Books & Resources

Books

Did you know reading can help your focus and memory, reduce stress and even improve mental health? Celebrate National Public Health Week by picking up one of these suggested books from your local library or bookstore. From memoirs to children’s book, we have something for everyone (and for each NPHW theme). Want to read more? Check out the APHA Book Store

Civic Engagement 

Room at the Table book cover

Room at the Table: A Leader's Guide to Advancing Health Equity and Justice by Renée Branch Canady

We often hear terms like equity, diversity and inclusion, but do people really understand them? It's important to grasp the goal of equity. What does this work involve? How does it manifest? What actions do equity leaders need to take for a future of inclusive leadership? Dr. Renee Branch Canady, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institute, shares her groundbreaking work, offering research and candid stories from the front lines of equity public health leadership.

The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson

Rise up and Write It by Nandini Ahuja

No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change by Lindsay H. Metcalf and Keila V. Dawson

The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America Kindle Edition by Saket Soni

On Tyranny Graphic Edition Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder and illustrated by Nora Krug

Policy Engagement by Shelley Hearne, DrPH, Keshia M. Pollack Porter, PhD, and Katrina S. Forrest, JD

Healthy Neighborhoods

The Curious Garden book cover

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

The Curious Garden tells a unique story about the environment through brilliantly vivid illustrations. While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.

 

All Are Neighbors by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman

Why Public Space Matters by Setha Low

Community Engagement by Emily Yu, MBA

Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell

Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming by Ava Chin

Climate Change

Migrations book cover

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Franny Stone arrives in Greenland with a singular purpose: to follow the last Arctic terns on their possible final migration to Antarctica. Joining a fishing boat, she sails into uncertainty. Migrations is an ode to a disappearing world and a breathtaking page-turner about the possibility of hope against all odds. It offers a unique twist to climate change storytelling and encourages readers to think about their duties to protecting the planet.

 

The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas (written by former NPHW keynote speaker)

Coco’s Fire: Changing Climate Anxiety into Climate Action by Jeremy Wortzel

Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katherine Hayhoe

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken

New Tools and Innovations

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow book cover

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

Friends Sam Masur and Sadie Green venture into the world of video game design, attaining fame all before the age of 25. Their success brings them joy, tragedy, duplicity and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow explores the nature of identity, disability, failure and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

 

Everyday Chaos: Technology, Complexity, and How We’re Thriving in a New World of Possibility by David Weinberger

Mapping Community Health: GIS for Health and Human Services by Christopher Thomas, Shannon Valdizon and Matt Artz 

We Have the Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians, and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time by Kara Platoni

Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka

Reproductive and Sexual Health

We Have Always Been Here book cover

We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib

Samra Habib spent much of their life searching for a safe space to be themselves. Growing up as an Ahmadi Muslim in Pakistan, they faced threats from Islamic extremists and kept their identity hidden for safety. After their family became refugees in Canada, Samra encountered new challenges — bullying, racism, poverty and an arranged marriage. This memoir explores faith, art, love and queer sexuality and celebrates the power of embracing one's true self.

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by Bell Hooks

Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roborts

Black Women's Reproductive Health and Sexuality: A Holistic Public Health Approach by Regina Davis Moss, PhD, MPH

We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan by Lou Sullivan

Emergency Preparedness

Zeitoun book cover

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

This book recounts a true story of a Syrian-American family caught amid two significant policy disasters in America: the war on terror and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Zeitoun recounts the compelling story of a family grappling with forces beyond wind and water.

 

Plan and Prepare! (Fire Safety) by Charles Ghigna

What to Bring by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Ripley

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Future of Public Health

Me and White Supremacy book cover

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad

Me and White Supremacy, born from Layla Saad’s #MeAndWhiteSupremacy Instagram challenge, guides readers in dismantling their privilege. The book delves deeper into the historical and cultural contexts of racism and shares impactful stories and anecdotes. It  encourages readers to turn awareness into action and make meaningful change.

A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future by Perri Klass

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource by and for Transgender Communities by Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth

The Public Health Approach by Alfredo Morabia, MD

How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates


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