Non-fiction 2

Acclaimed science writer Ferris Jabr reveals a radical new vision of Earth where lush forests spew water, pollen, and bacteria to summon rain; giant animals engineer the very landscapes they roam; microbes chew rock to shape continents; and microscopic plankton remake the air and sea. Through fossil fuel consumption, agriculture, and pollution, we have altered more layers of the planet, pushing Earth into a crisis. This is an exhilarating journey through the hidden workings of our planetary symphony - its players, its instruments, and the music of life that emerges - and an invitation to reexamine our place in it.

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"From the copper canyons of Mexico her swift footsteps echo. Clip clap, clip clap. Experience a 60-mile run with indigenous athlete Lorena Ramírez, who captured the world's attention when she won an ultramarathon in Mexico wearing a skirt and rubber sandals-the traditional clothes of the Rarámuri, "the light-footed people.""-- Provided by publisher.

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A lyrical and charming picture book celebrating the dupatta, a traditional shawl worn in South Asian cultures.

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"Fall in love with the amazing lenses that help us see. So many of us wear glasses. They help us read, work and play. They are for the young and old, for bookworms and professional athletes, and are used by people in every country around the world. Learn how glasses bend light and what color blindness really means. How tears work and why we have eyelids. Learn all about the human eye, and about the extraordinary vision of cats, birds and flies. Take a tour through the long history of eyeglasses and learn about optical illusions, 3-D glasses and why pandas seem to be wearing spectacles. Packed with fun comics, puzzles and games, Extraordinary Eyeglasses will help young readers understand how wearing glasses is like having a superpower!"--Back cover.

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The extreme level of sass in Emily Austin's Gay Girl Prayers does not mean that this collection is irreverent. On the contrary, in rewriting Bible verses to affirm and uplift queer, feminist, and trans realities, Austin invites readers into a giddy celebration of difference and a tender appreciation for the lives and perspectives of "strange women." Packed with zingy one liners, sexual innuendo, self-respect, U-Hauling, and painfully earnest declarations of love, this is gayness at its best, harnessed to a higher purpose and ready to fight the powers that be.

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"Leanne Friesen thought she knew a lot about bereavement. But it was only when her own sister died from cancer that she learned what grieving people need. In these pages, Friesen writes with vulnerability, wisdom, and even wit about stark and sacred lessons learned at deathbeds and funerals. When we lose someone, what we need most is grieving room"-- Provided by publisher.

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"Martin Bauman was twenty-three and restless when he embarked on a solo bicycle trek across Canada. It was a ride that came in the wake of his father's sudden depression, his cousin's suicide, and the stirring up of his own childhood of buried memories. He had billed the 7,000-kilometre journey as a mission to encourage people--men, especially--to talk about depression. It was ironic that he was so reluctant to talk about his own. In Hell of a Ride, Bauman--named one of Canada's "emergent" authors by the RBC Taylor Prize in 2020--brings his sharp reporting instincts and lyrical prose to explore a timely question: how much of the past do we carry with us? And how much of our fate is ours to choose? A spiritual successor to the bicycle-bound escapades of Kate Harris's Lands of Lost Borders, with an emotional candour reminiscent of Antonio Michael Downing's Saga Boy and Greg Gilhooly's I Am Nobody, Bauman's Hell of a Ride takes its readers on a journey from the rain-slicked streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the hills of St. John's, Newfoundland, through encounters with couch-surfing swingers, pot-smoking Maritimers, runaway army veterans, prairie farmers, steely-eyed birdwatchers, and Kiwi empty-nesters. Along the way, Bauman interrogates the past through reflections on home, family secrets, and belonging: How to feel at home in a place one always itches to leave? And if one is always on the move, how to find a home at all? Heartfelt and uplifting, Hell of a Ride is a coming-of-age tale of a son's search to connect with his father and also come to terms with his own past. It is a clarion call for deep community, an ode to forgiveness--of oneself and others--and a love letter to the call of adventure."-- Provided by publisher.

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Beginning with memories of his childhood poetry and prose and travelling through the library of his life, Joshua Whitehead contemplates the role of theory, Indigenous language, queerness, and fantastical worlds in all his artistic pursuits.

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When Rachel Somerstein had an unplanned C-section with her first child, the experience was anything but the "routine." Mothers are often left to navigate these complications alone. Somerstein weaves personal narrative and investigative journalism with medical, social, and cultural history to reveal the operation's surprising evolution. Candid, raw, and illuminating, Somerstein lifts the veil on C-sections so that mothers can navigate future pregnancies and births with more knowledge about surgical birth's risks, benefits, and alternatives.

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When Sidney Raz hit 30, he realized there was so much advice no one had ever bothered to tell him. So Sid went on a mission to make his life as easy as humanly possible. He began posting his discoveries online and quickly built a following of millions, all eager for his next hacks. This book is a culmination of that work, presenting more than 200 of Sid's greatest tips, tricks, and life hacks to make cooking, chores, and life in general far more efficient.

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Paul Pritchard started climbing when he was 16 years old. In time, he became one of the foremost British climbers of the 1980s and 1990s. On Friday, February 13, 1998, Paul's life was dramatically altered when he was struck in the head by a falling boulder. He received a traumatic head injury and was left suffering from hemiplegia, which has robbed his right side of movement and continues to play tricks with his speech and memory. A remarkable story that chronicles Paul's inspiring journey back to life and reminds us all that "When we spend time in the mountains, we do not escape from our woes. We come home and learn how to accept them."

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This selection of prescient, compassionate essays explores patterns we engage in that are rooted in limited thinking. adrienne maree brown helps us reimagine how to hold ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities accountable by setting clear boundaries, engaging in reflection, and nurturing honest relationships. Along with allowing us more authentic access to ourselves and to each other, brown explores and breaks identity-based patterns, offering practical guidance on how to apologize and be accountable from our nuanced positions of power, history, and resources.

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For thousands of years, the Mi'kmaq have been closely observing the natural world and the cycles of the moon and the stars to track the passage of time. Each full moon in an annual cycle was named by the Mi'kmaq to relate to a seasonal event, such as tomcod spawning, birds laying eggs or berry ripening. For the past decade Mi'kmaw Elders and Knowledge Keepers have shared stories of the traditional night sky calendar with authors Cathy LeBlanc and David Chapman. In this book Cathy relays these stories in her role as Auntie to her young relation Holly. Each moon's story is richly illustrated with an evocative colour painting created for this book by the noted Mi'kmaw artist Loretta Gould.

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Early motherhood is supposed to be joyous, but for Aaisha Alvi those early days were ruined by terrifying thoughts about her baby and family. Her experience was the antithesis of everything she had ever been told about motherhood, far beyond the trials of breastfeeding or putting her baby to sleep. With unflinching honesty, Aaisha takes readers beyond the vitriol and blame that is flung at women suffering from postpartum psychosis - particularly women of colour. Hers is a clarion call for increased awareness of a condition that need never result in tragedy.

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Documenting the birth and early life of her three daughters, Adrienne Gruber shares what it really means to use one's body to bring another life into the world and the lasting ramifications of that act on both parent and child. Each piece peers into the seemingly mundane to show us the mortal and emotional consequences of maternal bonds, placing experiences of "being a mom" within broader contexts - historical, literary, biological, and psychological - to speak to the ugly realities of parenthood often omitted from mainstream conversations.

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"Discover the complex mythology of the legendary Nordic people who inspired Hollywood films, epic novels, and more. Beautiful goddesses, fierce warriors, formidable beasts, and Ragnar©œk itself -- these magical tales have enthralled audiences for centuries. This classic collection of tales offers fascinating insights into Nordic cultures. Stunningly illustrated and depicting Finnish, and Norse myths, this captivating book dives deep into the rich history of the region and recalls both the most popular and little-known tales of the north. Inside you'll find: An in-depth introduction to Scandinavian and Nordic folklore ; Extensive profiles of deities, magical beings, monsters, giants, and more ; A vast array of stories across northern European traditions. This phenomenal compendium of northern European folklore is informed by archaeology and literature. Celebrating the intricacies of a long-lost world, Northern Mythology breathes new life into the tales of the distant past"-- Publisher.

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"Mamaskatch, Darrel J. McLeod's 2018 memoir of growing up Cree in Northern Alberta, was a publishing sensation. In Peyakow, McLeod continues the poignant story of his impoverished youth, beset by constant fears of being dragged down by the self-destruction and deaths of those closest to him as he battles the bullying of white classmates, copes with the trauma of physical and sexual abuse, and endures painful separation from his family and culture. With steely determination, he triumphs: now elementary teacher; now school principal; now head of an Indigenous delegation to the UN in Geneva; now executive in the Government of Canada--and now a celebrated author. Brutally frank but buoyed throughout by McLeod's unquenchable spirit, Peyakow--a title borrowed from the Cree word for "one who walks alone"--is an inspiring account of triumph against unimaginable odds. McLeod's perspective as someone whose career path has crossed both sides of the Indigenous/white chasm resonates with particular force in today's Canada."-- publisher.

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Bringing Severn Cullis-Suzuki's powerful 1992 Earth Summit speech to a new generation of readers shows how a brave 12-year-old girl addressed the whole world, entreating world leaders to protect the Earth for years to come.

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Since the nineteenth century, tensions between beauty and strength, aesthetics and athleticism have both impeded and propelled the careers of female swimmers. Vicki Valosik traces a century of aquatic performance, from Victorian variety theatre and carnival shows to the 1984 elevation of synchronized swimming to Olympic status. Valosik shows how early starlets boldly challenged restrictive codes set for women in water - more than just bathing beauties, they influenced lifesaving and physical-education programs, dropped national drowning rates, and paved the way for new generations of female swimming athletes.

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A rumble. A tremple. A grumble. Growing, growling, getting hot. When will it... POP?! Using evocative storytelling, Nell Cross Beckerman leads children on an adventure through the radioactive wonders that are volcanoes. From deep down on the ocean floor to extraterrestrial volcanoes, Beckerman guides readers with dramatic, poetic language.

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Expert embodiment practitioner Prentis Hemphill asserts that the principles of embodiment - the recognition of our body's sensations and habits, and the beliefs that inform them - are critical to lasting healing and change. Hemphill weaves together stories of trauma survivors with clinical accounts and lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect. Hemphill shows us how to heal our bodies, minds, and souls - to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break down the doors of disconnection and take the necessary risks to reshape our world toward justice.

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"A widow's life is turned upside when she uncovers the truth about her late husband in this lyrical, witty, and deeply moving memoir of tragedy and betrayal. In the midst of mourning her husband's sudden death, writer Jessica Waite discovered shocking secrets that undermined everything she thought she knew about the man she'd loved and trusted. From uncovered affairs to drug use and a pornography addiction, Waite was overwhelmed reconciling this devastating information with her new reality as a widowed single mom. Then, to further complicate matters, strange, inexplicable coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband was reaching back from beyond the grave. With her signature candor and unflinching honesty, Waite details her tumultuous love story and the pain of adjusting to the new normal she built for herself and her son."-- Provided by publisher.

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Leila Mottley follows her trailblazing first novel with a perfectly pitched first collection of poems that demonstrate her energy and range. woke up no light is full of heart and edge, subtlety and fluidity. Moving in sections from "girlhood" to "neighbourhood" to "falsehood" to, finally, "womanhood," these poems open up the experiences of a young Black woman with immediacy and wisdom.

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