As Puerto Rico rapidly industrialized from the late 1940s until the 1970s, the social, political, and economic landscape changed profoundly. In the realm of heath care, the development of medical education, new medical technologies, and a new faith in science radically redefined childbirth and its practice. What had traditionally been a home-based, family-oriented process, assisted by women and midwives and "accomplished" by mothers, became a medicalized, hospital-based procedure, "accomplished" and directed by biomedical, predominantly male, practitioners, and, ultimately reconfigured, after the 1980s, into a technocratic model of childbirth, driven by doctors' fears of malpractice suits and hospitals' corporate concerns. Pushing in Silence charts the medicalization of childbirth in Puerto Rico and demonstrates how biomedicine is culturally constructed within regional and historical contexts. Prior to 1950, registered midwives on the island outnumbered registered doctors by two to one, and they attended well over half of all deliveries. Isabel M. Córdova traces how, over the next quarter-century, midwifery almost completely disappeared as state programs led by scientifically trained experts and organized by bureaucratic institutions restructured and formalized birthing practices. Only after cesarean rates skyrocketed in the 1980s and 1990s did midwifery make a modest return through the practices of five newly trained midwives. This history, which mirrors similar patterns in the United States and elsewhere, adds an important new chapter to the development of medicine and technology in Latin America.

In the United States, more than half the women who give birth are given drugs to induce or speed up labor; for nearly a third of mothers, childbirth is major surgery - the cesarean section. For women who want an alternative, choice is often unavailable: Midwives are sometimes inaccessible; in eleven states they are illegal. In one of those states, even birthing centers are outlawed.When did birth become an emergency instead of an emergence? Since when is normal, physiological birth a crime? A groundbreaking journalistic narrative, Pushed presents the complete picture of maternity care in America. Crisscrossing the country to report what women really experience during childbirth, Jennifer Block witnessed several births - from a planned cesarean to an underground home birth. Against this backdrop, Block investigates whether routine C-sections, inductions, and epidurals equal medical progress. She examines childbirth as a reproductive rights issue: Do women have the right to an optimal birth experience? If so, is that right being upheld? Block's research and experience reveal in vivid detail that while emergency obstetric care is essential, there is compelling evidence that we are overusing medical technology at the expense of maternal and infant health: Either women's bodies are failing, or the system is failing women.

Faced with the challenges of transitioning from a Hard of Hearing School to a Hearing high school, Maya has more than a learning curve. But what if she has more to learn about herself and how far she is willing to push for what she believes in? Perfect for contemporary fiction fans, The Silence Between Us is a novel that doesn’t shy away from the real-life struggles of high school, heart break, and d/Deaf culture. Schneider Family Book Award, Best Teen Honor Book 2020 Torn from her Hard of Hearing school when her mother's job takes them across the country, Deaf teen Maya must attend a hearing school for the first time since her hearing loss. As if that wasn’t hard enough, she also has to adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating. When her new friends and classmates start pushing into Maya’s thoughts about what it means to be Deaf, it clashes with her idea of self-worth and values. Looking past graduation towards a future medical career, Maya knows nothing, not even an unexpected romance, will derail her pursuits or cause her to question her integrity. Wattpad sensation Alison Gervais writes a stunning portrayal of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing culture in this clean YA contemporary romance. Drawing from her own deaf experience and relationship with the HoH community, Gervais provides a personal interview and commentary on cochlear implants. The Silence Between Us mixes lighthearted romance with deeper social issues facing minority groups. “The Silence Between Us?is eminently un-put-down-able.” (NPR) “Gervais deftly renders both the nuanced, everyday realities of life with disability and Maya’s fierce pride in her Deafness, delivering a vibrant story that will resonate with Deaf and hearing audiences alike.” –?Booklist “A solid addition to middle/high school fiction that allows for deep discussion about stereotypes concerning disabilities.”?School Library Journal “This is a great YA contemporary (clean) romance that follows Maya as she navigates a new school and plans for her future. The addition of representation by a Deaf character was really beautifully done. Highly recommend for people looking for a sweet, engaging, and educational romantic read.” (YA and Kids Book Central)

CAST IN SILENCE A member of the elite Hawk force that protects the City of Elantra, Kaylin Neya has sacrificed much to earn the respect of the winged Aerians and immortal Barrani she works alongside. But the mean streets she escaped as a child aren't the ones she's vowed to give her life guarding. Those were much darker… Kaylin's moved on with her life—and is keeping silent about the shameful things she's done to stay alive. But when the city's oracles warn of brewing unrest in the outer fiefdoms, a mysterious visitor from Kaylin's past casts her under a cloud of suspicion. Thankfully, if she's anything, she's a survivor… Previously Published in 2009

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, Kansas City Star. A profoundly moving and deeply personal memoir by the co-host of National Public Radio’s flagship program All Things Considered. While exploring the hidden conversation on race unfolding throughout America in the wake of President Obama’s election, Michele Norris discovered that there were painful secrets within her own family that had been willfully withheld. These revelations—from her father’s shooting by a Birmingham police officer to her maternal grandmother’s job as an itinerant Aunt Jemima in the Midwest—inspired a bracing journey into her family’s past, from her childhood home in Minneapolis to her ancestral roots in the Deep South. The result is a rich and extraordinary family memoir—filled with stories that elegantly explore the power of silence and secrets—that boldly examines racial legacy and what it means to be an American.

A gripping novel of men training to become Navy SEALs who are pushed to their physical and mental limits---and what happens when those thresholds are crossed... in David Reid's Suffer in Silence It's the pivotal test faced by every Navy SEAL: one hundred twenty sleepless hours of relentless physical punishment, interrupted only by hypothermia-inducing surf torture. Ensign Grey thought he knew what to expect, but when Seaman Murray attempts to blackmail an instructor who is determined to see him fail, Hell Week takes on a new meaning. With deteriorating health and a dangerous enemy in hot pursuit, the two unlikely friends struggle to survive. What happens in the darkness at the edge of the Pacific will change their lives forever.

Jacob Horowitz, a worn and bitter business tycoon, has never spoken to anyone about his experience of Nazi persecution during World War II -- not even his recently deceased wife, Liza. Suddenly stricken with terminal cancer, the aging Jew receives an invitation from his old friend Pierre, a Gentile Christian and former Belgian underground operative, to pay him one last visit in Belgium. Jacob accepts, and determines to take along his estranged son Isaac. In this fast-paced, vivid historical account set alternately in war-torn Europe and today's United States, the consequences of war become clear. Momentous events push the hardened Horowitz toward reconciliation with his youngest son, with his past, with God, and with himself.