Advance Copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

For this column, NASW book editor Lynne Lamberg asks NASW authors to tell how they came up with the idea for their book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. She also asks what they wish they had known before they began working on their book, what they might do differently the next time, and what tips they can offer aspiring authors. She then edits the A part of that Q&A to produce the author reports you see here.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines to submit your report.

Publication of NASW members' reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of their books. NASW welcomes your comments and hopes this column stimulates productive discussions.

Rectangular photo of Leigh Ann Henion’s office bookshelf showing books on glowworms, lightning bugs, night flowers, darkness, trees, birds, and the impact of artificial lighting on the environment. Photo credit: Leigh Ann Henion.

Leigh Ann Henion—Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark

Shut down your screens. Go outside at night. As your eyes adjust, revel in the darkness. Tag along as Leigh Ann Henion attends a bat outing and a moth festival. Look for wondrous nightlife that may include synchronous fireflies, hooting owls, glowing fungi, and other creatures and plants that Henion describes in Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark.

Rectangular photo of Ann Parson’s office bookshelf showing works on the brain, body, healing, love, and writing. Photo credit: Mary-Frances O’Connor.

Mary-Frances O’Connor—The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing

“We really can die of a broken heart,” Mary-Frances O'Connor reports in The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing. The brain/body connection is real, she says, though poorly understood. When death, chronic illness, or other major losses disrupt one’s equilibrium, she suggests, improved self-awareness, habit-change, and reconnection with others may help restore it.

Rectangular photo of Marie Zhuikov’s office bookshelf showing works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on nature themes. These include Leaves of Grass, the Overstory, and The Human Experiment. Photo credit: Marie Zhuikov.

Marie Zhuikov —The Path of Totality: Stories & A Novella

A lonely teenaged girl leading a birding tour in a northern Minnesota peat-moss bog finds a mummified Viking boy. A college biology student loses his way on a biosphere tour, finds he is locked in, and faces a creepy night. In The Path of Totality: Stories & A Novella, Marie Zhuikov draws on her experience as a science writer to craft stories that slip from real-world settings to science fiction.

Rectangular photo of Jessica Fries-Gaither’s office bookshelf showing works on evolution, fossils, insects, weather, and other sciences, along with education and writing. Photo credit: Jessica Fries-Gaither.

Jessica Fries-Gaither—Wild Wonderings: Scientists and Their Questions

“Questions aren’t just for scientists,” Jessica Fries-Gaither tells readers aged 3-5 in Wild Wonderings: Scientists and Their Questions She describes in short verses the studies Mary Leakey, Stephen Hawking, Adriana Ocampo, and six other scientists conducted. She also gives children advice on how to turn observations into questions, decide how to pursue answers, and conduct simple research.

Rectangular photo of Ellen Prager office bookshelf showing works on oceans, sea life, and climate change. Photo credit: Ellen Prager

Ellen Prager and Dave Jones—Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions

Do huge sharks, bigger than a school bus, still exist? Thanks (No thanks!) to fake news, some people think so. Ditto for mermaids, NASW Member Ellen Prager & Dave Jones note in Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions. The authors use cartoons, a conversational tone, & 16 photos to answer often-asked & zany questions on marine life and weather.

Rectangular photo of Carlos Hoyt’s office bookshelf showing books on race, sociology, gender, disability, blind spots, empathy, and other topics, along with a copy of Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. Photo credit: Carlos Hoyt.

Carlos Hoyt (NASW Member) with Minna Han—Diversity Without Divisiveness: A Guide to DEI Practice for K-12 Educators

Principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) are as American as apple pie, NASW Member Carlos Hoyt and Minna Ham assert in Diversity Without Divisiveness: A Guide to DEI Practice for K-12 Educators. While some label DEI as “reverse discrimination,” Hoyt and Ham show how DEI can boost student engagement, prepare students to live in a global society, and encourage critical thinking.

Rectangular photo of Olivia Campbell’s office bookshelf showing works on women in Nazi Germany, scientists under Hitler, displaced scholars in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and physics. Photo credit: Olivia Campbell.

Olivia Campbell—Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History

When the Nazis took control of Germany in the 1930s, they stripped Jewish citizens and women of their academic positions. In Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History, Olivia Campbell describes the women’s harrowing journeys to freedom and later success in Sweden and the US, flourishing, she notes, “in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.”

Rectangular photo of Christopher Pollon’s office bookshelf showing works on mining, capitalism, colonialism, sustainability, gold, oil, geology, wars, and various countries. Photo credit: Christopher Pollon.

Christopher Pollon—Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places

“Even though the world needs mining more than ever, the world needs mining to change,” Christopher Pollon writes in Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places, recipient of NASW’s 2024 Science in Society Book Award. It’s sometimes better to leave metals in the ground, he suggests, and capture those needed for present-day use by recycling outdated products, such as smartphones.