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Biography and Memoir May 2024
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Water Confidential: A Memoir About First Nations Drinking Water and Justice Denied
by Susan Blacklin
In this passionate and timely memoir, Blacklin shares her experiences with fundraising, activism and lobbying work. She reveals the complexities of negotiating between cultures, communities and the provincial and federal government. Blacklin emphasizes that ensuring safe drinking water to each and every First Nations community should be the top priority toward reconciliation with Indigenous people of Canada.
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My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me
by Caleb Carr
Caleb Carr has had special relationships with cats since he was a young boy in a turbulent household, famously peopled by the founding members of the Beat Generation, where his steadiest companions were the adopted cats that lived with him both in the city and the country. As an adult, he has had many close feline companions, with relationships that have outlasted most of his human ones. But only after building a three-story home in rural, upstate New York did he enter into the most extraordinary of all of his cat pairings: Masha, a Siberian Forest cat who had been abandoned as a kitten and was languishing in a shelter when Caleb met her. She had hissed and fought off all previous carers and potential adopters, but somehow, she chose Caleb as her savior.
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| Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench with Brendan O'HeaAcademy Award-winning actress Judi Dench dishes on her seven-decade career (including roles in 20 of Shakespeare's plays) in this witty and engaging series of transcribed interviews with her longtime friend Brendan O'Hea, himself an actor at Shakespeare's Globe. Try this next: Making It So by Patrick Stewart. |
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| An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns GoodwinIn this affecting blend of biography, memoir, and history, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin reveals the tumult of the 1960s as experienced by her husband, speechwriter Dick Goodwin, who died in 2018. Materials from the Goodwins' personal archives offer an evocative portrait of the era. Try this next: Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History by Ted Sorensen. |
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| The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda MontellSounds Like A Cult podcast host Amanda Montell's tongue-in-cheek follow-up to Cultish offers an engaging blend of cultural commentary and personal reflection focusing on the limitations of our cognitive biases. Try this next: Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie. |
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| The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters by Susan PageAward-winning USA Today journalist Susan Page plumbs the life and career of legendary broadcast news pioneer Barbara Walters in this well-researched and incisive biography featuring interviews with dozens of Walters' loved ones and colleagues. Try this next: Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli. |
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Out of Darkness : Rumana Monzur's Journey Through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse
by Denise Chong
From the outside, Rumana seemed an unlikely victim of domestic abuse: well-educated, married to a man of her own choosing, and progressing in her career as a professor of international relations at Dhaka University. But in 2011, on return from graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, her husband attacked and blinded her in front of their young daughter. As Rumana's horrifying story garnered international headlines, and connections brought her to Vancouver in an attempt-ultimately futile-to restore her sight, her plight underscored the fact that there are no typical victims of intimate-partner violence. Denise Chong goes behind the headlines to reveal the devolution of a love story into a tale of tyranny behind closed doors, and the pursuit of justice that proved all the more elusive during the rise of social media. Out of Darkness tells a globe-spanning narrative of loyalty, perseverance and a woman's determination to face the future and rebuild a life with meaning.
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| Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas ShakespeareIn this dramatic and richly detailed portrait of James Bond creator and naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming, novelist Nicholas Shakespeare (The Dancer Upstairs) utilizes never-before-seen Fleming family archival materials to craft "the definitive biography of the popular author" (Publishers Weekly). Further reading: The Man with the Golden Typewriter: Ian Fleming's James Bond Letters edited by Fergus Fleming. |
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A Darker Shade of Blue : A Police Officer's Memoir
by Keith Merith
A transparent first-hand account of a Black officer maneuvering through three terrifying yet rewarding decades of policing, all while seeking reform in law enforcement. When 16-year-old Keith Merith finds himself pulled over, berated, and degraded by a white police officer, he's outraged. He's done nothing wrong. But the officer has the power, and he doesn't. From that day on, he vows to join a police service and effect change from within. Twelve years and a multitude of infuriating applications later, Merith is finally hired by York Regional Police. Subjected to unfair treatment and constant microaggressions, he perseveres and gradually rises through the ranks, his goal of systemic change carrying him through. After a stellar career, Merith retires at the rank of superintendent, but his desire for sustained and equitable reform is stronger than ever. In A Darker Shade of Blue, Merith shares both his gut-wrenching and heart-warming experiences and advocates for immediate police reform in a balanced and level-headed manner. He praises the people in blue, but he also knows on a visceral level that there are deep issues that need to be rectified -- starting with recruitment. He knows that law enforcement agencies should reflect the communities they serve and protect, and that all citizens should be treated equally. Entrusted with the duty to serve, Merith delivers an evocative perspective of policing by providing the opportunity to walk in his shoes, as a Black man, and as a police officer on the front lines.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Lambton County Library 787 Broadway St. Wyoming, Ontario N0N1T0 519-845-3324www.lclibrary.ca |
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