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Biography and Memoir September 2019 |
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| If: The Untold Story of Kipling's American Years by Christopher BenfeyWhat it's about: British author Rudyard Kipling's decade spent living in the U.S., and how the "lawless jungle" surrounding his Brattleboro, Vermont home inspired him to write his 1894 classic The Jungle Book.
Is it for you? Author Christopher Benfey doesn't shy away from his subject's racist and imperialistic views while discussing Kipling's impact on American culture -- and its impact on him.
Don't miss: Kipling's trips to the National Zoo with Teddy Roosevelt, which offered him further inspiration for The Jungle Book. |
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Martin Buber: A Life of Faith and Dissent
by Paul Mendes-Flohr
An authority on the twentieth‑century philosopher Martin Buber (1878–1965), Paul Mendes-Flohr offers the first major biography in English in thirty years of this seminal modern Jewish thinker. Mendes-Flohr situates Buber’s life and legacy in the intellectual and cultural life of German Jewry as well as in the broader European intellectual life of the first half of the twentieth century.
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Comedy Sex God
by Pete Holmes
The host of the You Made It Weird podcast and star of Crashing describes how an ex's infidelity transformed his evangelical Christian views, compelling him to embrace a model of faith that incorporates laughter and honest fulfillment.
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| Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben GirmaStarring: disability rights lawyer Haben Girma, the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School.
What sets it apart: Emboldened by her Eritrean refugee parents' stories of surviving war-torn Ethiopia in the 1980s, Girma has faced the setbacks of living in an ableist society with wit and optimism.
Reviewers say: "an absolute must-read" (Library Journal). |
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Don't Wait Up: Confessions of a Stay-at-work Mom
by Liz Astrof
A humorous collection of essays on motherhood from the award-winning television comedy writer and producer of 2 Broke Girls includes coverage of her career, her dysfunctional childhood and the haphazard realities of parenting today.
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Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard
by Alex Bertie
The YouTube personality and social advocate presents a courageous firsthand account of his life, struggles and victories as a transgender youth, discussing his private battles with identity, the challenges of the healthcare system and what he recommends for today's transitioning teens.
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Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
by Nadina LaSpina
Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her early years in her native Sicily, where still a baby she contracts polio, a fact that makes her the object of well-meaning pity and the target of messages of hopelessness; to her adolescence and youth in America, spent almost entirely in hospitals, where she is tortured in the quest for a cure and made to feel that her body no longer belongs to her; to her rebellion and her activism in the disability rights movement.
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| George Marshall: Defender of the Republic by David L. RollWhat it is: a comprehensive biography of revered five-star general George Marshall, whose storied military career included key roles in both World Wars and the Korean War, and two cabinet positions in President Truman's administration.
Did you know? Marshall is the only serving military officer to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Don't miss: previously unpublished letters that offer illuminating insights on Marshall's family life and sense of humor. |
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Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work
by Victoria Ortiz
Interweaves dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ginsburg's iconic career with stories about her childhood, education, marriage and remarkable legal career, sharing insights into her fierce principles and passionate concerns about gender equality, fairness and constitutional rights.
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Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short
by William D Cohan
The award-winning author of The Last Tycoons shares a powerful portrait of four of his fellow Andover boarding-school graduates, including John F. Kennedy, Jr., whose lives were cut short by tragedy.
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| When I Was White by Sarah ValentineWhat it's about: Raised as the white daughter of Italian and Irish-descended parents, Sarah Valentine often fielded awkward questions about her dark skin and hair. It wasn't until she was 27 that she learned the truth -- that her biological father was African American.
What happened: Shaken by her family's betrayal, Valentine set off on a journey to discover both her biological father and herself.
Try this next: For another affecting memoir exploring issues of paternity fraud and racial identity, check out Sil Lai Abrams' Black Lotus. |
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Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian
by James Grant
Drawing on a wealth of historical documents, correspondences and publications, a vivid portrait of the 19th-century author of Lombard Street and inventor of the Treasury bill discusses his prolific writings, controversial politics and enduring economic influence.
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The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out
by William Damerom
In this emotional and unflinchingly honest memoir of denial, stolen identities, betrayal, faking it and coming out of the closet late in life, an award-winning blogger, memoirist and essayist, who had been living a lie for more than 20 years, finally comes to accept who he really is.
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| The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood by Belle BoggsWhat it is: a reflective and empathetic exploration of The Gulf novelist Belle Boggs' struggles with infertility prior to her daughter's birth through IVF, peppered with detailed medical research, pop culture depictions of infertility, and interviews with others trying to conceive.
Why you might like it: Featuring a diverse list of resources that prospective parents from all walks of life will appreciate, The Art of Waiting's thoughtful tone and theme of hope in the face of adversity will resonate with many readers, parent or not. |
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| Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon by Kelley and Thomas FrenchWhat it's about: After their "micro-preemie" Juniper was born at 23 weeks, parents Kelley and Thomas French spent a frantic seven months at the hospital as she struggled to survive.
Is it for you? Don't worry -- this heartwarming memoir has a "healthily-ever-after" ending, though the French family encounters several speed bumps along the way.
What sets it apart: the Frenches are Pulitzer-lauded journalists, sharing incisive prose in alternating chapters. |
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| Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and... by Nishta J. MehraWhat it is: Nishta J. Mehra's thought-provoking essay collection on the joys and challenges of multiracial family life: she's a first-generation American born to Indian parents; her wife Jill is a white Christian; their adopted son Shiv is black.
Want a taste? "Our family doesn't fit well into boxes. We don't fit at all."
Read it for: a nuanced look at issues of identity and intersectionality; Mehra's willingness to confront her own biases and privilege. |
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| The Warner Boys: Our Family's Story of Autism and Hope by Ana and Curt Warner with Dave BolingWhat it's about: former Seattle Seahawks running back Curt Warner and his wife Ana's difficult and moving journey parenting twin sons with autism.
Is it for you? Focusing on their faith, optimism, and a broader need for autism awareness and support, the Warners' intimate chronicle avoids discussing thornier topics surrounding autism advocacy. |
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| Raising Ryland: Our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child with No Strings Attached by Hillary Whittington with Kristine GasbarreWhat it is: Hillary Whittington's emotional account of parenting her transgender son Ryland, whose transition was famously chronicled in a 2014 viral YouTube video and a 2015 CNN documentary short.
For fans of: Amy Ellis Nutt's Becoming Nicole and Lori Duron's Raising My Rainbow.
Reviewers say: "An uplifting testimonial to the power of unconditional familial love and acceptance" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Never be without a book you love! |
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