Stress Management

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Gordon describes the history of research into the biological, sociological, and environmental factors that cause stress, from Walter Bradford Cannon's "fight-or-flight" response to today's probing of the links between stress and specific illnesses. The author is optimistic that, ultimately, it will be possible to control negative stress through attitude change, relaxation techniques, and programs instituted in workplaces and schools. This title is far more demanding than John Giacobello's Everything You Need to Know about the Dangers of Overachieving (2000), which touches on the subject, and Eleanor Ayer's Everything You Need to Know about Stress (1998, both Rosen). Knox presents a social history of the rituals and meanings associated with death in various settings and circumstances. This book is also a manual on how to be useful and compassionate to those left behind. The author presents Elisabeth K bler-Ross's theories and her own ideas on how survivors heal. Topics such as suicide, the role of the physician, and the possibility of an afterlife are discussed. Reflective chapters contain poetry and literary selections. It is surprising that the author, who has written a balanced, nondenominational work, chooses to close this title with an allusion to Christian belief. This is a sophisticated book that should be useful and interesting to mature teens. Earl Grollman's Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers (Beacon, 1993) is a self-help book without the social history component. Neither of these titles is an easy read; both are substantive and worthy.-Libby K. White, Jewish Vocational Services, Baltimore, MD Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.