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Biography and Memoir December 2017
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| The Shattered Lens: A War Photographer's True Story of Captivity and Survival in Syria by Jonathan Alpeyrie with Stash Luczkiw and Bonnie TimmermanIn this gripping and thought-provoking memoir, French-American photojournalist Jonathan Alpeyrie recounts his 2013 kidnapping and captivity by Syrian rebels and his post-release experiences. Though his captors were usually brutal, Alpeyrie also related to them on an ordinary human level. After his release, he pondered the complexities of international conflict, which he discusses in the second half of the book. The Shattered Lens displays the "compassion of a global citizen" (Booklist). |
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To Hell and Back : A Former Hells Angel’s Story of Recovery and Redemption by Joe CalendinoA gripping portrait of a notorious Vancouver gangster and Hells Angels elite who descended into a life of homelessness and addiction, ultimately redeeming himself through award-winning youth advocacy. As an outlaw biker living on the fringes of society Joe Calendino travelled the world, relishing the dangerous glamour of the Hells Angels' lifestyle, even committing himself to an elite chapter in the organization: the Nomads Motorcycle Club or "one percenters." But his life soon spiralled into a world of drugs and debt. Told by his trusted former high school counsellor, author and educator Gary Little, To Hell and Back offers a page turning and rarely told perspective on gang life--a remarkable reminder of the power of individual transformation.
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| Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe HaganIn Sticky Fingers, journalist Joe Hagan offers a moving and vividly descriptive portrait of Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone magazine. Beginning in November 1967, Wenner piloted the counterculture, ultimately fulfilling his ambition to become rock journalism's equivalent of Henry Luce (mainstream culture's best-known media mogul). Hagan's book will please media fans in addition to devotees of rock music and the phenomena Wenner advanced. |
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Dennis Maruk : The Unforgettable Story of Hockey’s Forgotten 60-Goal Man by Dennis Maruk"Only 20 men in NHL history have scored 60 or more goals in a single season: Gretzky, Lemieux, and Hull all hit the magical mark. And so did an undersized, take-no-prisoners centre named Dennis Maruk. When Maruk found the back of the net 60 times in 1981-82, he was the toast of Washington - he even dined with the president. A few short years later, he was out of the game. Maruk not only left the rink, his life did a complete 180. Instead of flying up the ice and in on goal, he was behind the wheel of a service ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of setting up teammates, he was setting up furniture for Goldie Hawn. He was never sent down to the farm as a rookie, but after the game he was a farmhand for John Oates. And instead of fighting in the corners, Dennis Maruk found himself fighting for his life."--
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Miss D & me : life with the invincible Bette Davis by Kathryn SermakAn assistant who became one of Bette Davis’ closest friends—who had a front-row seat to the larger-than-life actress’s career renaissance in her later years, as well as to the humiliating public betrayal that nearly killed her—presents a window into the world of this unique and formidable woman.
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| Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus with Mary Jordan and Kevin SullivanIn 2013, Amanda Berry escaped from a Cleveland house where she and two other women had been captives for years. After all three were rescued and their captor, Ariel Castro, was jailed, they faced the challenge of readjusting to normal life. In Hope, Berry, fellow former captive Gina DeJesus, and their co-writers relate their disturbing stories, including the birth and early years of Berry's daughter by Castro. Kirkus Reviews calls this a "nuanced testament to the complexity of the human spirit." |
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| Life After Death by Damien EcholsIncarcerated for 18 years after being wrongly convicted of murder, Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis Three accused of killing three boys as part of a satanic ritual, gives voice to his experiences in prison. In this beautifully written and evocative memoir, Echols opens an "eloquent, even bitterly lyrical" (Library Journal) window onto the grimness of life on Death Row, while reflecting on how he was formed by his impoverished childhood and what it's like to adjust to the world after his release. |
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| The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles GraeberAfter a decade of getting away with killing patients under his care, nurse Charlie Cullen was finally prosecuted by Pennsylvania authorities. Drawing on police records and other resources, author Charles Graeber reveals the gruesome details of Cullen's murders by insulin, chronicles the devastation he wrought, and vividly depicts the nature of his insanity. This page-turner will appeal to true crime buffs as well as others who are concerned about health care safety. |
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| Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen KurzweilWhen author Allen Kurzweil was ten years old, he attended a boarding school in Switzerland, where a 12-year-old student systematically humiliated and physically abused him. Thirty years later, after helping his son deal with school bullying, Kurzweil decided to look for his former tormentor. This fast-paced, gripping chronicle recounts his worldwide search, which eventually took him to a California prison. Whipping Boy reveals that the bully grew up to be a fraudster who far surpassed Bernie Madoff. |
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| Out of Orange: A Memoir by Cleary WoltersFans of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black (based on Piper Kerman's memoir by the same title) will remember a character called Alex Vause. In Out of Orange, author Cleary Wolters (the model for Alex) depicts her foolish involvement in the international drug trade, her conviction, her life in prison, and her eventual adjustment to freedom. In this affecting memoir, Wolters expresses the hope that reading it will deter others from making similar mistakes. |
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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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