(NewsUSA) - BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.

­­­­“Antithesis”
by Svet Rouskov       

A collection of vivid and exhilarating science fiction stories, tied together by characters whose moral challenges offer windows into humanity and the human condition. These stories are cautionary tales, flights of fancy, terrifying psychological journeys, humorous romps and even a space opera.   Among them: a speculative tale about humankind becoming obsolete from the perspective of the machines we created. An airline pilot who loses his faith in the physics of flying. A new galaxy where humans are irrelevant, but the conflicts of a class-based society are not. A mission to Mars, the origins of humanity and an atrocity that stretches across time and space.  

Escape into worlds unlike anything you have seen before, but some eerily similar to our own.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3FcLxtZ.

"Preposterous: An Elizabeth Cromwell Mystery"
by Jennifer Mason  

A San Francisco dominatrix, Elizabeth Cromwell, is drawn into the sudden disappearance of Edith Barlow, an heir to the estate of an old friend of Elizabeth’s, a woman who herself had vanished seven years earlier. A struggling poetry zine, a 400-meter hurdler who just missed the Olympics, a women’s track coach with a yen for bullwhips, a billionaire with a state-of-the-art S&M dungeon, a man serving a life sentence in Alabama, and an erotic art dealer, are a few of the many mysterious parts in a highly convoluted string of strange disappearances.  

Says Kirkus, “The murkiness of the tale and its California setting will call to mind the works of Thomas Pynchon, but Mason creates an atmosphere that is very much all her own.”

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3uwabk0.

“Storm Surge”
by John F. Banas  

Brenda Meyers is having a bad day. Her daughter is trapped somewhere in New Orleans right before Hurricane Katrina strikes. Her increasingly estranged husband may be on the verge of losing another job. And her cheating former fiancé claims to have evidence that his wife and Brenda’s husband are having an affair.  

But nothing matters more than finding and rescuing her daughter. Brenda feels a rescue mission can be made before the storm hits. So, when her former fiancé offers his boat and his help, Brenda reluctantly accepts, knowing her husband and ex cannot get along.  

Her worries prove correct. While racing the raging storm, she uncovers a fiendish plot to murder her well-insured husband, who happens to harbor secrets of his own.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3uTBsgu.

“Disorderly Conduct on a Flyer”
by Tiera Newhouse  

A single mother is falsely incarcerated and accused of disorderly conduct over punching a flyer, which ends in another twist of events. The author believes a life is far more valuable than a piece of paper. Read it and weep as the story describes how easy it is to get a false charge against you if you fail to comply with what the police ask you to do -- whether you break the law or not.  

Tiera shares her story on behalf of those who did not get to share theirs. It’s a story so serious that you’ll laugh when it’s over. Tiera illustrates the value of never giving up when things still look bad. Keep fighting to progress in the right direction, and you will succeed.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3LqTptK.

NOTE: BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) - Many older adults would prefer to remain in their own homes as they age, but a lack of affordable options makes this plan a challenge for individuals and their families, according to results of a new survey of more than 1,700 caregivers and other respondents in two rural California counties.     

Older individuals may find themselves burning through savings to stay at home, or forced to move to a nursing home or long-term-care facility if they can’t afford to hire home-care help, according to the survey. The survey was sponsored by Legacy Health Endowment, a California-based nonprofit healthcare grant-making foundation.   

Often, adult children become caregivers, and they face financial and emotional hardships of their own. Nearly 80% of the survey respondents says that their caregiving responsibilities have affected their ability to pay their household expenses. Adult children may sacrifice saving for their own retirements, funding their children’s college education, or making down payments on a home to financially support and care for aging parents.     

In these situations, “caregivers shoulder the burden of rearranging their schedules, juggling doctors’ visits and prescriptions, squeezing in regular shopping trips and performing essential housekeeping chores, all while caring for a spouse or aging parent,” explains Jeffrey Lewis, President and CEO of Legacy Health Endowment.   

The burden is even heavier for women, says Lewis. “Women who leave the labor force early because of care-giving responsibilities cost themselves an average of $324,044 in lost salary and Social Security and pension contributions over their lifetimes,” he adds.     

Other key survey results related to women caregivers include the following:     

• Approximately 90% think services that allow seniors and those who are disabled to live where they prefer are important.     
• Approximately 72% say that caregiving responsibilities have impacted their physical, mental, and emotional health.     
• Approximately 60% report decreasing their work time because of caregiving responsibilities.

The survey also found overwhelming support from respondents for respite care for primary caregivers, who often face fatigue and burnout. More than 91% say they support programs that provide resources for their own mental health as well as resources to help with caregiving.  

The survey was sponsored by Legacy Health Endowment and conducted by J. Wallin Opinion Research, and conducted in English and Spanish between March 25 and April 19, 2022, in Stanislaus and Merced counties. The data were collected by professional interviewers by calling cell phones and landline phones, as well as online interviews via text, e-mail and social media.     

For full survey results,visit legacyhealthendowment.org.

(By George Renaudin, SVP, Humana) - Now that we’re halfway through 2022, it’s important that people with Medicare re-evaluate what is included in the Medicare Advantage health plans they selected to ensure they’re maximizing their coverage throughout the year.

While it’s common for Medicare Advantage members to use benefits such as coverage for doctor’s appointments, preventive screenings and vaccines, many plans offer additional benefits so individuals should look to take advantage of the innovative options that might be included in their plan, such as:  

• Transportation Benefits: Several health plans cover non-emergency medical transportation to and from doctor’s appointments. If transportation has been a problem for you, or you’d prefer to not drive, inquire with your health plan about transportation benefits in your area.     

• Fitness Programs: The SilverSneakers health and fitness program is designed for individuals with Medicare. Members have access to 15,000 participating U.S. fitness locations which may have cardio equipment, pools, and free weights as well as fitness classes and social events. The program also includes yoga, walking groups and on-demand video classes.     

• COVID Care: In addition to the free tests offered by the government, some Medicare Advantage plans currently offer 14 days of home-delivered meals (up to 28 meals) as well as $0 copays for testing, treatment, and vaccinations.     

• Insulin Savings: The price of insulin can be a barrier for the 3.3 million people with Medicare who use it. Fortunately, many plans offer a benefit to help members save money on insulin costs. For example, some Humana members pay no more than $35 for a 30-day supply of select insulins at all in-network pharmacies.     

These are just some of the benefits included in Medicare Advantage plans. If you’re currently enrolled in a plan, reach out to your agent or health plan to confirm what you’re eligible for so you can take advantage of these resources, as the only opportunity to change your plan outside of the annual election period is if you encounter certain events, such as moving or losing other insurance coverage.

Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO, HMO SNP, PPO, PPO SNP and PFFS organization and a stand-alone PDP prescription drug plan with a Medicare contract.  Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.

George Renaudin is a senior vice president at Humana.

(NewsUSA) - When was the last time you thought about the health of your nails? In fact, healthy nails are not only attractive, but they are also important to overall health.     

Nails can even be a window into underlying serious disease. Proper nail care helps keep your hard-working hands and feet looking and feeling their best by decreasing infection risk and breakage. As temperatures start to rise and RSVP season kicks into high gear, it’s time to show your nails some love.     

According to Dr. Dana Stern, a board-certified dermatologist and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, the most common mistakes people make when it comes to caring for their nails are choosing the wrong products and using the wrong tools.     

“We need to think about nail care in the same way we think about skin care and pay more attention to products we’re using and how we focus on not just the look of our nails but the underlying health,” says Dr Dana.     

Dr. Dana, the only dermatologist who devotes her entire practice to nail diagnosis, treatment, and surgery, is a go-to dermatologist for patients seeking advice on how to treat nail conditions and gel damage, as well as the best ways to keep their nails healthy and beautiful. Some common nail complaints she hears from patients are dryness, weakness, ridges, and aging related nail issues. She also hears her patients talk about dry, brittle nails from all the hand washing and use of hand sanitizer.     

Dr. Dana shares her top three tips to improve the look and health of your nails:     

First, when you’re choosing products, be mindful of the ingredients and steer clear of harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and an ingredient that is in many nail strengthener formulas. Just as you wouldn’t want to use a product with harsh substances on your face or body, the same goes for products you put on your nails.     

Second, stop using abrasive emery board nail files. These files can be damaging, as they cause microscopic tears at the tips of the nails. Instead, look for glass or crystal files that will give your nails a smooth edge and won’t cause snags or tears.   

 Lastly, always wear gloves when doing wet work around the house or garden, such as washing dishes. Nails are like little sponges, and over-saturation will weaken the nail, making it prone to breakage.     

To promote nail health and help consumers take care of their nails at home, Dr Dana developed  the Nail Renewal System, which uses plant-based science to combat brittle, ridged, weak and over-processed nails. Hailed by celebrities as a nail miracle, the system produces healthy, lustrous nails within minutes of the first treatment.     

“Skin care products have progressed in line with scientific advancements, so why haven’t nail care products? It is time for a nail care brand that does more than merely mask the issues -- that revolutionizes the way people care for their nails,” says Dr. Dana.   

“In the same way that exfoliation improves the health of your skin, the Nail Renewal System is designed to remove damaged, superficial nail cells and promote hydration to improve the health of your nails,” she explains. “I like to call it a buff with benefits.” The Nail Renewal system is the first nail treatment with glycolic acid for essential exfoliation, and the product is free of formaldehyde, parabens, artificial fragrance, dyes and other toxic ingredients often found in nail care products.     

Another key ingredient is in the hydrating formula of the Nail Renewal System. Pistacia Lentiscus is a natural nail strengthener derived from the sap of a unique evergreen tree in the Mediterranean.     

The biggest myth Dr. Dana hears in her practice? “Nails do not need time to breathe in between color applications -- they don’t have lungs.” Actually, nails receive oxygen from increased blood flow resulting from exercise. So cardio is not only good for your heart, but also for your nails.     

Need more incentive to show your neglected nails some love? A nail trend that’s sweeping the fashion runways and featured in magazines is  “#TheNakedManicure.” In the same vein as the “no makeup” makeup look, it features shiny, clear nails you can show off with confidence without the pitfalls associated with polish and time and money spent at the salon.     

Dr. Dana’s Nail Renewal System is distributed through Rare Beauty Brands, a global brand platform of purpose-driven beauty brands.  

Visit drdananails.com for more information.

(NewsUSA) - Sometimes an egregious wrong gets righted.     

Such appears to be the case for military members and their families who’ve been seeking justice in the courts for exposure to contaminated water that sickened generations at the Camp Lejeune Marine base in North Carolina.     

Public outrage over their treatment heated up after victims’ lawsuits were dismissed in 2016 because of a state statute prohibiting plaintiffs from launching cases if more than 10 years have passed since the contaminating event. But last March the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 that essentially overrode that legal hurdle  -- “Thirty-four years of people were exposed to toxins in the drinking water,” one congressman raged -- and the Senate seems poised to follow suit.     

Now one of the nation’s most experienced tort law firms, Weitz & Luxenberg, has announced that it’s preparing to file lawsuits against the government in U.S. federal court on their behalf.     

“We believe they deserve compensation, especially because they and their families became sick while serving our country,” said Robin Greenwald, a partner at the firm and co-chair of its Environmental and Consumer Protection Unit. “They drank the water, they bathed in it, and they used it to cook their food.  And that water was contaminated with toxins at concentrations anywhere from 240 to 3,400 times the levels permitted by safety standards.”     

The 156,000-acre Camp Lejeune, with 11 miles of beach capable of supporting amphibious operations, is used for military training purposes primarily by the Marine Corps but also other branches of the armed forces.  Some of the most damning evidence comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s own Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR): “It is ATSDR’s position that exposure from the 1950s through February 1985 to trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride and other contaminants likely increased the risk of cancers, adverse birth outcomes, and other adverse health effects” for those on the base.   

The Marine Corps first discovered volatile organic compounds in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water in 1982. However, it was already too late for people like now-retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, whose 9-year-old daughter Janey died in 1985 after having been diagnosed with leukemia two years earlier.         

“The entire first trimester of (her mother’s) pregnancy was there on the base,” Ensminger told theHill.com on the eve of the bill’s passage. “We’ve got more documented evidence of what happened at Camp Lejeune than they have for Agent Orange.”   

Assuming the Camp Lejeune Justice Act is ultimately signed into law by the president, who would be eligible to file lawsuits?     

Those who lived, worked, or were exposed to drinking water at the base for at least 30 days from August 1, 1953, to December 31, 1987, and subsequently suffered water toxicity-related diseases.  Among the conditions associated with exposure to the chemicals found in the drinking water:       

• Breast, lung, liver, kidney and esophageal cancers     
• Leukemia     
• Cardiac defect     
• Female infertility     
• Miscarriage     
• Parkinson’s disease     
• Non-Hodgkins lymphoma     
• Fatty liver disease   
 • Myelodysplastic syndromes     
• Multiple myeloma     
• Renal toxicity     
• Neurobehavioral effects     
• Scleroderma     

Weitz & Luxenberg encourages those who believe they fit the criteria and have been diagnosed with one or more of those conditions to schedule a free consultation.     

The firm has a stellar track record in handling toxic contamination lawsuits. It won a landmark $423-million settlement against some of nation’s biggest oil companies, for example, in a suit involving the contamination of 153 public water systems with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether. And Greenwald was co-lead counsel for an $11 billion settlement in 2020 against Monsanto Company on behalf of nearly 100,000 Americans suffering from Non-Hodgkins lymphoma from their exposure to the weed killer Roundup.       

As for Camp Lejeune, the ATSDR has said as many as 1 million military and civilian staff and their families might have been exposed to the contaminated drinking water. The victims who initially stepped forward only to have their cases dismissed in 2016 because of the North Carolina statute -- and they were only a tiny fraction of that number -- had reportedly filed claims totaling nearly $4 billion.

(NewsUSA) -  

“Grocery Girl”
by Virginia’dele Smith       

This is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore this celebration of joy.  

Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. The big-hearted fabric designer is determined to find happiness. When she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.  

Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with Maree, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3IuASdT.

“Bed of Rose and Thorns”
by Lee Hunt  

Sir Ezra is an Elysian Bell; he has a frightening potential that he keeps hidden deep beneath tight layers of steel armor. He secretly loves a dark Queen whose touch would mean his death. Banished for brutally slaughtering the Prince of Erle and husband to the Queen, Ezra can only dream of seeing her again.  

Recalled to the Queendom after 11 years, Ezra hopes to catch a fleeting glimpse of the woman he was sacrificed for. Instead, he finds a nation in rebellion and the Queen to be an elusive phantom. His only friend, Sir Marigold, tells him that he is not needed in the capitol. Looking for both the truth and the absent Queen, Ezra only finds more secrets and enemies. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3tFs8xH.

“Diet for Great Sex: Food for Male and Female Sexual Health”
by Christine DeLozier, L.Ac.  

Sex truly becomes great when our nerves, blood vessels and hormones operate in synchrony. Luckily, modern research has shown that diet affects this trifecta, and having a great sex life just might  be as easy as preparing the right dinner.  

In this cheeky scientific guide, author Christine DeLozier, a licensed acupuncturist, explains how the foods we eat can balance hormones, increase blood flow and strengthen nerve conduction to and from the genitals. Calling upon her years of experience treating sexual health issues, and her training as a research scientist, DeLozier walks readers through the specific foods that will lead to great sex and explains the science of how it works. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3Ddghd6.

“Gut Feelings: The Patient’s Story”
by Douglas A. Drossman MD and Johannah Ruddy M.Ed.  

Gut-brain disorders affect about 40 percent of all Americans. This book builds upon the authors’ first book, “Gut Feelings: Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction,” by presenting the personal stories of eight patients to create a full understanding of their disorders, personal experience of illness and their relationship with the health care system.  

Says MD and NY Times bestselling author Will Bulsiewicz, “In these stories lie an overarching message of hope. Solutions do exist! Healing is possible! But what you will discover, time and again, is that the first step toward healing is the creation of a healthy provider-patient relationship.” Jill Preyer, a patient, adds, “It is very meaningful to finally understand what had been going on in my body all these years.” Purchase at https://bit.ly/3vN3Mmu.

NOTE: BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.

Reissue: June 15, 2022