We're First In! - Jim Hawkins

 

A dear, old friend from high school reached out recently and shared he had published this book back during the pandemic.  It tells his stories from during his time as a fireman.  I had known him as a college kid working in the Arizona forest as a fireman and he made it a career. I laughed out loud about the tale of getting an iguana from someone's porch by freezing it with a fire extinguisher so it could be moved and then thaw out later!  There's a glossary of firefighter slang too. Entertaining insight into a different occupation.

Published: 2020  Read: October 2026 Genre: Memoir

Women of the Asylum - Jeffrey Geller and Maxine Harris

 Sub-title: Voices from Behind the Walls 1840 - 1945

One of my great-grandmothers was put in an institution in the 1900's and died there 30 years later.  I ordered and read this book to learn what life would have been like during her time there.  Horrific and inhuman in short.  I have very limited records from her stay at a place called Retreat Hospital in Pennsylvania.  

This book is a compilation of the personal stories of many women who experienced incarceration against their will in a mental institution aka an asylum.  The book begins before the Civil War and concludes with the story of Fannie Farmer, the actress, after WWII.  A tragic, disheartening portrait of the treatment of women and mental illness.

Quotes:

"When will married women be safe from their husband's power?"

"Failing to fulfill the roles of wife and mother and following occupations and professions for which they 'are not suited' were listed as a cause of insanity for women.[in late 19th century

"Let no one believe that any person, except a demented one, would chose the life of the asylum."

"INSANE ASYLUM - a place where insanity is made."

"'Night medicine' is a preparation of chloral [hydrate] and it was given to me the first night I spent in this place."

"By 1918, two million women belonged to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, making it the largest volunteer organization in the country".

"What the [asylum physician] finally succeeded in doing -in a word- was to make me feel with my mind rather than think with my feelings." 

Note: Clarissa Lathrop has a story in book, she is 3rd cousin 4 times removed

Published:  1994  Read: Summer 2026  Genre: non-fiction

It's Easier Than You Think - Sylvia Boorstein

 Subtitle: The Buddhist way to happiness

This is a book that introduces the philosophy of Buddhism.  I'll keep it for reference as the ideas and principles resonated with me a lot.  I can pick this up and find thoughtful practices and insights that ease my mind.

Quotes:

"Gossiping is talking about someone who is not present. Talking disparagingly about a third person is inviting the listener to share your grumbly mind space."

"Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of present experience."

"Friendliness is not hard.  We don't need to learn to be friendly.  We need to remember to be friendly."

Published: 1995  Read: September 2026  Genre: Philosophy

Careless People - Sarah Wynn-Williams

 Sub-title: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

Sarah was the Director of Public Policy for Facebook from 2011 until she was fired in 2017.  She was "in the room where it happened" managing Facebook's strategies for expanding across the world.  And that strategy was horrific, the attitude and goals of its leaders being to put Facebook everywhere regardless of the impact on people.  She is under a gag order from the courts as Meta (Facebook) used her for violating her severance agreement.

I found the memoir disturbing - both as a portrait of a company run by the next generation and as a revealing, likely unintentional self-portrait.  It was strange to be invited into this world of power, unbelievable money, the edge of innovation and a new technology.  Sarah claims to have been part of an idealistic team of people intent on bringing access and connection to everyone on the globe.  Then she describes how they deviated from that goal, succumbing to the intoxication of controlling an unbridled tool.  Her story is convincing and disgusting.  What I grappled with was her staying in the middle of it; hanging on to the feeling she could make a difference being on the inside.  

She grapples with the second in command, a woman named Sheryl Sandberg (author of "Lean In") who preached the rights of women to work and have a family while demanding 24/7 working hours - to the point of Sarah choosing to send an email while she was in labor with her first child.  Insane acceptance of a destructive culture.  

As of July 2026, Sarah was still prohibited from promoting the book. If you can find it, read it.

Published: 2025  Read: September 2026  Genre: Memoir