Advance Copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

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.

Rectangular photo of Melissa Sevigny’s office bookshelf showing books on the Grand Canyon, botany, and women in science, with waterproof silver match case used by Lois Jotter on 1938 expedition and four Arizona rocks. Photo credit: Melissa Sevigny.

Melissa Sevigny—Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

In 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter became the 1st non-native women known to transverse the Grand Canyon by boat. In their 43-day, 600-mile trip down the perilous Colorado River, they collected diverse plant specimens and took notes that set botanical benchmarks, Melissa Sevigny reports in Brave the Wild River, The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon.

Rectangular photo of a closeup of books on a shelf, spanning titles on dogs and pets. Photo by Beth Miller.

Beth Miller—The Most Painful Choice: A Dog Owner's Story of Behavioral Euthanasia

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Brain abnormalities make some dogs act in such unsafe ways distraught owners may be forced to end their pet’s life. In The Most Painful Choice: A Dog Owner’s Story of Behavioral Euthanasia, Beth Miller describes her futile 6-year struggle to help her beloved but aggressive and anxious rescue dog Champ. She also addresses treatment of canine behavioral disorders and offers advice on managing grief.

Horizontal photo of a bookshelf of Liz Lee Heinecke, featuring titles on conservation, ecology, and evolution. Photo by Liz Lee Heinecke

Liz Heinecke—Ecology for Kids: Science Experiments and Activities Inspired by Awesome Ecologists, Past and Present

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Jean-Henri Fabre likened a glowworm to “a spark fallen from the full moon.” He is one of 25 scientists from around the world who advanced knowledge of how living organisms interact with each other and their physical environments. In Ecology for Kids, Liz Heinecke introduces young readers to these pioneers and provides step-by-step photo-illustrated guides to home experiments based on their work.

Rectangular photo of Wynne Brown's book shelf with titles about women in the U.S. West. Photo credit Wynne Brown.

Wynne Brown—Remarkable Arizona Women

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

A nun, Sister Fidelia, opened a 12-bed hospital in Tucson in 1880. Botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon identified and painted 100s of Southwest plants. In 1912, educator Louise Boehringer became the first woman elected to public office in Arizona; she also edited and published Arizona Teacher. They are among 17 pioneering women born before 1900 whom Wynne Brown portrays in Remarkable Arizona Women.

Rectangular photo of a close up view of books on a bookshelf, with spines facing out and many titles related to chickens.

Tove Danovich—Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Yes, some chickens can fly! Some sing after laying eggs. Some purr when happy. Chickens make and keep friends, too, and grieve when pals die, Tove Danovich reports in Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them. While industrial farms prompt concerns about animal welfare, 3500 years of chicken history, she asserts, offer much to crow about.

Rectangular photo of a close up view of books on Dan Levitt's bookshelv. Image credit Dan Levitt

Dan Levitt—What's Gotten Into You: The Story of Your Body's Atoms, from the Big Bang Through Last Night's Dinner

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

“All matter—everything around and within us—has an ultimate birthday: the day the universe was born,” Dan Levitt writes in What's Gotten Into You: The Story of Your Body's Atoms, from the Big Bang Through Last Night's Dinner. In reporting how we became who we are, Levitt illuminates the lives and struggles of the scientists who discovered how the past remains alive in the present.

Bookshelf photo adapted from original photo by Richard Maurer

Richard Maurer—The Woman in the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Helped Fly the First Astronauts to the Moon

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

In thousands of hours of manned spaceflight, all dependent on computers, the Apollo Guidance Computer never failed. In an era when men dominated computers and spaceflight, Margaret Hamilton and her team wrote AGC’s software. Richard Maurer interviewed Hamilton and tells her story for readers age 10-14 in The Woman in the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Helped Fly the First Astronauts to the Moon.

Bookshelf photo adapted from original photo by Rebecca Heisman

Rebecca Heisman—Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Where do birds go when seasons change? A 17th-century theory posited they flew to the moon. Researchers today use radar, satellites, light-level geolocation, DNA, data from community bird-watchers, and more to track and understand migration patterns, as Rebecca Heisman details in Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration.

Photo of a bookshelf containing some of the books Amy Marcus read to understand the history of patient-led activism, the ethics of collaboration between patients and scientists, and the history of science in the modern era. Photo by Amy Marcus

Amy Dockser Marcus—We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Parents of children with rare, potentially fatal, disorders, building on activism by people with breast cancer and HIV, have spurred the burgeoning citizen-science movement. Their efforts, Amy Dockser Marcus reports in We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine, have improved both national health policy and social and political equality.