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Biography and Memoir April 2021
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| The Soul of a Woman: On Impatient Love, Long Life, and Good Witches by Isabel AllendeWhat it is: beloved author Isabel Allende's intimate and lyrical reflections on the role that feminism has played in her life.
Topics include: Allende's career beginnings as a journalist in 1960s Chile; the roadblocks she encountered while attempting to publish her first novel, 1982's The House of the Spirits; aging, sex, and family life.
Who it's for: fans of Allende's work will appreciate this empowering memoir/manifesto and the lessons shared within. |
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| Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City by Rosa BrooksWhat it's about: In 2016, to the dismay of her family and colleagues, Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks enrolled in the Washington, D.C. police academy, becoming a reserve officer upon her graduation.
Why she did it: Brooks hoped to gain a firsthand understanding of the complex issues surrounding police reform, eventually creating a fellowship program to educate her fellow officers on issues like racial discrimination and implicit bias.
Is it for you? No matter where you stand on policing, Brook's nuanced and well-researched account offers plenty of food for thought. |
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| Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob by Russell ShortoWhat it is: historian Russell Shorto's engaging family memoir chronicling his Italian American grandfather's rise as a small-town mobster in post-World War II Pennsylvania.
Read it for: a fast-paced and thoughtful exploration of the limitations of the American Dream; the family secrets Shorto unearths along the way.
What's inside: photographs; family recipes; interviews with mob connections and other family members. |
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| Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight by Julia SweigWhat it is: a well-researched biography of First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson that offers fresh insights on her life and legacy.
What sets it apart: This revisionist account positions Johnson as a key player in husband Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential administration, revealing the role she played in shaping his political strategies and ambitions.
Featuring: diary entries the First Lady recorded during her time in the White House. |
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| Notes on a Silencing by Lacy CrawfordWhat it's about: In 1990, 15-year-old Lacy Crawford was sexually assaulted by two male classmates at her New Hampshire boarding school, an act that school administrators tried to cover up.
Is it for you? Crawford's powerful account of the trauma she endured offers an unflinching examination of rape culture and the institutions that condone it.
Food for thought: "I believe, in fact, that the slur slut carries within it, Trojan-horse style, silence as its true intent." |
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| Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah TaussigWhat it is: a witty and engaging memoir about author Rebekah Taussig's life as a wheelchair user, with frank discussions of how disability intersects with issues like sex, dating, self-image, relationships, the media, and more.
Why you should read it: Sitting Pretty is a refreshingly candid and welcome voice in the growing body of literature about disability written by disabled people themselves. |
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Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage
by Anne Lamott
The New York Times bestselling author, drawing from her own experiences, shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us.
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The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames
by Justine Cowan
Documents the author’s investigation into her late mother’s tragic experiences as an illegitimate orphan who endured an early life of discrimination, physical abuse and harsh labor serving England’s ruling class at infamous Foundling Hospital.
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The Empathy Diaries
by Sherry Turkle
The MIT psychologist and best-selling author of Reclaiming Conversation illuminates humanity’s search for authentic connection in the face of today’s unprecedented challenges, explaining how empathy shaped her own complicated coming-of-age and survival experiences.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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