Winter is in full swing and after enjoying your winter sport, whether it is skiing, hiking or snow shoveling, when it is time for you to sit and relax, you may want to do a little reading. Here are a few new adult non-fiction books you may be interested in. Hope you find one or two you enjoy.

“Signs, the Secret Language of the Universe” by Laura Lynne Jackson. Have you ever wondered if family or friends who have passed away can still talk to you or if they are looking out for you?

Laura possesses an incredible gift: the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Her abilities are exceptional, unique, and that is the message at the core of this book. Understanding “the secret language of the universe” is a gift available to all. As people learn to ask for signs from the other side, they will start to find meaning where before there was only confusion, and see light in the darkness. Laura is able to bring the mystical into the everyday. This is a book that is inspiring and practical, deeply comforting and wonderfully motivational, in asking us to see beyond ourselves to a more magnificent universal design. 133.9 JA

“Unfollow, A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church” by Megan Phelps-Roper. At the age of 5, Megan carried signs protesting several vices alongside fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. She watched the church expand its activities, including picketing soldiers’ funerals and celebrating death and tragedy. She admired the congregation’s familial warmth and religious zeal, and she mastered its messaging, including expounding upon pop culture, current events and all the reasons “God Hates Your Feelings.” As she observed church members mistreating one another, she tried to make sense of her own beliefs and desires, and started to question her mission. Soon, she was exchanging messages with a man who would help change her life. This book is a tale of her moral awakening, thoughtful reflection, and exposing the dangers of black-and-white thinking, and illuminating a possible way out of our age of angry polarization. 921 Phelps-Ro

“The Book of Gutsy Women, Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience” by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Who is your hero? Have you ever been asked that question? Or maybe you have wanted to ask that same question. Growing up, Hillary hardly knew any women who worked outside the home. Most of Chelsea’s friends’ moms worked outside the home. While there’s a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book. The women in this book were fiercely optimistic, they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, I hope you will draw strength from these stories. Because if history shows one thing, it’s that the world needs gutsy women. 920.72 CL

“Finding Chika, a Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family” by Mitch Albom. Chika is born three days before the earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. Her mother dies and she is sent to Have Faith Haiti Orphanage, which Albom operates in Port-au-Prince. She is a brave and self-assured toddler. Then she is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and no one in Haiti can help her. Mitch and his wife Janine bring Chika to Detroit, hopeful that American medical care will soon grant her a healthy return to her homeland.

Suddenly she becomes a permanent part of the Alboms’ lives. As they embark on finding a cure for Chika’s illness, her optimism and humor teach both Mitch and Janine the joys of caring for a child, and they learn how to build a relationship on love, no matter what blows it takes.

This book is a celebration of children and how they change our lives, and a portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made. 362.778 AL

“Home Work, A Memoir of My Hollywood Years” by Julie Andrews. This book is the second installment of Julie Andrew’s memoirs. It begins with her arrival in Hollywood to make her screen debut in Mary Poppins, followed closely by The Sound of Music. Those now-classic films brought Julie almost overnight success.

It was the beginning of a career that would make her an icon to millions the world over. Julie reveals behind-the-scenes details and reflections on her work, from incredible highs to challenging lows. She shares professional experiences, personal stories, dealing with public scrutiny, being a mother, dealing with divorce, embracing stepchildren, adopting more children and falling in love again. 921 Andrews

— Arlette Dubord, Cataloging & Acquisitions Assistant