written on the Freedom Rides, far less has been published about the individual riders. Join award-winning author B. J. Hollars as he sets out on his own journey to meet them, retracing the historic route and learning the stories of as many surviving riders as he could. The Road South: Personal Stories of the Freedom Riders offers an intimate look into the lives and legacies of the riders. Throughout the book these civil rights veterans’ poignant, personal stories offer timely insights into America’s racial past and hopeful future.
 
Weaving the past with the present, Hollars aims to demystify the legendary journey, while also confronting more modern concerns related to race in America. The Road South is part memoir and part research-based journalism. It transcends the traditional textbook version of this historical journey to highlight the fascinating stories of the many riders—both black and white—who risked their lives to move the country forward.