r R e a d s

“Poisoner In Chief” by Stephen Kinzer

In this book, Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, journalist Stephen Kinzer unearths a mysterious shadow in American history, holding its participants accountable through a surprising lens of empathy. After World War II, many CIA members believed the Soviets had mastered mind control. Sure, a handful of North Korean and KGB torture techniques yielded eerie behavior in their victims, but hindsight reveals the CIA exaggerated the crisis. Regardless, officers of the time truly believed that mind control stood between them and national survival. Through a mosaic of acuity, humor, and empathy, Kinzer retells the story of Project MKULTRA, an ultrasensitive CIA program that researched mind-altering drugs. CIA-sponsored LSD espionage? Surreptitious sex scenes? Magician-led classes on administering poison? Just as Kinzer noted, “some of our people were out of control in those days.”

- Libby Warren Intern

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear

This is a great book for anyone wants to gain ground with the adoption of a new habit or doing away with an engrained habit that is not helpful.

If you are struggling with changing your behavior in any area, likely this issue is not you but your approach. In this book, Clear talks of making bad habits unattractive and new habits rewarding and easy through things such as habit stacking with the “if, then” question.

I really enjoy the idea of reframing of behavior patterns and ended the book feeling empowered to make efforts in some of the more challenging areas of my life.

- Helen Bowles Founder

“Home Front” by Kristin Hannah

Home Front is a novel about a very courageous women that is hit with adversity from a young age. Her parents are killed when she’s just 18 and she has to enlist in the military. She finds her love of flying Black Hawk helicopters and falls in love with a wonderful man. At 41 years of age, she is deployed to Iraq, leaving her husband and two young daughters behind.

As with all of Kristin Hannah’s work, I struggled to put this book down the more I neared the finish. This is an incredible book about hardship, perseverance and strength, however, it may be received as too heavy hearted for a reader who is dealing with her own personal challenges.

- Liz Pounds Administrative Assistant