Offers interesting information on a lesser-known hero.
A true story of true allyship.
This straightforward historical retelling follows the life of Evelyn Hooker, a straight White woman born in Nebraska in 1907, her studies and career in psychology, and the impact of her work to depathologize homosexuality. Some detours explain antisemitism and Hitler’s Germany (Hooker was staying with a Jewish family in Berlin at the time), the cultural context of tuberculosis, and advances in feminism predominantly benefitting White women. Hooker’s pioneering research at UCLA was pivotal in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The story is often interrupted by a variety of poetic forms, ranging from found poems to limericks to a sonnet, which distract more than they engage. A helpful note at the beginning of this book reminds readers that, “Language is fluid, and the terminology used to describe sexual orientation has evolved over time to be more specific and respectful,” but given the era and the events described, the work uses “labels like ‘homosexual’ and ‘homosexuality’ in a historical context, and refers mostly to ‘gay people’ or ‘gay men,’ rather than the diverse array of identities we appreciate today.” On the whole, this offers helpful material for young researchers and audiences curious about LGBTQ+ history. Spot art and floral page decorations appear throughout.
Offers interesting information on a lesser-known hero. (timeline, discussion questions, ally guide, suggested reading, other resources, endnotes) (Nonfiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3047-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Unhappy teens in need of a lecture on thinking positively and being more in touch with one’s emotions need look no further.
Mangan presents in as many chapters a 20-point strategy that ranges from “Have a Positive Attitude” and “Cut Your Problems Into Pieces” to “Practice Being Patient” and “Appreciate the Value of Your Hard Work.” She blends private exercises like visualizing forgiveness with comments on selective attention, “problematic procrastination” and other bad habits, reframing situations to put them in different lights, “changing shoes” to understand others better and subjecting feelings to rational analysis. Though the author has a graduate degree and years of practice in clinical psychology, she offers generalities and generic situations rather than specific cases from her experience, and the book is devoid of references to further resources or even an index. Superficial advice (“If you are unsafe or are around kids that you know are bullies, just walk away”) combines with techniques that are unlikely to interest readers (“Make a song verse out of your list of helpful thoughts”). The author also makes questionable claims about the mind-body connection (“When you smile, your body sends a signal to your brain that you are happy”) and fails to make a case for regarding side forays into food habits and environmental concerns as relevant to her topic. Obvious issues and common-sense advice, unpersuasively presented. (Self-help. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1040-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
Fans of all things martial will echo his “HOOYAH!”—but the troubled aftermath comes in for some attention too.
Abridged but not toned down, this young-readers version of an ex-SEAL sniper’s account (SEAL Team Six, 2011) of his training and combat experiences in Operation Desert Storm and the first Battle of Mogadishu makes colorful, often compelling reading.
“My experiences weren’t always enjoyable,” Wasdin writes, “but they were always adrenaline-filled!” Not to mention testosterone-fueled. He goes on to ascribe much of his innate toughness to being regularly beaten by his stepfather as a child and punctuates his passage through the notoriously hellacious SEAL training with frequent references to other trainees who fail or drop out. He tears into the Clinton administration (whose “support for our troops had sagged like a sack of turds”), indecisive commanders and corrupt Italian “allies” for making such a hash of the entire Somalian mission. In later chapters he retraces his long, difficult physical and emotional recovery from serious wounds received during the “Black Hawk Down” operation, his increasing focus on faith and family after divorce and remarriage and his second career as a chiropractor.
Fans of all things martial will echo his “HOOYAH!”—but the troubled aftermath comes in for some attention too. (acronym/ordinance glossary, adult level reading list) (Memoir. 12-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-250-01643-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
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