Women's Health Month 2021

Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani Imagine if you lived without the fear of not being good enough. If you didn't care how your life looked on Instagram. If you could let go of the guilt and stop beating yourself up for making human mistakes. Imagine if, in every decision you faced, you took the bolder path? As women, too many of us feel crushed under the weight of our own expectations. We run ourselves ragged trying to please everyone, pass up opportunities that scare us, and avoid rejection at all costs. There's a reason we act this way, Saujani says. As girls, we were taught to play it safe. Well-meaning parents and teachers praised us for being quiet and polite, urged us to be careful so we didn't get hurt, and steered us to activities at which we could shine. As a result, we grew up to be women who are afraid to fail. It's time to stop letting our fears drown out our dreams and narrow our world, along with our chance at happiness. By choosing bravery over perfection, we can find the power to claim our voice, to leave behind what makes us unhappy, and to go for the things we genuinely, passionately want. Perfection may set us on a path that feels safe, but bravery leads us to the one we're authentically meant to follow. In Brave, Not Perfect, Saujani shares powerful insights and practices to help us let go of our need for perfection and make bravery a lifelong habit. By being brave, not perfect, we can all become the authors of our best and most joyful life. Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• Audiobook from Libby/Overdrive

Women's Health Month is a yearly reminder to women and girls to make their personal health a priority. During the month of May, the CDC recommends that women take the following actions for improved health:

• Visit a doctor or nurse for a well-woman checkup and schedule appointments for your preventive screenings.
• Get active.
• Eat healthy.
• Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress, and learn about the signs of depression among women.
• Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, texting while driving, and not wearing a a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.

• Click here to access the CDC's website on women's health.
• Click here to access the Mayo Clinic's website on women's health.
• Click here to access the Medline Plus website to research health topics.

Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing As We Age by Mary Bray Pipher Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be. In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. "If we can keep our wits about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully," Pipher writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent." Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• eBook from Libby/Overdrive

The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care: Do Less, Achieve More, and Live the Life You Want by Suzanne Falter You're probably doing a lot-taking care of your family, killing it at your job, volunteering, organizing, scheduling, delegating. At the end of all of that, do you have any time or energy left to take care of the most important person: you? Self-care movement leader Suzanne Falter gets it. In fact, she lived the life that every woman today feels expected to lead, chasing career goals while balancing the commitment of raising a family. But after facing an unthinkable tragedy, Suzanne transformed her identity as a stressed-out workaholic to find her way back to wholeness and balance. In The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care, Suzanne shares simple, bite-sized suggestions to help you ease onto the path of effective self-care in a way that feels doable rather than demanding. The road to soothing self-care is right in front of you-all you have to do is say yes to the journey and take the first step. Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• eBook from Hoopla Digital

The Strong Women's Guide to Total Health by Miriam Nelson and Jennifer Ackerman This practical and interactive guide shows women how to optimize their potential for health and well-being through in-depth information, self-assessment quizzes, and checklists to determine individual risk factors for common ailments and more serious diseases. Dr. Miriam Nelson shares the preventative measures that can be taken now to avoid such health problems down the road. From sexual and reproductive health to beauty, heart health, emotional well-being, bone and muscle health, and weight control, Strong Women’s Guide to Total Health offers a complete picture of the broad spectrum of issues that impact overall health. It is essential reading for women of all ages. Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL

Strong Is the New Beautiful: Embrace Your Natural Beauty, Eat Clean, and Harness Your Power by Lindsey Vonn Lessons in strength, fitness, food, and attitude from the popular world champion skier and beauty icon-Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn. Olympic Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn wants women to stop thinking about "losing weight fast," and instead focus on loving their bodies for what they are and what they can do. Lindsey is a small-town Minnesota girl at heart turned world-champion skier, but that didn't come without hard work. In Strong Is the New Beautiful, Lindsey lays out the never-before-seen training routines and her overall philosophy that have helped her become the best female skier in the world-tailored for women of all shapes and sizes. Lindsey backs up her fitness program with advice on what to eat and how to work out, and kicks readers into high-gear, helping bolster their self-confidence and build a better body image, with the tips and tricks she's learned as a pro. Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• eBook or audiobook from Hoopla Digital

Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get on the Mat, Love Your Body by Jessamyn Stanley From the unforgettable teacher Jessamyn Stanley comes Every Body Yoga, an eBook that breaks all the stereotypes. It's an book of inspiration for beginners of all shapes and sizes: If Jessamyn could transcend these emotional and physical barriers, so can we. It's a book for readers already doing yoga, looking to refresh their practice or find new ways to stay motivated. It's a how-to book: Here are easy-to-follow directions to 50 basic yoga poses and 10 sequences to practice at home, all photographed in full color. It's a book that challenges the larger issues of body acceptance and the meaning of beauty. Most of all, it's a book that changes the paradigm, showing us that yoga isn't about how one looks, but how one feels, with yoga sequences like "I Want to Energize My Spirit," "I Need to Release Fear," "I Want to Love Myself." Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• eBook from Libby/Overdrive
• eBook from Hoopla Digital

Do What Feels Good: Recipes, Remedies, and Routines to Treat Your Body Right by Hannah Bronfman In Do What Feels Good, Hannah offers up a buffet of self-care practices that are not only good for you, but are also fun and pleasurable-things you'll want to do for yourself instead of things that feel like chores. As a model, exercise junkie, food-lover, beauty product addict, and wellness entrepreneur, Hannah has access to the latest trends and the best experts. She's tried it all, and she shares it all, because she knows that there is no one-size-fits-all equation for health and happiness. Divided into three parts: BODY, FOOD, and LIFE, Do What Feels Good shows readers how to get in touch with their body's natural rhythms and identify what they crave as what they need. There are no rules, just information, advice, and tools-including over 70 recipes from Hannah's kitchen repertoire-that empower readers to make to make small changes that align with their body's needs. Because the ultimate measure of wellness isn't how you look, it's how you feel. Check it out:

• Physical copy from RPL
• Audiobook from Hoopla Digital