For this column, NASW book editor Lynne Lamberg asks NASW authors to tell how they came up with the idea for their book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. She also asks what they wish they had known before they began working on their book, what they might do differently the next time, and what tips they can offer aspiring authors. She then edits the A part of that Q&A to produce the author reports you see here.
NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines to submit your report.
Publication of NASW members' reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of their books. NASW welcomes your comments and hopes this column stimulates productive discussions.
“Researchers spend most of their time in the ‘messy middle’ of science—the opposite of a Eureka moment,” Roberta Kwok writes in Lost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown. A curious reporter herself, Kwok provides a close-up view of that shambolic space, drawn from interviews with teams of scientists in nine disciplines who describe their research as it unfolds.
Seeing a story deconstructed as you read it can help you both appreciate compelling science reporting and acquire new skills, Siri Carpenter notes in The Best Science Stories and How They Work: A Collection with Commentary. With 11 stories by top science writers, commentary on each by an astute reader, and chats between each pair, this book provides a master class for students, pros, and teachers.
Hundreds of US high schools have adopted healthy start times for adolescents—8:30 a.m. or later—but 1000s have yet to do so. In Educating the Exhausted: Adolescent Sleep and the Struggle for a Later School Start, Terra Ziporyn & Amy Wolfson report scientific evidence supporting later start times, their benefits for teens’ academic performance, & hurdles to raising public awareness & changing policy.
Flight 93’s 9/11 crash further scarred Pennsylvania land blighted by decades of mining. To honor the 40 passengers and crew who gave their lives to prevent the plane’s crash into its likely Washington DC target, their families, area residents, and others focused on healing and growth. They planted a forest. In 150000 Trees: Growing a Memorial for 9/11’s Flight 93, Rebecca Hirsch tells their story.
Bees can count and ants can recognize themselves in mirrors. That degree of surprising detail abounds in Margie Patlak’s Insect Safari: Exploring the Wondrous World of Everyday Bugs. Patlak observed, photographed, and delved into the lives of hundreds of insects in her Maine garden and Philadelphia courtyard. She invites readers to join in. Her last chapter: “If you plant it, they will come.”
In medicine, doctors make decisions based on rigorous studies that test whether treatments work. Evidence from research benefits other fields, e.g., schools, social policy, & conservation, Helen Pearson reports in Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works. “Evidence rarely provides certainty,” she notes. “But it can reduce uncertainty and improve decisions—and that can be life-changing.”
In Body Weather: Notes on Chronic Illness in the Anthropocene Lorraine Boissoneault likens variations in symptoms of her autoimmune illnesses to encounters with hot and cold weather, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and other climate extremes. "Illness has taught me determination, creativity, resilience, and the importance of community," she says, "knowledge we all need to foster a healthier planet."
“The tools for caring have been woven into our DNA,” Elizabeth Preston writes in The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care. From spiders to bats to whales, nature on land and sea is replete with examples. Humans and other animals’ shared biology and brain circuitry not only enable caring for our young, she says, but also living together in societies.
Contrary to common belief, we constantly experience genetic mutations. Some cause illnesses, such as cancer & heart disease. Others correct inherited disorders. In Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health Roxanne Khamsi reports successes, challenges, and risks of blocking or erasing some non-inherited mutations and tapping the healing potential of others.
