Alumni in Print

Resuscitated

Peter Budetti’70

Amazon.com, 2021 

Dr. Budetti’s latest novel looks at the case of a premature baby born to a couple who have endured tragedies with earlier pregnancies. When the baby shows no signs of life in the delivery room, the doctor is faced with a split-second decision: Declare the severely premature baby to be stillborn and let nature take its course or do everything possible to save him. The decision the doctor makes has long-term consequences for the child, the family, and the doctor’s own career and family.

 

Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering 

Scott Small’92

Crown, 2021

Until recently, memory scientists shared the public’s belief that forgetting was a failing. Dr. Small’s book describes new research in psychology, neurobiology, medicine, and computer science that suggests that forgetting is good for us and is as important as memory in making our minds work to their fullest. His work as director of Columbia’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center puts him in daily contact with patients who experience pathological forgetting, a contrast to day-to-day forgetting that is normal and beneficial. Typical lapses in memory open up our minds to making better decisions, experiencing joy and relationships, and flourishing artistically.

 

Winter Honeymoon 

Jacob M. Appel’09

Black Lawrence Press, 2020

This book of short fiction is Dr. Appel’s 10th collection. Ever since his first collection published with Black Lawrence Press, “Scouting for the Reaper,” won the press’ annual Hudson Prize, his collections have regularly made Small Press Distribution’s bestseller lists. “Jacob M. Appel’s stories are more than just slices of life; they contain entire worlds,” writes a fellow author in praising the book. This collection has nine stories that begin with the title story, “Winter Honeymoon.”