Fifth-generation North Bay native Lynn Downey is driven by what she calls a need to bear witness, whether in her previous work as the official archivist for Levi Strauss & Co. or as a journalist and author of several books.

“It informs everything I do as a historian,” she says.

Downey does just that in her new book, Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women, which covers the history of Fairfax’s tuberculosis health center opened in 1911 by San Francisco doctor Philip King Brown.

In the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, dust and ash filled the city, leading to rising rates of tuberculosis among working-class people, especially women in factories and shops. At the time, bed rest, fresh air and lots of food were the only treatments for the lung disease.

Dr. Brown opened the institution for women after noticing the rising rates, and he and his all-female staff gave new life to hundreds of working-class patients.

One of those patients was Downey’s grandmother, Lois Downey, who went to Arequipa with a terminal tuberculosis diagnosis in 1927. Lois recovered and went on to live 102 years.

“All my life I grew up hearing stories about this place,” Downey says. “The fact that my grandmother was alive to tell those stories was due to Arequipa and Dr. Philip King Brown specifically.”

When telling these stories, Downey’s non-fiction writing reads like a novel, focusing on the characters and their motivations as much as the events of the story.

“I find Dr. Brown such a fascinating person, this male doctor who cared so much about women’s health,” Downey says. “And, of course, it was due to his mother, Dr. Charlotte Brown, one of San Francisco’s first female surgeons.”

Downey’s work on the novel dates back more than 30 years, when she first interviewed her grandmother about Arequipa.

Since then, Downey has collected interviews and profiles of several former patients, and draws on historical records and photographs she found stashed on the property decades after the sanatorium closed.

The book’s stories are interwoven to offer a day-in-the-life look at the center, highlighting how women hand-knitted clothes during the war and made sought-after pottery when they weren’t resting in the fresh, Marin air.

The book also provides a bit of a history lesson on the threat of tuberculosis—a disease still in existence today—and offers surprising insight into medical practices of the time; like how Dr. Brown hired volunteers to run the X-ray machines.

Still, the women of Arequipa are the stars of the book, and Downey’s in-depth narratives turn these mostly-forgotten names into real-word figures who lived vivid lives.

“For me, stories about people is what drives our interest, we’re hardwired for narratives as human beings,” she says. “The institution is just the place where it happened. I am writing about the people who shared their time in this institution, that’s what matters.”

Lynn Downey reads from ‘Arequipa Sanatorium’ on Friday, Nov. 8, at Copperfield’s Books, 850 Fourth St., San Rafael. 6pm. Free. 415.524.2800.

Q: I haven’t had sex since my last breakup, and I’m all lusty. I really like this guy, but he seems to have intimacy issues. We went on a coffee date, and we ended up making out in the car. My friends keep reminding me to build trust and friendship before sex. But is it possible to just hang out and chat once things have gotten hot and heavy?—Lustbucket

A: In a perfect world, you’d plan your dates around one of you getting a job in a check-cashing place or getting arrested and held without bail.

There’s a tendency when you’ve initially gone a little too heavy into the heavy petting to be all: “Oh, well … cat’s out of the bag. Let’s just go straight to the sex dungeon.” However, for women especially, having sex right away can lead to a psychological blinding to their sex partner’s shortcomings.

Women seem more prone to getting attached when they have sex. This is thought to result from surging oxytocin, a hormone associated with emotional bonding between mothers and children, as well as lovers. Oxytocin is released in both men and women through cuddling, kissing and orgasm. However, in men, having sex also releases testosterone. Testosterone blocks oxytocin from getting to its receptor. So just as a woman’s falling for a guy, if the guy has no pre-sex emotional attachment to her, his neurochemistry is saying, “Thanks for the ride! Have a great life!”

Consider “precommitment,” a strategy by economist Thomas Schelling that involves preparing in advance to make it difficult for you to break a promise or duck a goal. Incorporating precommitment could mean only scheduling lunch dates in restaurants and only on days when you have a work meeting right afterward; or getting to know each other over the phone more than in person.

Q: I’m an obsessive person. I went on a date with this guy, and it was immediately apparent that he’s emotionally unavailable. I deleted his number but soon dug it back up. I texted, but he never responded. I know he’s bad news, but I still think about him constantly. How do I stop these intrusive thoughts?—Besieged

A: You’re doing your best to avoid thinking about the guy. Unfortunately, there’s a problem with that. Research by psychologist Daniel Wegner on “the paradoxical effects of thought suppression” suggests our minds have something in common with a defiant 2-year-old, meaning that telling yourself not to think about something gets your mind doing exactly the opposite: thinking about that thing with a vengeance.

This is just how the mind works. When you tell yourself not to think about something, it’s an immediate fail. The mind sweeps around to monitor how well you’re doing at not thinking about it, which of course involves thinking about whatever you’re not supposed to be thinking about.

Helpfully, Wegner and his colleagues found a possible way to stem the flood of intrusive thoughts: distraction. This requires thinking of something positive and unrelated to the thoughts you’re trying to suppress. Even a red Volkswagen—the example they used in their experiment—could do the job.

What’s more, psychologists Jens Forster and Nira Liberman found you can keep your mind from constantly bouncing back to a thought if you shift your focus: admit that not thinking about it is hard. As I explain in Unf*ckology, “Removing the need to patrol your thoughts … removes the mental sticky note that tells you to keep going back into Thoughtland with a flashlight to see how well you’re doing at it.”

Finally, because the mind cannot think two thoughts at once, it might be helpful at bedtime to tire yourself out reading aloud or following a guided meditation on your phone: You’re walking down a beach … you’re looking out into the waves … and oops! Just remind yourself that not thinking about something is hard and yank your mind back to Swami Doodah after you inevitably picture yourself holding the guy down and drowning him in the ocean.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries psychologist James Hillman said we keep “our images and fantasies at arm’s length because they are so full of love.” They’re also quite flammable, he added. They are always on the verge of catching fire, metaphorically speaking. That’s why many people wrap their love-filled images and fantasies in metaphorical asbestos: to prevent them from igniting a blaze in their psyches. In my astrological opinion, you Aries folks always have a mandate to use less asbestos than all the other signs—even none at all. That’s even truer than usual right now. Keep your images and fantasies extra close and raw and wild.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet James Merrill was ecstatic when he learned the Greek language. According to his biographer, he felt he could articulate his needs “with more force and clarity, with greater simplicity and less self-consciousness, than he ever could in his own language.” He concluded, “Freedom to be oneself is all very well; the greater freedom is not to be oneself.” Personally, I think that’s an exaggeration. I believe the freedom to be yourself is very, very important. But for you in the coming weeks, Taurus, the freedom to not be yourself could indeed be quite liberating. What might you do to stretch your capacities beyond what you’ve assumed is true about you? Are you willing to rebel against and transcend your previous self-conceptions?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Musician Brian Eno made a deck of oracular cards called Oblique Strategies. Each card has a suggestion designed to trigger creative thinking about a project or process you’re working on. You Geminis might find it useful to call on Oblique Strategies right now, since you’re navigating your way through a phase of adjustment and rearrangement. The card I drew for you is “Honor thy error as hidden intention.” Here’s how I interpret it: An apparent lapse or misstep will actually be the result of your deeper mind guiding you to take a fruitful detour.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): We devote a lot of energy to wishing and hoping about the meaningful joys we’d love to bring into our lives. And yet few of us have been trained in the best strategies for manifesting our wishes and hopes. That’s the bad news. The good news is that now is a favorable time for you to upgrade your skills at getting what you want. With that in mind, I present you with the simple but potent wisdom of author Maya Angelou: “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” To flesh that out, I’ll add: Formulate a precise statement describing your heart’s yearning, and then work hard to make yourself ready for its fulfillment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What are the key parts of your life—the sources and influences that enable you to be your most soulful self? I urge you to nourish them intensely during the next three weeks. Next question: What are the marginally important parts of your life—the activities and proclivities that aren’t essential for your long-term success and happiness? I urge you to corral all the energy you give to those marginally important things, and instead pour it into what’s most important. Now is a crucial time in the evolution of your relationship with your primal fuels, your indispensable resources, your sustaining foundations.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “When she spoke of beauty, he spoke of the fatty tissue supporting the epidermis,” wrote short story author Robert Musil. He was describing a conversation between a man and woman who were on different wavelengths. “When she mentioned love,” Musil continued, “he responded with the statistical curve that indicates the rise and fall in the annual birthrate.” Many of you Virgos have the flexibility to express yourself well on both of those wavelengths. But in the coming months, I hope you’ll emphasize the beauty and love wavelength rather than the fatty tissue and statistical curve wavelength. It’ll be an excellent strategy for getting the healing you need.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle was asked, “What is your signature perfume?” She said she hadn’t found one. But then she described how she would like to smell: “Somewhere between fresh and earthy: cinnamon and honey, a rose garden, saltwater baked in the sun.” The coming days will be an excellent time to indulge in your own fantasies about the special fragrance you’d like to emanate. Moreover, I bet you’ll be energized by pinpointing a host of qualities you would like to serve as cornerstones of your identity: traits that embody and express your uniqueness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Studies suggest that on average each of us has a social network of about 250 people, of whom 120 we regard as a closer group of friendly acquaintances. But most of us have no more than 20 folks we trust, and only two or three whom we regard as confidants. I suspect that these numbers will be in flux for you during the next 12 months, Scorpio. I bet you’ll make more new friends than usual and will also expand your inner circle. On the other hand, I expect that some people who are now in your sphere will depart. Net result: stronger alliances and more collaboration.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I blame and thank the Sagittarian part of me when I get brave and brazen enough to follow my strongest emotions where they want to lead me. I also blame and thank the Sagittarian part of me when I strip off my defense mechanisms and invite the world to regard my vulnerabilities as interesting and beautiful. I furthermore blame and thank the Sagittarian side of me on those occasions when I run three miles down the beach at dawn, hoping to thereby jolt loose the secrets I’ve been concealing from myself. I suspect the coming weeks will be a favorable time to blame and thank the Sagittarian part of you for similar experiences.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Persian polymath Avicenna (980–1037 C.E.) wrote 450 books on many topics, including medicine, philosophy, astronomy, geography, mathematics, theology and poetry. While young, he tried to study the Metaphysics of Aristotle, but had difficulty grasping it. Forty times he read the text, even committing it to memory. But he made little progress toward fathoming it. Years later, he was browsing at an outdoor market and found a brief, cheap book about the Metaphysics by an author named al-Farabi. He read it quickly, and for the first time understood Aristotle’s great work. He was so delighted he went out to the streets and gave away gifts to poor people. I foresee a comparable milestone for you, Capricorn: something that has eluded your comprehension will become clear, at least in part due to a lucky accident.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In addition to being a key figure in Renaissance art, 15th-century Italian painter Filippo Lippi had a colorful life. According to legend, he was once held prisoner by Barbary pirates, but gained his freedom by drawing a riveting portrait of their leader. Inspired by the astrological factors affecting you right now, I’m fantasizing about the possibility of a liberating event arriving in your life. Maybe you’ll call on one of your skills in a dramatic way, thereby enhancing your leeway or generating a breakthrough or unleashing an opportunity. (Please also re-read your horoscope from last week.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Stand high long enough and your lightning will come,” writes Piscean novelist William Gibson. He isn’t suggesting that we literally stand on top of a treeless hill in a thunderstorm and invite the lightning to shoot down through us. More realistically, I think he means that we should devotedly cultivate and discipline our highest forms of expression so that when inspiration finds us, we’ll be primed to receive and use its full power. That’s an excellent oracle for you.

The best parts in Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining (1980), do without Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King’s sense of gigantism. It’s not a haunted house movie trying to end all haunted house movies, even as it reprises shots of Danny pedaling his Big Wheel down endless hallways.

Director Mike Flanagan sources David Lynch, who scares me more than Kubrick ever did. The music is also familiar even beyond the quotes of Wendy Carlos’s Moog of Doom from The Shining, there’s that echoing violin screech they’ve been using since Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

We commence with a pack of non-humans. Like the other-world denizens in Twin Peaks, they live on “steam”—the distilled essence of pain and suffering. The best quality is hard to come by, complains Rose the Hat, the queen bee of this traveling coven. Something’s polluting the essences these days.

The lovely and malign Rose (Rebecca Ferguson) is kind of a witch, kind of a vampire. Though her age and exact backstory are vague, she might have become whatever she is now about the time Guns and Roses’ Appetite for Destruction came out. The undead are always a little unfashionable in their dress.

The boy casualty of the Overlook Hotel, Danny (Ewan McGregor, at his best) grew up to be a mean alcoholic like his late dad Jack. Danny floats into a small town in New Hampshire and is bailed out by a good-guy municipal worker (Cliff Curtis) who is in AA. Cut to eight years later; the chip is in Danny’s hand, not on his shoulder. He landed a job as an orderly at a hospice, where his empathy is put to good use.

Meanwhile, there’s Abra (Kyleigh Curran) who has The Shining in abundance, a beacon bright enough to summon Rose’s family of fiends all the way cross-country. Abra has been in communication with Danny for years as a psychic friend. He warns against challenging Rose and her gang. But being the headstrong, affluent, Harvard-bound girl that she is …

As it ends, this movie starts to cycle a reunion of the old beasts from the Overlook. Flanagan hardly needed to revisit this familiar house of horrors when the story he’s telling was already a highly satisfactory horror movie: a bonbon for those of us who haunt theaters and suck up other people’s suffering.

‘Doctor Sleep’ opens in wide release on Nov. 8.