Crazy, For Sure

This exhaustively researched book will give you yet one more reason to be ashamed of our past. Built in 1911, Crownsville Hospital in Maryland was designed for Black patients, built by Black patients (yes, that's right), and certainly funded at the expense of Black patients. Patients (called everything but that) who were brought to Crownsville, say for speaking with a British accent, protesting against racism (peacefully), and for not answering questions at a police station. Or mainly, for just being Black. Of course, we know that mental health assessment was quite subjective for anyone in that era, but there was an unapoligetic disparity between funding and staffing for local white hospitals and Crownsville, unsurprisingly. This book tracks this hospital, its workers, therapists and directors, the populace that surrounded it, and weaves the saga of what abject racism can do to hold people back in all sorts of ways.

We're All Idiots to Someone

My husband has always said, when frustrated by someone's behavior, that "80% of the world is idiots." A scathing summation of his fellow man, but at times, he believes it. I laughed when I learned that a similar declaration by a client is how author Thomas Erikson named his book. Believe me, I let my husband know that he's a "red"! Divided into four colors: red, yellow, green and blue, the "DISC" system breaks us all down into our dominant characteristics and explains what makes us tick, and how we can communicate effectively with each type. I found myself mentally assigning colors to myself, the people I know, and also to those I was just meeting. A guy sitting on a plane next to me saw me reading the book and informed me that his place of employment uses that system to enhance collegial communication (no surprise, he's a yellow--we ended up talking for the entire flight). It's very interesting, and an easy read. I did find myself wishing to be able to take the test, but alas, it's not included in the book. All in all, fascinating and enlightening, and as it turns out, we're not idiots at all.

Vamanos

Guess when I started reading this? After the inauguration of a certain president, you say? Why, you're right! Along with updating passports, this was my safety net. I read one small section at a time, over that term and the next, foolishly telling myself it was no longer necessary. Well, here we are in 2024 and I'm either going to read it again or move on to another country. Portugal? Uruguay? Not sure, but the search continues. This book was self-published, and usually that's the kiss of death in regards to my approval (or lack thereof), but in this case, I really enjoyed her style. Is it perfect? Nope. Are there typos? Yep. But somehow, it makes the whole thing feel more chatty--definitely not stuffy--and very relatable. She loves to use exclamation points which usually make me shake my head, but in her case, it just makes her seem optimistic and fun. The book is laid out in an organized fashion and was a good template for expatriating oneself, say, if someone came into power who was a complete megalomaniac (and idiot) and wanted to nullify the checks and balances of our government. Just hypothetically, of course.