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What's Health Got to Do with It?

The best medical books of 2021

Books
Kimberly Koppen
/
Flickr

On this Christmas episode, the "What’s Health Got to Do with It?" team shared their favorite health care books of 2021 in our first annual Best Books episode.

Senior producerHeather Schatz chose "The Ballerina Mindset: How to Protect Your Mental Health While Striving for Excellence" by a New York City Ballet principal ballerina, Megan Fairchild. Heather said she wishes a similar book had been available to her when she was a young dancer with dreams of becoming a professional. Now, as a working mother, she finds Fairchild’s lessons equally as important in managing stress, perfectionism and mental wellness.

Dr. Joe Sirven’s favorite book was "Never Pay The First Bill And Other Ways to Fight the Healthcare System and Win" by investigative reporter Marshall Allen. Dr. Sirvn says the book resonated with him because it reflects the show’s mission to help folks navigate the health care system.

Associate producerKatherine Hobbs featured "The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines" by Dr. Cassandra Leah Quave. Like Dr. Quave, Katherine navigates chronic illness and disability and found the book especially helpful in bridging the gap between peer-reviewed medical journals and the science of ethnobotany. She especially enjoyed the narrative components of "The Plant Hunter."

Show directorJosh Torres chose "The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery" by New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat. Josh says that Douthat’s blend of memoir and self-help encouragement works exceptionally well when so many people distrust federal health institutions.

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Katherine Hobbs was Associate Producer of talk shows at WJCT until 2022.