Excerpts from THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND THEIR LOVED ONES

April 28th, 2021

For Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Purdue University Press is featuring excerpts from Lianna Marie’s book The Complete Guide for People With Parkinson’s Disease and Their Loved Ones. 

A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is as disorienting as it is devastating. The Complete Guide helps those suffering from the disease, their family, and friends make sense of what comes next. Its companion volume Everything You Need to Know About Caregiving for Parkinson’s Disease provides an essential resource for all caregivers of those with Parkinson’s disease.

A trained nurse, author Lianna Marie served as her mother’s caregiver and advocate for over twenty years through the many stages of Parkinson’s disease. She also founded AllAboutParkinsons.com, an online community that has connected and helped thousands of people with the disease, their families, and their caregivers.

Preface

Parkinson’s has been a part of my life for the past 30 years. Throughout that time, I’ve been sharing my mom’s story about her experiences with the disease, as well as my own as her caregiver and advocate.

Her name was Val and she had the disease for 22 years before she developed dementia as well. Along her journey with Parkinson’s she learned a lot, both about how to live and cope with the disease, and about herself.

As her daughter and caregiver, I learned a lot too.

When she was diagnosed, there wasn’t a lot of information available to help us understand what it meant to have Parkinson’s. We found a couple of medical books, but it was hard to find anything written by someone who’d actually lived with the disease. So instead, we learned about Parkinson’s by living with Parkinson’s

In 2005 when I wrote Everything You Need to Know About Parkinson’s Disease, Mom had been living with Parkinson’s for 15 years. She told me back then she wished there were more information available to help her understand and deal with her disease as it was progressing, and written in a way that she could understand. At that point no one had told us how powerful music could be in helping her mobility, or that there are reasons not to join a support group (there are definitely pros to joining one, but there are also cons), or that sometimes symptoms could disappear just by being really happy. We discovered these and many other useful nuggets on our own.

Together we came up with the idea of asking people with Parkinson’s, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers, the most important questions they had about the disease. We received a lot of questions, both general and specific, and then answered them in the book.

Now, 20 years later, there’s so much available to us online. You can pretty much Google anything you want and be inundated with information. The problem is, how do you know where to go? With so many websites out there (not to mention the ones whose main goal is to sell you some kind of drug therapy), it can be overwhelming.

In The Complete Guide, I’ve answered new questions and updated old answers and tried to keep the information as succinct as possible. Each chapter begins with a tip or observation from one of my readers — one of the many I’ve received over the years. Whether you have Parkinson’s or you know or care for someone who does, I hope this book will help you get the most important information in a way that you can understand.

Though Mom has now passed, my reason for writing the book remains the same: I want everyone who is affected by this disease to be as informed as possible so they can continue to lead happy, hopeful, and meaningful lives.

21. Don’t Stress

Did you know that stress can make Parkinson’s symptoms worse? It’s true. Stress and chronic illness go hand in hand. Stress can have a very negative impact on PD symptoms, sometimes increasing tremors and reducing mobility, so it’s important to manage the stress in your daily life and find ways to relax.

The first step is identifying the source of your stress. You may feel pressure from your social responsibilities, from managing your daily duties, or dealing with unexpected problems or emergencies. However, simply adjusting to life with Parkinson’s is a huge stressor in itself. There is anxiety and frustration that comes along with having to accept your new limitations and make adjustments to your lifestyle that you might not want to.

Regardless of where the stress is coming from, implementing relaxation techniques and prioritizing stress management can make a huge difference in your quality of life.

Mom learned very early on in her journey with PD how debilitating stress can be (it could cause her body to basically shut down) and avoided it if at all possible. Of course that was sometimes easier said than done. But the more she focused on doing what was best for her instead of worrying or stressing about the things that were going on around her, the better she was able to prevent her body from shutting down.

Below are some basic relaxation techniques. Choose those that work best for you. You might have to experiment with several techniques before you find an effective routine you are comfortable with. If you can, incorporate multiple practices into your schedule — and keep it up. Consistency and practice are crucial to successful stress management.

Deep breathing

Take slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Count to five as you breathe in and five as you breathe out. Do this several times until you begin to feel more relaxed.

Progressive relaxation

Get in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and slowly relax different parts of your body, one at a time. Start from your head and work your way down to your feet. If you feel like you need more direction, search for progressive relaxation routines and guided meditations online.

Music

It took almost 15 years of living with Parkinson’s for my mom to discover the power of music. She said it was a total surprise when she discovered how effective it was in getting her mobilized the first time she tried it.

When Mom was having an off period (reemergence of symptoms), she would play some favorite upbeat music and in a matter of a few minutes (and sometimes a few seconds) she would be upand moving. It was amazing to watch!

Meditation

You can find many good books and recordings for meditation in bookstores and online. You may also find classes offered in your community.

Massage

Receiving a massage is a fantastic way to relax both body and mind. In addition to its soothing nature, a good massage may help to reduce any muscle tightness or pain you are experiencing. Mom loved massage, and she got one as often as she could.

***

Lucky for us, the importance of relaxation is widely recognized. Most bookstores and music retailers have a section on relaxation, and there are a multitude of resources available online that provide audio recordings and books that teach relaxation practices. There is also a booming industry of smartphone apps that provide guided meditations and relaxation tips and tricks. Try out a few and pick those that work best with your lifestyle.

59. Caring for Someone with PD

Caring for someone with Parkinson’s can be both rewarding and challenging. Throughout the process you will most likely learn a lot about yourself and the person you’re caring for. Just remember throughout your caregiving journey to not forget about YOU. It’s imperative that you care for yourself to avoid burnout.

There are many ways caregivers can help make the life of a person with Parkinson’s easier. To start, my mom’s advice was to be supportive, encouraging, and positive. Providing your loved one with reassurance, especially in the early stages right after diagnosis, can really help. Remind them that PD progresses slowly in most people and that they can still live a full life.

Avoid stressful situations if at all possible. Also, try to talk in a “happy voice,” Mom would say, because people with Parkinson’s can hear (yes, not just see, but hear as well!) when you are stressed, and this stress really affects them negatively.

Because depression is so common with PD, it never hurts to offer a hug or two, or any kind of physical touch. Mom really appreciated these, I know.
Another thing is to be accessible. Ask if you can help, but don’t just assume they want help because they may not. Allow your loved one to do things for themselves, even if it takes longer. You may need to break tasks down into easier steps if they are having trouble. Just remember to focus on their successes, not their failures.

One very important thing to keep in mind as a caregiver for someone with Parkinson’s is that patience goes a long way. You need to remember that things will often take longer than they might have before, and trying to rush someone with PD will only get them frustrated and stressed and slow them down even more.

Always PLAN AHEAD and allow extra time for things. Mom loved to shop, and some days we could get ready in 15 minutes to go to the mall, while other times it took an hour. “It’s okay,” we’d
tell her, “’cause the mall ain’t goin’ nowhere!”

And speaking of planning ahead: If your loved one is no longer able to drive, you may want to help them plan alternative means of transportation. There are several options out there, including public transportation, ride sharing, and community shuttle services.

Scheduling is also important, especially when it comes to medications and meals. Because some PD meds need to be taken at specific times before and after meals, it’s very helpful to establish a medication and meal schedule so it becomes routine.

One thing with regard to mealtimes, especially if your loved one has trouble with chewing or swallowing, is that you may want to learn the Heimlich maneuver. This is used to dislodge food stuck in the throat if a person is choking and could be a lifesaver.

Finally, you may want to consider exercising with your loved one to help them stay motivated. Exercise is very important for the health and state of mind of both of you.

There are many resources available for caregivers, but the best place to start is with your national Parkinson’s foundation or society. You can find them online, and they can also direct you to your local chapter, where you can find out about any support groups that may be in your area. The next place to try is your local newspaper for community announcements of meetings for caregivers.

You can find more information on caregiving for people with Parkinson’s in the companion to this book, Everything You Need to Know About Caregiving for Parkinson’s Disease.

You can get 30% off of The Complete Guide and Everything You Need to Know About Caregiving by ordering from our website and entering the discount code PURDUE30.

National Library Week Follow-Up: Favorite Books of Our Faculty, Staff, Students, and Supporters (Full List)

April 27th, 2021

Earlier this month, Libraries faculty, staff, students, and supporters shared their personal favorite books for National Library Week. If you would like to add some of our favorites to you own reading queue, we’ve compiled the whole list here, including whether or not each book is currently available in our catalog!

The Philosophers Index – HSSE Featured Database

April 26th, 2021

Humanities, Social Science and Education Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring the Philosopher’s Index, brought to you by Ovid.

Link: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/philx

Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue login and password.

Focus: This database is an Ovid resource, which provides informative author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in the fifteen fields of philosophy, published in journals and books since 1940. Records cite journal articles, books, contributions to anthologies, and book reviews.


Tutorial: https://youtu.be/VpcZiFbZiuo

Why you should know this database: This is a bibliographic database designed to help researchers easily find publications of interest in the field of philosophy. It contains over 650,000 records from publications that date back to 1940 and originate from 139 countries in 37 languages.

Quick tip: On the search page at the top of the screen, you will see a section that lists all of the terms and limits you searched. If you would like to save any of your searches, you can click on those items, then click on the save button. It will next ask you to choose a name to save your search. If you want to access this search later, you can click on the view saved button and select the search you would like to use.


Related Resources:
PhilPapers: Philosophical Research Online: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/philpapers
JSTOR: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/db347

Celebrating with Parkinson’s: Guest Post from Lianna Marie

April 22nd, 2021

This is a guest blog post by Lianna Marie, the author of The Complete Guide for People With Parkinson’s Disease and Their Loved Ones and Everything You Need to Know About Caregiving for Parkinson’s Disease.

This month we celebrate Parkinson’s awareness month, and that got me thinking. It’s weird to put the words “celebrate” and “Parkinson’s” in the same sentence, isn’t it? The truth is, in my experience, those two words can exist together, and the attached photo proves it.

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Not only had I never seen Mom so happy, but she was also dancing—like, really dancing-—with no sign of that pesky Parkinson’s that had been invading her life for the past ten years.

It was amazing to witness because that same morning, Mom had needed her cane to assist her in moving around while we were prepping for her big day. Nerves had crept in (even though she was excited to be marrying Dave), so it was normal for her PD symptoms to show up and her mobility to be compromised. But once the ceremony started, Mom’s symptoms completely vanished. It was as though her disease didn’t exist!

Mom had always loved to dance, and for as long as she had Parkinson’s, she did her darndest to keep this favorite pastime in her life. She met Dave at a singles dance, and I remember her very happily reporting to us the following day about how great he was at cutting a rug.

It wasn’t unusual for Mom’s symptoms to disappear during times of extreme joy and excitement. We had witnessed this phenomenon at other celebrations, her retirement party being one of them. However, anytime stress or anxiety entered into the equation, she was snookered.

Most folks who have had Parkinson’s for any length of time have probably realized how much their emotions play a part in helping alleviate or exacerbate their symptoms. When we realized this to be true for Mom, our family made a very concerted effort to keep stress levels as low as possible in her house.

Mom also took any opportunity to celebrate whatever life had to offer. Weddings and birthdays seemed to be her favorites, but she’d take you up on celebrating anything if you presented it to her. My favorite celebrations with Mom came in the form of my post- swimming and pentathlon competition dinners out. She loved taking me to my favorite eatery and listen to me reflect upon the day’s events.

I treasure those times with her.

If you or your loved one has Parkinson’s, I challenge you to look for more ways to celebrate in your life. It doesn’t have to be as extravagant as a wedding or retirement party, either. Sometimes the simple act of getting together with an old friend can be just what your spirit needs to push PD to the back seat.

In closing, I want to point out that this picture of Mom, Dave, my sister, and me dancing was taken during the playing of Travis Tritt’s song, “It’s a Great Day to be Alive.” It was one of Dave’s favorites and an excellent reminder for all of us—with or without Parkinson’s—to celebrate every day we are given.

You can get 30% off Lianna Marie’s books by ordering from our website and entering code PURDUE30 at checkout.

Totally Stumped Crowned Libraries Trivia Tournament Champions

April 6th, 2021

By: Ayn Reineke

Meet Totally Stumped, reigning champs of the Libraries’ first-ever all staff trivia tournament! Comprised of powerhouse trio Amy Childress (Office of Undergraduate Research), Matt Mudd (Purdue University Press) and Stephanie Schmitz (Archives and Special Collections), Totally Stumped beat out fourteen other randomly assigned teams of Libraries employees to win the coveted PULSIS Trivia Champion Trophy. 

Conceived by Libraries Clerical Service Staff Advisory Committee (LCSSAC) (with special thanks to organizers Ashley Fawcett and Dan Rotello) as a fun way to virtually connect across Libraries divisions in a year without in-person social events, the trivia tournament grew into the highlight of the year for Libraries staff, with dozens of people tuning into Zoom to watch each match unfold. With categories ranging from “Literature and Library Stuff” to “History and Geography” to “Animals and Nature,” there was a category for every participant to shine. But what was the category that generated the most wrong answers and blank stares? Sports! (Okay, okay…so maybe some of those stereotypes about us indoorsy librarian-types are true.) 

Speaking of Sports, when asked if any questions still haunt him, Matt said “I got a couple of sports questions wrong in the final. I feel like that was my best subject going in and I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if we lost.” Matt’s Sports advantage definitely helped give Totally Stumped an edge, but Amy and Stephanie were equally quick with correct answers across a broad range of categories, even if they are modest when speaking about their success. Stephanie says “Most of my answers were guesses, and plenty of them were wrong. I didn’t prepare before matches and I would have moments of panic prior to each with the thought “Oh no, I didn’t study.” Amy credits “lots and lots of reading” with helping her make it to the end of the tournament. 

In one particularly tense match, the game ended with a tie and Totally Stumped had to answer a playoff question for the win. Of that nerve wracking moment, Matt said “I think we were all holding our breath!” But together, the team persevered and now have special trophies to honor their victory. Stephanie keeps hers on a bookshelf, while Amy and Matt both plan to display theirs “front and center on my desk!” Though they earned trophies, bragging rights, and applause, all three teammates agree that their favorite memories of the tournament are the interactions with colleagues across Libraries, the opportunity to see a different side of everyone, and lots and lots of laughs. 

Congratulations, Totally Stumped! And thank you to everyone who participated, moderated matches, and cheered for our teams! Until next year! 

Featured Database: D&B Hoovers

April 6th, 2021

Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring D&B Hoovers, brought to you by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.

Focus

D&B Hoovers is an aggregate database of company, business news, and industry information.

Access

The List of Business Databases is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue login and password.

Tutorial

Click Getting Started with D&B Hoovers to see the basics of using D&B Hoovers.

Why Should I Know About This?

D&B Hoovers includes a One Stop Report feature that allows users to create custom reports based on the information they need.

Related Resources

Some other resources you might want to explore are:

• Reference Solutions, offers searchable database modules containing detailed information on more than 14 million U.S. businesses and employers.
• UniWorld, up-to-date multinational business contact information with listings in over 200 countries.

Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.

Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.

Five Books on the Past and Present of Veterinary Science

March 22nd, 2021

From gripping stories on the history and application of veterinary medicine to important conversations about the state of the field, Purdue University Press publishes important work on veterinary science for practitioners and enthusiasts alike.

Pioneer Science and the Great Plagues: How Microbes, War, and Public Health Shaped Animal Health

by Norman Cheville

In one century, animal health care in North America evolved from farriers and itinerant cow leeches to science-based veterinary medicine. Pioneer Science and the Great Plagues covers this century of progress fighting infectious diseases and plagues, focuses on the scientists and institutions that pioneered veterinary education and research and made conquering these plagues possible.

Leaders of the Pack: Women and the Future of Veterinary Medicine

Julie Kumble and Donald F. Smith

Leaders of the Pack explores key themes in leadership and highlights women in veterinary medicine whose stories embody those themes. By sharing unique stories that illuminate different paths to leadership and reflecting on best practices through commentary and research, Leaders of the Pack seeks to allow more female leaders to create wider pathways to the top of their profession.

That Sheep May Safely Graze: Rebuilding Animal Health Care in War-Torn Afghanistan

by David Sherman

That Sheep May Safely Graze details a determined effort, in the midst of war, to bring essential veterinary services to Afghanistan, an agrarian society that depends day in and day out on the well-being and productivity of its animals, but which, because of decades of war and the disintegration of civil society, had no reliable access to even the most basic animal health care.

Exploring the Gray Zone: Case Discussions of Ethical Dilemmas for the Veterinary Technician

edited by Andrea DeSantis Kerr, Robert “Pete” Bill, Jamie Schoenbeck Walsh, and Christina V. Tran

Exploring the Gray Zone explores difficult situations veterinary technicians face on a daily basis through the use of case examples and dialogue. The case format of the book lends itself to discussion and can be utilized in veterinary technology courses that focus on ethics, communications, management, and leadership, and the real-life case examples make the book an enjoyable read for practicing veterinary technicians as well.

Navigating Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine

Lisa M. Greenhill, Kauline Cipriani Davis, Patricia M. Lowrie, and Sandra F. Amass

Navigating Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine addresses the continued lack of the diversity in veterinary medicine, the least inclusive of all medical professions. System-wide commitment, planning, execution, and continuous assessment will position the profession to better suit the population of the nation and the world that will be served. This book is a call to action for consistent championship and cohesive approaches, and it provides a road map to building a sustainably inclusive future.

You can get 30% off all Purdue University Press titles by entering the code PURDUE30 at checkout on our website.

Featured Database: OECD iLibrary

March 9th, 2021

Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring the OECD iLibrary, brought to you by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Focus

OECD iLibrary includes books, papers, and statistics providing access to OECD analysis and data. This includes content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).

Access

The List of Business Databases is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue Career Account.

Tutorial

Click Getting Started with the OCED iLibrary to see the basics of using the OECD iLibrary.

Why Should I Know About This?

OECD iLibrary provides access to hundreds of titles associated with the following themes: agriculture, economics, employment, finance, taxation, and more.

Related Resources

Some other resources you might want to explore are:

• ABI/INFORM Global, features articles on business conditions, trends, corporate strategies and includes research on marketing, economics, human resources, taxation, and more.
• Passport, provides business intelligence on countries, consumers, and industries with access to statistics, market reports, and company profiles.

Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.

Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.

The Rise of Digital Humanities at Purdue University

March 1st, 2021

By: Matthew Hannah

To go so far as to call this a “rise” may be a bit of exaggeration. After all, Purdue is well known for its commitment to innovative methodologies and cutting-edge areas of study. Certainly, this is true of the STEM disciplines, but it is also true of the humanities, social sciences, and information studies. Digital humanities, or “DH” as it is known to practitioners, is but one area that humanities, social sciences, and information researchers and students have been exploring and expanding for some time, and Purdue boasts a long history of important DH innovators and initiatives, from Kim Gallon’s groundbreaking work in Black DH to Sorin Matei’s innovative use of GIS maps to study historical topographies, from grant-winning projects such as Dino Felluga’s BRANCH and COVE projects to Bradley Dilger’s CROW. The humanities and social sciences at Purdue are always breaking new ground, expanding the boundaries of academic research.

And yet it feels like something is happening here. When I arrived at Purdue as an Assistant Professor in the Libraries and School of Information Studies nearly three years ago, I was given a broad mission: build on existing efforts to develop a DH curriculum through collaboration with scholars across PULSIS and the College of Liberal Arts. I began collaborating with Erla Heyns, who had already been working tirelessly to promote and foster DH in the LSIS, to establish networks and find collaborators who might be interested in such a project, and we immediately began working closely with Venetria Patton, the head of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, to design and implement undergraduate and graduate certificates in digital humanities. We identified stakeholders, hosted informational sessions and call outs, and designed and identified courses for this new certificate initiative. Dr. Patton tackled the undergraduate certificate, and I handled the graduate, in what has been a fruitful multi-disciplinary, multi-college collaboration in keeping with the very ethos of collaboration inherent in DH itself.

I am happy to announce that our efforts have launched two brand new certificates in DH to be offered at Purdue. Graduate students will now have the opportunity to complete a 12-credit certificate, comprised of two required core seminars and two elective seminars, which will cover important aspects of the field such as computational text analysis, digital archives, geospatial analysis, data management, and various other topics, with an eye toward developing a toolkit for their own disciplinary graduate research. Many of these seminars are regularly available in both LSIS and the College of Liberal Arts to provide flexibility for students. By the end of a graduate certificate, students will have designed, implemented, and launched an original DH project of their own. Undergraduates can expect to complete a 16-credit certificate, with four possible tracks (three of which must be completed): culture and society, digital literacy, programming, and visualization. This important set of topics will provide students a well-rounded set of technical skills and, at the same time, a critical apparatus with which to think about technology from a humanistic perspective.  

In teaching my graduate seminar, Digital Humanities Foundations, over the past few years, I find that graduate students at Purdue are hungry for innovative digital methods to apply to their research in the humanities and social sciences. Certificates provide formal recognition that students have developed important digital skills and thoughtfully applied them to their research in the humanities and social sciences. For many graduate students, an official accreditation can provide important recognition on their CVs and resumes, especially if they pursue careers outside the tenure track, in libraries or cultural organizations. For undergraduate students, a DH program offers the opportunity to combine their interests in the humanities or social sciences with interests in technology, data science, or computation. For some undergraduates, DH may even provide a vocabulary for meaningful careers after college in tech startups, non-profits, cultural organizations, or industry, which value the combination of liberal arts training and technical literacy. In essence, a formal education in DH seems like a perfect fit for a place like Purdue.

The hard work of our Purdue community—the exciting projects, innovative methods, grants awarded, and courses taught—have culminated in these new certificate programs, a recognition that Purdue will continue its leadership toward innovative educational offerings across campus. Certificates in DH will offer students exciting new avenues for study, and I have already seen how impressive their work will be. Thus, we rise.    

Recommended Reads for Women’s History Month

March 1st, 2021

To commemorate Women’s History Month, Purdue University Press is featuring books that celebrate the contributions women have made to Purdue University, the United States, and the rest of the world.

Refuge Must Be Given: Eleanor Roosevelt, the Jewish Plight, and the Founding of Israel

by John F. Sears

Refuge Must Be Given details the evolution of Eleanor Roosevelt from someone who harbored negative impressions of Jews to becoming a leading Gentile champion of Israel in the United States. The book explores, for the first time, Roosevelt’s partnership with the Quaker leader Clarence Pickett in seeking to admit more refugees into the United States, and her relationship with Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, who was sympathetic to the victims of Nazi persecution yet defended a visa process that failed both Jewish and non-Jewish refugees.

Independent Vision: Dorothy Harrison Eustis and the Story of The Seeing Eye

by Miriam Ascarelli

Drawing on correspondence, private papers, and newspaper accounts of the day, Miriam Ascarelli chronicles the life of Dorothy Harrison Eustis, the woman responsible for founding The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school in the United States.

The Deans’ Bible: Five Purdue Women and Their Quest for Equality

by Angie Klink

The Dean’s Bible shares the stories of five Purdue women, Dorothy C. Stratton, Helen B. Schleman, M. Beverley Stone, Barbara I. Cook, and Betty M. Nelson. The book spans one hundred years of their interwoven lives, their shared causes and obstacles, and their pursuit of equity for all people.

In Their Own Words: Forgotten Women Pilots of Early Aviation

by Fred Erisman

In Their Own Words takes up the writings of eight women pilots as evidence of the ties between the growth of American aviation and the changing role of women. Although these women were well known in the profession and widely publicized in the press at the time, many are largely overlooked today.

Divided Paths, Common Ground: The Story of Mary Matthews and Lella Gaddis, Pioneering Purdue Women Who Introduced Science into the Home

by Angie Klink

Based on extensive oral history and archival research, Divided Paths, Common Ground sheds light on the important role female staff and faculty played in improving the quality of life for rural women during the first half of the twentieth century. It is also a fascinating story of two very different personalities, Mary Matthews and Lella Gaddis, united in this common goal.

The Queen of American Agriculture: A Biography of Virginia Claypool Meredith

by Frederick Whitford, Andrew G. Martin, and Phyllis Mattheis

This is the story of Virginia Meredith, whose lifetime of work had her referred to as “the most remarkable woman in Indiana” and the “Queen of American Agriculture.” Meredith was also the first woman appointed to serve on the university’s board of trustees, had a residence hall named in her honor, and worked with her adopted daughter, Mary L. Matthews, in creating the School of Home Economics at Purdue University.

Escaping Extermination: Hungarian Prodigy to American Musician, Feminist, and Activist

by Agi Jambor, edited by Frances Pinter

Written shortly after the close of World War II and published for the first time in 2020, Escaping Extermination describes how Agi Jambor and her husband escaped the extermination of Hungary’s Jews through a combination of luck and wit.

Finding Edith: Surviving the Holocaust in Plain Sight

by Edith Mayer Cord

Finding Edith describes the childhood and adolescence of a Viennese girl growing up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the rise of Nazism, World War II, and the religious persecution of Jews throughout Europe. Edith was hunted in Western Europe and Vichy France, where she was hidden in plain sight, constantly afraid of discovery and denunciation.

Of Exile and Music: A Twentieth Century Life

by Eva Mayer Schay

This autobiography is set against the backdrop of some of the most dramatic episodes of the twentieth century. It is the story of a stubborn struggle against unjust regimes, sustained by a deep belief in the strength of the human spirit and the transcendental power of music.

Crowns, Crosses, and Stars: My Youth in Prussia, Surviving Hitler, and a Life Beyond

by Sibylle Sarah Niemoeller, Baroness von Sell

Crowns, Crosses, and Stars is Sarah Niemoeller’s story from the privileged world of Prussian aristocracy, through the horrors of World War II resisting both Hitler’s dictatorship and his genocidal efforts, to high society in the television age of postwar America.

Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black Women Scientists on Race, Gender, and Their Passion for Science

by Diann Jordan

Sisters in Science is a book of interviews with prominent black women scientists across the United States. These scientists are pioneers in their chosen scientific profession and represent a broad spectrum of disciplines, ages, and geographical locations.

You can get 30% off all Purdue University Press titles by entering the code PURDUE30 at checkout on our website.