Tag Archives: Marie Mulder

On the shelf: ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ by Rebecca Skloot

Books, Entertainment, , , , ,

By Marie Mulder, Grand Rapids Public Library-Main

In 1951, a poor, 31-year-old mother of five died of cervical cancer. Without her family’s knowledge, her cervical cells were harvested and used to create the first viable cell line, known to scientists and doctors as ‘HeLa’. Her cells are used all over the world and have aided doctors in many of the greatest medical discoveries of our century.

While her cells have had great success, Henrietta Lack’s family have never been compensated or recognized for their great gift to the medical community. Rebecca Skloot and Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, search for the truth and for Henrietta’s story, a remarkable narrative of faith, hope, science, ethics and journalism.

 

On the shelf: ‘The Accidental Billionaires’ by Ben Mezrich

Entertainment, , , , , ,

By Marie Mulder, Grand Rapids Public Library-Main

The Accidental Billionaires is the riveting tale of the creation of the international social network Facebook which has deeply changed the way many of us communicate and relate to each other.

The story is fraught with competition for college women, money, fame, recognition and power. Since the story is mainly told through the eyes of Mark Zuckerberg’s friend Eduardo, we often get the sense that we’re not getting both sides of the story. Did Mark really come up with the idea for Facebook, or did he steal it from his fellow Harvard students? Did he rip off his best friend and business partner?

The Accidental Billionaires is fast-paced, exciting, and hard to put down. Read the book, watch the movie based on the book, The Social Network and see if you can figure out the real story of Facebook.

On the shelf: ‘At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream’ by Wade Rouse

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Reviews, , , ,

After chronicling his escape from rural life growing up gay in the Ozarks with his memoir, America’s Boy, Wade Rouse finds himself on three acres in the middle of the woods just outside of Saugatuck, Michigan. While vacationing in Michigan, Wade and his partner, Gary, decide on the spot to leave their hectic urban life in St. Louis, build a home and create “Wade’s Walden.”

 

Wade faces raccoons (literally head-on), wild turkeys (which he comes to adore), his addiction to tanning, cable and lip gloss and his real relationship with Gary.  In the end, he finds himself disgusted with the tourists who act . . . exactly like he did when he first arrived in the country.  Reading and re-reading Thoreau, Wade sets out to learn ten life lessons along the same path as Walden.

 

At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream is a funny, heartfelt, sincere memoir that will appeal to anyone, gay or straight, who finds themselves outside of their comfort-zone.

 

On the shelf: ‘At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream’, by Wade Rouse

Entertainment, , , , ,
 By Marie Mulder, GRPL-Main
After chronicling his escape from rural life growing up gay in the Ozarks with his memoir, America’s Boy, Wade Rouse finds himself on three acres in the middle of the woods just outside of Saugatuck, Michigan. While vacationing in Michigan, Wade and his partner, Gary, decide on the spot to leave their hectic urban life in St. Louis, build a home and create Dz Wade’s Walden.
Dz Wade faces raccoons (literally head-on), wild turkeys (which he comes to adore), his addiction to tanning, cable and lip gloss and his real relationship with Gary. In the end, he finds himself disgusted with the tourists who act . . . exactly like he did when he first arrived in the country. Reading and re-reading Thoreau, Wade sets out to learn 10 life lessons along the same path as Walden.
At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream is a funny, heartfelt, sincere memoir that will appeal to anyone, gay or straight, who finds themselves outside of their comfort zone.