Be Well at NPL Recommends: Masculinity + Mental Health

1) The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

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Description

From New York Times bestselling author, feminist pioneer, and cultural icon bell hooks, a timelessly necessary treatise on how patriarchy and toxic masculinity hurts us all, with a new introduction by poet Ross Gay.
Feminist writing did not tell us about the deep inner misery of men.

Everyone needs to love and be loved—including men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways in which patriarchal...

2) Mask Off

Author

Bola, J. J

Series

Outspoken by Pluto

Description

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What is masculinity? Dominating the world around us, with deadly gun violence, male suicide rates and incels on Reddit, masculinity is perceived to be 'toxic', 'fragile' and 'in crisis'. In this audiobook, beautifully narrated by the author, JJ Bola exposes masculinity as a performance that men are socially conditioned into. Using examples of non-Western cultural traditions, music and sport, he shines light on historical narratives around manhood,...

3) Patriarchy blues: reflections on manhood

Author

Joseph, Frederick

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

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In this thought-provoking collection of essays, poems, and short reflections, Frederick Joseph explores issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint. From fatherhood, and "manning up" to abuse and therapy, he fearlessly and thoughtfully tackles the complex realities of men's lives today and their significance for society, lending his insights as a Black man

4) The man they wanted me to be: toxic masculinity and a crisis of our own making

Author

Sexton, Jared

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"Based on his provocative and popular New York Times op-ed, The Man They Wanted Me to Be is both memoir and cultural analysis. Jared Yates Sexton alternates between an examination of his working class upbringing and historical, psychological, and sociological sources that examine the genesis of toxic masculinity and its consequences for society. As progressivism changes American society, and globalism shifts labor away from traditional manufacturing,...

5) Weathering: the extraordinary stress of ordinary life in an unjust society

Author

Geronimus, Arline T

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

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"Fusing science and social justice, renowned public health researcher Dr. Arline T. Geronimus offers an urgent book exploring the ways in which systemic injustice erodes the health of marginalized people"--

6) Bird uncaged: an abolitionist's freedom song

Author

Peterson, Marlon

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

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A leading advocate for prison abolition and transformative justice shares insights from the author's firsthand experiences of growing up in a violent neighborhood and surviving a brutal incarceration.

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"A powerful meditation on the damaging effects of masculinity from a trans girl--a writer with celebrated indie roots and a knack for dismantling assumptions and challenging the status quo. Toxic masculinity takes many insidious forms, from misogyny and sexual harassment to homophobia, transphobia, and bullying. Vivek Shraya has firsthand experience with nearly all of them. As a boy, Vivek exhibited "feminine" qualities. The men in her life immediately...

8) All about love: new visions

Author

hooks, bell

Series

Love Song to the Nation

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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The acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' "Love Song to the Nation," All About Love is a revelation about what causes a polarized society and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about love, and inspiration to help us instill caring, compassion, and strength in our homes, schools, and workplaces. "The word 'love' is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb," writes...

9) A Feminist Theory of Violence

Author

Vergès, Françoise

Description

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The mainstream discourse surrounding gender equality is a repertoire of violence: harassment, rape, abuse, femicide. These words designate a cruel reality. But don't they also hide another reality: that of violence committed with the complicity of the State? In this book, Françoise Vergès denounces the carceral turn in the fight against sexism. By focusing on 'violent men', we fail to question the sources of their violence. For the author, there...

10) Traumatized: identify, understand, and cope with PTSD and emotional stress

Author

Morton, Kati

Description

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"An accessible guide to understand what trauma is, how PTSD is diagnosed, being aware that it can have a late onset, what can happen if it goes untreated--and how social media can be triggering our trauma"--

11) The politics of trauma: somatics, healing, and social justice

Author

Haines, Staci

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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The Politics of Trauma offers somatics with a social analysis. This book is for therapists and social activists who understand that trauma healing is not just for individuals--and that social change is not just for movement builders. Just as health practitioners need to consider the societal factors underlying trauma, so too must activists understand the physical and mental impacts of trauma on their own lives and the lives of the communities with...

12) The myth of normal: trauma, illness, & healing in a toxic culture

Author

Maté, Gabor

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere,...

13) Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals

Author

Gumbs, Alexis Pauline

Series

Emergent Strategy

Formats:

eBook, Kindle

Description

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Undrowned is a book-length meditation for social movements and our whole species based on the subversive and transformative guidance of marine mammals. Our aquatic cousins are queer, fierce, protective of each other, complex, shaped by conflict, and struggling to survive the extractive and militarized conditions our species has imposed on the ocean. Gumbs employs a brilliant mix of poetic sensibility and naturalist observation to show what they

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14) You Will Be Okay

Author

Ramm, Meggie

Series

You Will Be Okay

Description

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An anti-anxiety pocketbook that tells you that you'll be okay at least eight times. It's filled with coloring pages, simple thought exercises, advice and resources to help you get through anxiety attacks. Anxiety attacks can be scary. But whatever happens, you will be okay.

15) Pity the Beast

Author

McLean, Robin

Formats:

eBook, Kindle

Description

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'I haven't read a book this dark and frank and sublimely written in a while. Maybe since Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men.' Alden Jones

Following in the footsteps of such chroniclers of American lunacy as Cormac McCarthy; Joy Williams; and Charles Portis; Robin McLean's Pity the Beast is a mind-melting feminist Western that pins a tale of sexual violence and vengeance to a canvas stretching back to prehistory.

With

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16) The viral underclass: the human toll when inequality and disease collide

Author

Thrasher, Steven W

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

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"From preeminent LGBTQ scholar, social critic, and journalist Steven W. Thrasher comes a powerful and crucial exploration of one of the most pressing issues of our times: how viruses expose the fault lines of society. Having spent a ground-breaking career studying the racialization, policing, and criminalization of HIV, Dr. Thrasher has come to understand a deeper truth at the heart of our society: that there are vast inequalities in who is able to...

17) Unfuck your addiction: using science to free yourself from harmful reliance on substances, habits, and out of control behaviors

Author

Harper, Faith G

Description

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"We have almost all been addicted to something at some point, or had a habit spiral out of control. But what does that mean? What exactly are addictions and out of control behaviors, why do we get caught up in them, and how do we get our lives back? Bestselling author Dr. Faith Harper and addictions counselor Joe Green join forces to help those of us struggling (or supporting others) with problematic use of alcohol, drugs, gambling, work, food, sex,...

18) Feminism is for everybody: passionate politics

Author

Hooks, Bell

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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"In engaging and provocative style, bell hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice. hooks applies her critical analysis to the most contentious and challenging issues facing feminists today, including reproductive rights, violence, race, class, and work. With her customary insight...