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.
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.
Methadone is a life-saving medication upon which users are dependent in the same way people with diabetes require insulin, Melody Glenn notes. In Mother of Methadone: A Doctor's Quest, a Forgotten History, and a Modern-Day Crisis, Glenn interweaves the biography of Marie Nyswander, co-founder of methadone maintenance treatment, with experiences from her own training as an addiction physician.
When beavers become a nuisance in Washington State, chopping down trees and damming streams near homes, the Tulalip Tribes come to the rescue. They send biologists to transfer the beavers to ancestral tribal land in the Cascade Mountains. As Alison Pearce Stevens tells young readers in When Beavers Move In, the beavers thrive in their new homes and help restore trout and salmon populations.
Growing up blind in the Netherlands, Geerat Vermeij learned to navigate the world via touch. Visits to the nearby ocean fostered his fascination with seashells and led to his discoveries on the evolution of both mollusks and their predators. In Shell Seeker: The Life, Work, and Adventures of a Blind Biologist, Suzanne Sherman highlights the value of curiosity and perseverance for K-5 readers.
The term “climate change” is too tame, Meera Subramanian and Danica Novgorodoff assert. In their graphic nonfiction book, A Better World is Possible: Global Youth Confront the Climate Crisis, they interweave climate science with reports from four young activists who helped organize a youth climate protest that drew over 250,000 people to New York, part of a Sept 2019 worldwide wave of climate rallies.
Hammy, the 4-year-old beagle Melanie Kaplan adopted, a former laboratory research subject, was jittery, skittish, and often listless. In Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research, Kaplan tells how she helped Hammy adjust to life outside the lab and examines the breeding and use of animals for biomedical research, drug and product testing, and teaching.
“More Than a Feeling,” the rock band Boston’s most enduring hit, attracting more than a billion listens on Spotify, marks its 50th anniversary in 2026. In Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound, Brendan Borrell tells the story of MIT-trained engineer Tom Scholz, who built Boston’s sound in his basement and later invented sound devices used by other big-name bands.
In Dennis Meredith's latest scifi novel, Angelians, an environmental journalist discovers his fiancée, a brilliant and compassionate neurologist, is an extraterrestrial being. Having fled one of Jupiter’s dying moons, she and fellow aliens live seemingly normal lives on Earth. Many strive to help humans protect our climate. A rogue group aims to eliminate humans instead. AI plays a big role.
What’s your dream job? How can you find or create it? If hit by a layoff, what should you do next? In Create Your Unicorn Career: A Practical Guide to Designing the Authentic Career That Brings You Joy, Meaning, and Money – Even in Uncertain Times, Alaina G. Levine provides tactics she has shared in her column in Science and as a professional speaker, science writer, career coach, & TEDx speaker.
