Sebastian White :: Whatever You Do, Don't Kill Your Baby

BOOKS

Whatever You Do, Don't Kill Your Baby

The Fiat-Lux | January 26, 2003
By Sebastian White

January in Alfred can be pretty tough to take.

Returning to the Frozen North from the indulgences of winter break always makes me question my decision to go to college in a place so tiny and remote it barely registers on most maps. I love Alfred, but there's always a moment of realization when I return—the jolt of wheels hitting the tarmac at the airport, Main Street swinging into view on the drive into town—when I feel a bit of despair about coming home to this sliver of a town.

Two weeks ago, I was carefree, spending my days sipping exquisite double mocha nonfat lattes and laughing with friends in sunny San Francisco. Today, like many winter days in Alfred, I risked hypothermia trudging through a foot of snow to dig out my car.

We all have different ways of dealing with the doldrums of winter. One of the best ways I've found to lift myself out of occasional despondence is to stop by Herrick Library and check out their latest arrivals of new books, videos, and DVDs.

Here are a few that are most appropriate for this time of year:

"Alcohol: The World's Favorite Drug" by Griffith Edwards: Sure to be a popular read among college students, this book purports to be written especially for "those who like to drink and for those who love to drink." Read about the history, culture, and science of booze, and learn more about the evolution of the drink that is at once both the world's favorite poison and one of its most revered medicines.

"Mad in America" by Robert Whitaker: Contrary to popular opinion, this book is NOT a tale of life in Alfred. Rather, it's a provocative examination of what has become the corrupt business of treating the mentally ill in America. With clean and readable prose, Whitaker, who is a journalist by training, exposes the failures of American psychiatry and psychology. This book is a must read for psych majors or anyone interested in mental health.

"Kickboxing Workout" with Kathy Smith: Yes, the library has workout tapes. And this knock-out video is essential for those people like me, who, although well-intentioned, never seem to make it to the McLane Center six days a week for their sweaty workout session. Relieve stress by working out in the privacy of your own room with Kathy's powerful punching and kicking exercises. According to its slightly risque case, this workout tape offers "special kicking drills" that create "tighter, more shapely buns and thighs." This isn't your grandmother's workout video.

On the off chance that all these options have failed, you've had too much alcohol, tried kickboxing, and still gone mad, maybe you need to get away to "The Second Greatest Disappointment," a place chronicled in a new book by Karen Dubinsky.

Oscar Wilde called it "one of the earliest, if not the keenest, disappointments in American married life," yet it still draws millions of tourists and carloads of Alfred students looking for quick cash at its casinos and cheap liquor in its tawdry bars.

It's Niagara Falls, and in this interesting, photo-filled examination of life by the Falls, Karen Dubinsky offers her take on how Niagara developed its identity as the destination of choice for honeymooners.

On second thought, maybe an excursion to Niagara isn't such a great idea.

After all, it could turn out to be a real drag. Whatever you do when you're feeling down in Alfred, however you choose to deal, just be sure to heed the words of author Jacqueline Wolf and "Don't Kill Your Baby" (a new book about the rise and fall of breast feeding in 19th and 20th century America).

Sebastian White is a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.