Non-fiction 1

In this captivating book from one of the most influential geochemists in the field, Tamsin Mather takes us along on her globe-spanning excursions from Nicaragua to Hawaii, Santorini to Ethiopia and beyond. With warmth and lyricism, she explores the cultural roles volcanoes play throughout history, and the growing and evolving science behind their formation and eruptions. A mix of memoir, travel and popular science, charting journeys across deserts, through jungles and up ice caps, to some of the most important volcanoes around the world.

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"This updated edition of the bestselling All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome provides an engaging, gentle introduction to autism. All-new cats take a playful look at the world of autism, and these fun feline friends will strike a chord with all those who are familiar with typical autistic traits, bringing to life common characteristics such as sensory sensitivities, social issues and communication difficulties. Touching, humorous and insightful, this book evokes all the joys and challenges of being on the autism spectrum, leaving the reader with a sense of the dignity, individuality and the potential of autistic people"-- Provided by publisher.

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Begins well before a diagnosis and ends well after the memorial. In these pages, you'll find everything from how to get the most out of a hospital visit to how to adapt your sex life while coping with an illness. There are also lessons for caregivers, like how to close down social media accounts and write a good eulogy

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"Poet Renée Watson looks back at her childhood and urges readers to look forward at their futures with love, understanding, and celebration in this fully illustrated poetry collection"-- Provided by publisher.

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This book is an account of Taina Tervonen's reporting and involvement over the course of several years with those whose delicate and morally essential task it has been to exhume and identify the victims found in mass graves throughout the war-torn regions of the world - to recover and identify the remains and reunite the victims with their families. Tervonen follows two women in particular: Senem, who has pioneered a method to match DNA from bone samples, and Darija, who tries to obtain blood samples from the survivors and their families to find a genetic match to that of the victims.

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As a death doula, Alua Arthur is spreading a transformative message: thinking about your death - whether imminent or not - will breathe wild, new potential into your life. Alua combines intimate storytelling with a passionate appeal for loving, courageous end-of-life care - what she calls "death embrace." Hers is a powerful testament to getting in touch with something deeper in our lives, by embracing the fact of our own mortality. "Hold that truth in your mind," Alua says, "and wondrous things will begin to grow around it."

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"In this memoir, one woman recalls her romantic relationship with a pathological liar who betrayed her and many other women, exploring the trauma he caused and the sisterhood that formed despite-and in spite of-him"-- Provided by publisher.

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Banning Lyon was an average 15-year-old. But in January 1987 his life quickly changed after a school guidance counsellor falsely believed he was suicidal. Days later he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and what he was told would be a two-week stay turned into 353 days that would change his life forever. Banning takes readers through his fraught relationship with his family, the mistreatment he suffered at the hospital, the lawsuit against the owners of the facility, and his desire to make sense of what happened to him.

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For celebrated novelist Danny Ramadan to tell the story of his life, he must revisit dark corners of his past he'd rather forget and unearth memories of a city he can no longer return to. Starting with his family's humble beginnings in Damascus, he takes readers on an epic, border-crossing journey: to the city's underground network of queer safe homes, through Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East, and a traumatic six-week imprisonment. What emerges is a powerful refutation of the oversimplified refugee narrative - a book that holds space for joy alongside sorrow, for nuance and complicated ambivalences.

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Renowned neuroradiologist Dr. Kieran Murphy tells the story of medical invention, from the development of anesthesia and safe surgery, through to the advent of vaccines against smallpox, polio, and COVID-19, that have changed the very foundation of patient care. Dr. Murphy captures the mind of the inventor - their turmoil, their persistence, their rejection by their peers - and how a small percentage are eventually recognized. Dr. Murphy celebrates the creative energy of courageous men and women who changed the world through medical science.

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What if you could really raise or grow all the food your family needs? In this fully illustrated book, you’ll learn to create an autonomous, diversified, and sustainable garden and to cultivate and maintain it following the main principles of permaculture. If you want to move towards greater food autonomy and you have sufficient space, you can also grow grains, keep chickens, and have a few beehives.

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In late February 2022, a series of missiles and rocket strikes began falling upon Ukraine, as the Russian military barreled over the border and fanned out across the country. Meanwhile, on the front lines in the capital city, Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko was seeing a different story unfold: after months - years - of waiting for this long-feared attack, Ukraine was fed up and ready to fight back. This is Ponomarenko's heart-wrenching memoir of the war on his homeland, offering a fiery diatribe against Russian hypocrisy and a moving look at what is being lost.

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Bodies come in all difference shapes, sizes, colours, and abilities. We all have one, and we all have the right to feel good about it, the responsibility to take care of it, and the duty to set and respect boundaries.

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"An endearing and beautifully illustrated children's book about learning to embrace our heritage and celebrating what makes us unique. Multicultural Day is coming up at school, and Kai is nervous about sharing her family's Chinese food with her classmates. Kai's mother is excited about making special dishes, but Kai doesn't like feeling different from everyone else. Upset, she runs off on her own and meets Ming the dragon, who takes her on a magical journey to explore different parts of Chinese culture--especially all the different kinds of delicious food! With Ming's help, Kai learns about her family roots and how to celebrate all that makes her unique. Kai's Tea Eggs is a charming story for anyone who, like Kai, has felt the frustration of trying to fit in before finally learning to appreciate who they are"-- Provided by publisher.

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In this highly visual book, author Ken Setterington presents the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights using photographs, first-person accounts and excerpts from archival documents. Significant events in the struggle include the establishment of Pride parades, the Bathhouse Raids, the decriminalization of homosexuality, the passing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the LGBT Purge and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Ken Setterington lives in Toronto, ON. Please Note: The following title was included in a previous LBI KIDS Bestseller list; libraries may need to reorder.

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This book is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. Science reporter Zoë Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.

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"Much-anticipated non-fiction from the author of the Giller-longlisted, GG-shortlisted and Canada Reads-winning novel Jonny Appleseed. In the last few years, following the publication of his debut novel Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead has emerged as one of the most exciting and important new voices on Turtle Island. Now, in this first non-fiction work, Whitehead brilliantly explores Indigeneity, queerness, and the relationships between body, language and land through a variety of genres (essay, memoir, notes, confession). Making Love With the Land is a startling, heartwrenching look at what it means to live as a queer Indigenous person "in the rupture" between identities. In sharp, surprising, unique pieces—a number of which have already won awards—Whitehead illuminates this particular moment, in which both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are navigating new (and old) ideas about "the land." He asks: What is our relationship and responsibility towards it? And how has the land shaped our ideas, our histories, our very bodies? Here is an intellectually thrilling, emotionally captivating love song—a powerful revelation about the library of stories land and body hold together, waiting to be unearthed and summoned into word."-- Provided by publisher

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Within the next five years, Jeremy Kahn predicts, AI will disrupt almost every industry and enterprise, with vastly increased efficiency and productivity. But while this new technology has a bright future, AI will provoke pervasive, disruptive, potentially devastating knock-on effects. Continuing a process begun by the internet, AI will rewire our brains, likely inhibiting our ability to think critically, to remember, and even to get along with one another - unless we all take decisive action to prevent this from happening.

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"From escape rooms to TikTok to Tim Horton’s “Roll Up the Rim to Win” to DIY everything, participatory performance is ingrained in the very fabric of our contemporary society. Written in a series of alphabetical, standalone mini essays that activate the reader as a participant who chooses their own path, PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation collects, describes, and analyzes live performances in which the audience become participants in the piece itself. Jenn Stephenson and Mariah Horner explore the parallels between participatory theatre and the interactive phenomenon where the passive consumer is now engaging with their content. In a world where participation is key to our social interaction, Stephenson and Horner find a unique approach to understanding our relationship with theatre, and by extension, each other."-- Provided by publisher.

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Kerry Nichols brings readers into the whelping box and onto the frontlines of a puppy's developmental journey. With guidance about everything from crate training to spaying and neutering, Nichols distills the latest insights and breakthroughs from canine research into practical, actionable, evidence-based guidance. Through years of research into brain development and the use of intentional rearing protocols that focus on honouring a puppy's choices and needs, Kerry has developed an approach that results in a harmonious, fulfilling relationship with our dogs rather than one steeped in rote obedience.

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Ryan Holiday draws on fascinating stories of historical figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Florence Nightingale, Jimmy Carter, Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass, whose examples of kindness, honesty, integrity, and loyalty we can emulate as pillars of upright living. Through the lives of these role models, readers learn the transformational power of living by a moral code and, through the cautionary tales of unjust leaders, the consequences of an ill-formed conscience.

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For centuries, humans ignored sound in the "silent world" of the ocean, assuming that what we couldn't perceive, didn't exist. Marine scientists now have the technology to record and study the complex interplay of the myriad sounds in the sea. With intimate and artful prose, this book tells a uniquely complete story of ocean animals' submerged sounds, envisions a quieter future, and offers a profound new understanding of the world below the surface.

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Small acts of courage matter. Sometimes, they change the world. These iconic struggles for social change illustrate the importance of engagement and activism, and offer a template for the battles we are fighting today. Ali Velshi taps into 125 years of family history to advocate for social justice as a living, breathing experience - a way of life more than an ideology. With rich detail and vivid prose, he relates the stories of regular people who made a lasting commitment to fight for change, even when success seemed impossible.

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Explore comets and meteors, stars, planets and moons. Find galaxies and glowing gas clouds. Spot supernovae and enjoy eclipses. Learn everything you need to know about binoculars, telescopes, and photographing the stars. No matter which hemisphere you're in, you will never look up at the night sky in the same way again.

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Pia rushes over to the Indigenous community center after school. It's where she goes every day to play outside with friends and work on her homework. But today--March 18, 2021--is special: Auntie Autumn gathers all the children around their television to witness Secretary Deb Haaland in her ribbon skirt at the White House as she becomes the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. Pia and the other kids behold her Native pride on an international stage. Together with their parents and Elders, the children explore the values woven into their own regalia, land, community, and traditions, making precious memories on this day they won't soon forget.

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