League of Women Voters of the City of New York (LWVNYC)

Diane Burrows

What are you reading? When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse by Norma Kawelokū Wong

What do you like about this book? Norma Kawelokū Wong guides us to understand leadership from a Zen and Indigenous perspective. She challenges us to consider that storytelling allows us to envision a concept. By starting with "I wonder...", a concept needs a drawing and a drawing needs a prototype.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? This book shows us to focus on perspective – standing on a hill to see the big picture and find the near horizon, the place where problems are solved by the actions we take; and the far horizon, the place where everything we hope for our descendants lives.

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Civic Health Alliance, Research and Outreach Director

Jessica grinspan, ms

What are you reading? The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake by Dr. Steven Novella, with Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein

What do you like about this book? As a researcher and scientist, I frequently turn to this book to sharpen my critical thinking skills in a world increasingly plagued by misinformation, disinformation, and the erosion of public trust. Written by Dr. Steven Novella, a clinical neurologist and science educator at Yale University, the book serves as a primer on cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and pseudoscience that can derail civic discourse and fuel dangerous ideologies.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? At a time when science and public health have become deeply politicized, unsound evidence and faulty reasoning can translate into very real harm for patients and communities. Investing in civic engagement in healthcare means committing to rigoro

Civic Health Alliance, MPH Candidate

Anushka Chalmeti

What are you reading? Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd

What do you like about this book? Mohammed El-Kurd writes how language, narrative, and representation are weaponized in the Palestinian struggle for liberation. He critiques how Palestinians are forced to make their suffering “appealing” to Western audiences by conforming to expectations of richness, whiteness, civility, hygiene, and more. He briefly discusses how this appeal to audiences in power is not unlike the struggle Black Americans face with police brutality (e.g., “They were in school and didn’t deserve to die”) or sexual assault survivors face with society (e.g., “They were fully clothed”).

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? El-Kurd’s essays redefine engagement by speaking truth to power, even (especially) when it does not fit with the “appealing” tone that Western audiences expect. Political participation through art and storytelling, as El-Kurd’s book shows, can challenge prevailing narratives and mobilize communities.

Civic Health Alliance, Medical Student

Julia kooser

What are you reading? Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine by Olivia Campbell

What do you like about this book? Many women died due to healthcare inaccessibility, largely due to physicians not understanding their unique medical needs. The book highlighted the need for representation in medicine of doctors of different gender identities, doctors of color, and doctors of different socioeconomic statuses. People have better health outcomes when healthcare providers reflect the diversity of the population and when doctors understand the unique needs of a diverse patient population.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? Social determinants of health are key drivers of patient outcomes. Therefore, we must be civically engaged to address these social determinants.

Civic Health Alliance, Student Ambassador

Spoorthy Prabhudeva

What are you reading? Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America by Erin Geiger Smith

What do you like about this book? Every single vote matters. It is easy to feel that our single vote is nonconsequential, but that is not true. As members of society, we must believe in the power of our vote. This leap of faith is an important one: it helps keep our democracy alive.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? Both providers and patients, in the setting of healthcare concerns or issues, may see civic duties as something too distant, something that cannot help them. I think it is important to challenge those assumptions because voting/civic engagement can make a difference.

Civic Health Alliance, Director of Policy and Partnerships

Jessica Dennehy

What are you reading? Invisibility Blues: From Pop to Theory (Radical Thinkers) by Michele Wallace

What do you like about this book? This book is a collection of essays surrounding Michele Wallace, who grew up in Harlem (born 1952). I like this book because of the transparency and authenticity that is centered around Wallace’s hope for the future. The book explores the underrepresentation of Black voices in media, politics, and culture.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? While this book is not directly related to healthcare, Wallace centers the importance of bringing attention to Black voices, which are historically underrepresented, and this contributes to negative health outcomes. I think it is important to read literature from systemically minoritized groups to understand how to best engage with and uplift the voices of historically underrepresented communities and avoid perpetuating harm.

Civic Health Alliance, California Common Cause

Russia Chavis Cardenas, MPP

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What are you reading? Unrigged: How Americans are Battling Back to Save Democracy by David Daley

What do you like about this book? Unrigged includes stories of everyday people and grassroots groups working to preserve democracy. The case studies offer great strategies to spark your civic participation.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? Health care professionals have subject matter expertise that is needed to help shape public policy.

Civic Health Alliance, Just Equity for Health

sTELLA SAFO, MD, MPH

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What are you reading? How We Can Win by Kimberly Jones

What do you like about this book? Jones is a Black woman activist whose lived experience and work have impacted her views of what it means to have power in the U.S. This book outlines how she believes all Americans, and especially Black Americans, can engage in our democratic system to share power and progress our society for the better.

Why invest in reading about civic engagement in healthcare? Books like this inspire me, because though we have a long way to go, we have examples like Ms. Jones to help us map how we get there.

Civic Health Alliance

Shannon shOOP

What are you reading? People Over Politics: A Nonpartisan Analysis of the Issues that Matter Most by Antony E. Ghee

What do you like about this book? People Over Politics is educational and helps you easily understand the issues with our government and where specifically the gaps are. The author informs readers on issues that matter. He touches on gun control, immigration, and human rights.