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Biography and Memoir January 2019
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| In Extremis: The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin by Lindsey HilsumWhat it is: an evocative account of American reporter and London Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin's courageous life and heartbreaking death that is as intense as it is inspiring.
Who it's for: "everyone, including journalism junkies, history buffs, and casual readers" (Publishers Weekly).
Did you know? Colvin lost her left eye in a Sri Lankan battlefield in 1999 and wore an eye patch until her 2012 death in Syria. |
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Becoming
by Michelle Obama
An intimate memoir by the former First Lady chronicles the experiences that have shaped her remarkable life, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago through her setbacks and achievements in the White House
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The day that went missing : a family's story
by Richard Beard
The award-winning author recounts his painstaking efforts to piece together the events surrounding his younger brother's death in childhood, a loss complicated by family denial and the author's own struggles with guilt.
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Cole & Sav : our surprising love story
by Cole LaBrant
Popular YouTubers Cole and Savannah LaBrant share their inspiring love story, believing it highlights the redemptive, surprising nature of God at work in our lives and how he graciously steps in and turns our messes into something beautiful.
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Late-Life Love
by Susan Gubar
What it's about: the bittersweet realities of aging as faced by self-described "antique lovers" and retired English professors, New York Times columnist Susan Gubar (70) and her husband Don Gray (87).
Topics include: the couple's difficult decision to downsize; their reduced mobility and health issues; Gubar's "resounding retort" to ageism.
Want a taste? "Late-life love may heat at a lower temperature, but it bubbles and rises."
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A dream called home : a memoir
by Reyna Grande
The nationally best-selling author of The Distance Between Us describes her harrowing early experiences as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer who navigated racism and poverty to build a life for her family
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A forever family : fostering change one child at a time
by Rob Scheer
The founder of Comfort Cases, an organization that makes life better for thousands of foster children, shares his own experiences in foster care and how he was able to chart his own path and achieve his wildest dreams.
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About My Mother : True Stories of a Horse-crazy Daughter and Her Baseball-obsessed Mother: A Memoir
by Peggy Rowe
Peggy Rowe's story of growing up as the daughter of Thelma Knobel is filled with warmth and humor. But there's a Thelma in everyone's life. She's the person taking charge, the one who knows instinctively how things should be. Growing up, Peggy saw her mother as a benevolent, loving dictator. When major league baseball came to town in the early 1950s and turned sophisticated Thelma into a crazed Baltimore Orioles groupie, nobody was more surprised and embarrassed than Peggy. Life became a series of compromises-- and they discovered that sometimes, we're more alike than we know.
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Crave : a memoir of food and longing
by Christine Scherick O'Brien
In this heart-wrenching memoir, the author, the daughter of an Academy Award-winning film producer, recounts a life spent struggling with food, telling the story of her own cravings and her painful, yet ultimately satisfying, journey to find balance.
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Let Her Fly: A Father's Journey
by Ziauddin Yousafzai with Louise Carpenter
What it's about: In this intimate and sincere memoir, Pakistani education rights activist Ziauddin Yousafzai shares his life story and the lessons he has learned from his daughter, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai (who wrote the book's foreword).
Want a taste? "I come from a family in which my gender made me special. But I did not want to be special for this reason."
What sets it apart: Rather than recounting his life story chronologically, Yousafzai does so based on the most important relationships in his life.
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An almost perfect Christmas
by Nina Stibbe
The author of Love, Nina presents a laugh-out-loud account of the highs and lows of the Christmas season in her home in Leicester that celebrates the lighter side of dry turkeys, pudding fires and re-gifting.
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Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and...
by Mary Gabriel
What it is: a sweeping, richly contextualized portrait of five women artists who revolutionized the abstract expressionism movement.
Why it matters: Despite their trailblazing accomplishments (including their participation in the groundbreaking 1951 Ninth Street Show), these women have remained largely overlooked by the modern art scene.
Reviewers say: "an incandescent, engrossing, and paradigm-altering art epic" (Booklist); "superbly written and absorbing" (Library Journal).
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Never grow up
by Long Cheng
The martial artist, actor, director and stuntman from Rush Hour and The Karate Kid reflects on his life, including his childhood at the China Drama Academy, his lucky breaks, setbacks and near death experiences both on and off movie sets. Illustrations
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The truth about Aaron : my journey to understand my brother
by Jonathan Hernandez
A personal account of the life and suicide of Aaron Hernandez, written by his brother, includes coverage of their childhoods, Aaron's struggles with his illness and sexuality and the darkness that drove him to take his own life.
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Churchill : walking with destiny
by Andrew Roberts
The best-selling author of The Storm of War draws on extensive new materials, from private letters to war cabinet meetings, in a revisionist portrait of the iconic war leader that discusses Churchill's motivations and unwavering faith in the British Empire
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| The World According to Bob: The Further Adventures of One Man and His Street-Wise Cat by James BowenWhat it is: London musician James Bowen's engaging sequel to his bestselling memoir A Street Cat Named Bob.
What happens: After the publication of his first book, Bowen grapples with overnight celebrity and his ongoing struggles with homelessness and addiction. Luckily, his quirky feline companion is by his side to help him get through tough times.
Series alert: Bowen's third memoir, A Gift from Bob, completes the Bob the Cat trilogy. |
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| The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon by John BrantWhat it's about: At 12, Julius Achon was abducted from his Ugandan village by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to become a child soldier. After his quick feet helped him escape the LRA, he honed his competitive running skills and eventually became an Olympic athlete.
Why you might like it: John Brant expertly balances the fast-paced, white-knuckle suspense of Achon's remarkable escape with his uplifting journey toward sports stardom and humanitarianism. |
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| Rise: How a House Built a Family by Cara BrookinsWhat it's about: After leaving her abusive husband, Cara Brookins set out to create a new home for her family.
What happened next: Brookins and her four children built the home -- from the ground up -- by themselves. Though the process was not without its challenges, it gave the family a healing start to a life free of violence and trauma.
For fans of: inspiring, can-do memoirs such as Cheryl Strayed's Wild. |
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| The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery by Barbara K. Lipska with Elaine McArdleWhat it's about: In 2015, neuroscientist Barbara K. Lipska was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to her brain and led to dementia and schizophrenia-like symptoms. After her treatment plan gave her a miraculous "second chance at sanity," she began a long road to recovery, grappling with the memories -- and irony -- of her illness.
Want a taste? "I am living through some of the processes of a disease that I've spent my life studying and trying to cure." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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