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Biography and Memoir July 2019
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Once more we saw stars
by Jayson Greene
Devastated by his 2-year-old daughter's accidental death, a father in Upper West Side Manhattan navigates unendurable pain and taps the healing power of love to rebuild his shattered family.
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The apology
by Eve Ensler
The best-selling author of The Vagina Monologues examines the themes of abuse and atonement via her own experience being both physically and sexually abused
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Everything in its place : first loves and last tales
by Oliver Sacks
A posthumous collection by the best-selling author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat features Sacks' signature compassion and erudition in essays exploring his diverse interests and remarkable late-career neurological case histories
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The death and life of Aida Hernandez : a border story
by Aaron Bobrow-Strain
What happens when an undocumented teen mother takes on the U.S. immigration system' When Aida Hernandez was born in 1987 in Agua Prieta, Mexico, the nearby U.S. border was little more than a worn-down fence. Eight years later, Aida's mother took her and her siblings to live in Douglas, Arizona. By then, the border had become one of the most heavily policed sites in America. Undocumented, Aida fought to make her way. She learned English, watched Friends, and, after having a baby at sixteen, dreamed of teaching dance and moving with her son to New York City. But life had other plans. Following a misstep that led to her deportation, Aida found herself in a Mexican city marked by violence, in a country that was not hers. To get back to the United States and reunite with her son, she embarked on a harrowing journey.
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Where the light enters : building a family, discovering myself
by Jill Biden
The former second lady describes her marriage to Joe Biden and the role of politics in her life and teaching career, sharing intimate insights into the traditions, resilience, and love that have helped her family establish balance and endure tragedy
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Mama's Boy: A Story from Our Americas
by Dustin Lance Black
What it's about: Dustin Lance Black's conservative Mormon upbringing in Texas and his complicated relationship with his mother, a headstrong polio and abuse survivor.
Author alert: LGBTQIA activist Black is the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Milk.
Reviewers say: "terrifically moving" (Kirkus Reviews); "belongs in every library" (Booklist).
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From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
by Tembi Locke
What it's about: After the death of her chef husband Saro, Tembi Locke visits Saro's tiny Sicilian hometown to cook family recipes alongside his widowed mother, discovering the healing powers of food and community.
For fans of: Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun, and Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking.
Book buzz: Reese Witherspoon named From Scratch her Reese's Book Club pick for May 2019.
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Focus on: Space Exploration
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| No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons From a Man Who Walked on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin with Ken AbrahamWhat it is: Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin's inspiring memoir/self-help guide, peppered with the author's humorous mottoes ("second comes right after first") and motivational lessons.
Want a taste? "If you are afraid to fail, you will probably not accomplish much in life."
Did you know? Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon. |
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| Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay BarbreeWhat it's about: Neil Armstrong's aviation career, from his service in the Korean War to the Apollo 11 mission, where he became the first person to walk on the moon.
What sets it apart: NBC News correspondent Jay Barbree is the only reporter to have covered all 166 American manned space missions; he was also a friend of Armstrong's.
Is it for you? Though it offers glimpses into its notoriously private subject's personal life, Neil Armstrong is a mostly career-centric account. |
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| Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia HoltIntroducing: Barby Canright, Macie Roberts, Helen Yee Chow, Barbara Lewis, Janez Lawson, Susan Finley, and others.
Why they mattered: From the 1940s to the 1960s, this talented group of women calculated rocket trajectories, designed satellites, and analyzed massive amounts of experimental data for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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| Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances by Leland MelvinWhat it's about: Leland Melvin's career as an "unexpected astronaut," which almost ended after a training accident left him deaf in one ear.
Read it for: Melvin's grace and humility in the face of various professional setbacks, including a sidelined NFL career in the 1980s.
Who it's for: NASA fans and general readers alike will be charmed by Melvin's ability to make his larger-than-life experiences relatable. |
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| Hidden Figures by Margot Lee ShetterlyWhat it is: the inspiring New York Times bestselling biography of NASA's African American female mathematicians, whose work in the 1950s and '60s played a pivotal role in launching American astronauts into orbit.
Media buzz: The 2016 film adaptation of Hidden Figures was a big hit with both audiences and critics, earning three Academy Award nominations (including one for Best Picture). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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