Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronyx, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

In her extraordinary bestseller, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc immerses readers in the intricacies of the ghetto, revealing the true sagas lurking behind the headlines of gangsta glamour, gold-drenched drug dealers, and street-corner society. Focusing on two romances — Jessica's dizzying infatuation with a hugely successful young heroin dealer, Boy George, and Coco's first love with Jessica's little brother, Cesar — Random Family is the story of young people trying to outrun their destinies.

Charting the tumultuous cycle of the generations — as girls become mothers, boys become criminals, and hope struggles against deprivation — LeBlanc slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism and comes back with a riveting, haunting, and true story.

Mama Might be Better off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America, by Laurie Kaye Abraham

This critically acclaimed book is an unsettling, profound look at the human face of health care. Both disturbing and illuminating, it is the story of four generations of a poor African American family coping with the devastating illnesses that are all too common in America's inner cities. From visits to emergency rooms and dialysis units, to trials with home care, to struggles for Medicaid eligibility, Abraham chronicles the Banes family and their access (or lack of access) to medical care. Embedded in the family narrative is a lucid analysis of the gaps, inconsistencies, and inequalities the poor face when they seek health care.

How to Purchase your Copies

The U of M Bookstores are supporting this campus project with a special 20% savings on these titles.

Discussion participants can purchase these books at the

• U of M Bookstore at Coffman Union or
• Online from the U of M Bookstores

The School of Public Health Book Discussions are scheduled for:

Monday, August 28
All School Book Discussion and Brown Bag Lunch
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m
Mayo D327