| Lorne : the man who invented Saturday Night Live / by Susan Morrison. |
 "Ever since its debut in the fall of 1975, Saturday Night Live's impact on the culture has been lasting and profound. It has been a breeding ground for our brightest comedy stars, launching the careers of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Pete Davidson, and many many more. Its iconic sketches--from Wayne's World to Weekend Update to Coneheads to the Californians to of course, More Cowbell--have dominated water cooler talk for five decades, and its catchphrases, from "we're not worthy!" to ""Daaaaa Beeeears" are embedded in the public lexicon. And at the center of it all, from the moment of its inception to the present day, is one man: producer Lorne Michaels. Over his 50 years running the show, Lorne Michaels has become a revered, inimitable and bewildering presence in the world of entertainment. He's a mogul, a kingmaker, a tastemaker, a grudge-holder, a mensch, a workaholic, a genius spotter of talent, a ruthless businessman, a name dropper, an obsessive step counter, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, a winner of 90 Emmys--and a mystery. Generations of writers, actors, and stars have spent their lives trying to figure him out. He's "Obi wan Kenobi" (Tracey Morgan), the "Great and Powerful Oz" (Kate McKinnon), the Godfather (Will Forte), or "some kind of very distant, strange Comedy God" (Bob Odenkirk). Lorne will introduce you to him, in full, for the first time. With unprecedented access to Michaels (who has spent his career mostly avoiding reporters) and the entire SNL apparatus, The New Yorker's Susan Morrison takes you behind the curtain for the rollicking, definitive story of how Lorne created the institution that would change comedy forever. Lorne features hundreds of interviews with Michaels, conducted over several years; his close friends (such as Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, and Steve Martin); and the candid, hilarious stars of the show, including Chris Rock, Amy Poehler, Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, Buck Henry, Chevy Chase, and more. Nearly a decade in the making, Lorne is an intimate, deeply reported, and wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life--and change American culture"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| On James Baldwin / Colm Tóibín. |
 "Colm Tóibín's personal account of encountering James Baldwin's work, published in Baldwin's centenary year. Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín first read James Baldwin just after turning eighteen. He had completed his first year at an Irish university and was struggling to free himself from a religious upbringing. He had even considered entering a seminary and was searching for literature that would offer illumination and insight. Inspired by the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, Tóibín found a writer who would be a lifelong companion and exemplar. From On James Baldwin, Baldwin was interested in the hidden and dramatic areas in his own being, and was prepared as a writer to explore difficult truths about his own private life. In his fiction, he had to battle for the right of his protagonists to choose or influence their destinies. He knew about guilt and rage and bitter privacies in a way that few of his White novelist contemporaries did. And this was not simply because he was Black and homosexual; the difference arose from the very nature of his talent, from the texture of his sensibility. "All art," he wrote, "is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up."On James Baldwin is a magnificent contemporary author's tribute to one of his most consequential literary progenitors"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| This changes everything : a surprisingly funny story about race, cancer, faith, and other things we don't talk about / Tyler Merritt ; with David Tieche. |
 "When Tyler Merritt was diagnosed with cancer, everything he thought he knew about what mattered in life changed. Though he made it through a highly invasive surgery and thought he was in the clear, Tyler soon realized that the cancer had other plans. It wasn't a question of if the tumor would come back for an encore, his doctors told him. It was a question of when. The clock was ticking. This Changes Everything is a humorous and optimistic love letter to this beautiful life. As Tyler counts down the days until his next scan, he begins to understand that none of us have time for anger, for being unforgiving, for foolishness, for letting relationships drift, or for letting friendships to be lost. It's a clear-eyed reckoning with the reality that our time on this earth is limited and a hopeful vision of how each of us can make the most of the time we have left. Laced with Tyler's trademark humor, love of pop culture, and arguably too many musical theater references, This Changes Everything is a story about how wrestling with the idea of death can birth a whole new outlook on life, how we live it, and the urgency that comes when you grasp that time is a precious commodity"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Source code : my beginnings / Bill Gates. |
 The software giant explores his personal journey, recounting his early influences, friendships, family and first steps in computing that paved the way for his revolutionary career and later philanthropic focus, offering an intimate look at the experiences that shaped him. -- Provided by publisher. |
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| In Gad we trust : a tell-some / Josh Gad. |
 "A heartfelt and hilarious collection of essays from the comedian and entertainer known for voicing Olaf in the ... Disney franchise of Frozen, and for his award-winning turn as Elder Cunningham in [Broadway's] The Book of Mormon"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The first and last king of Haiti : the rise and fall of Henry Christophe / Marlene L. Daut. |
 "The essential biography of the controversial rebel, traitor, and only king of Haiti. Henry Christophe (1767 - 1820) is one of the most richly complex figures in the history of the Americas, and was, in his time, popular and famous the world over: in The First and Last King of Haiti, a brilliant young Yale scholar unravels the still controversial enigma that he was"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Hope : the autobiography / Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis ; with Carlo Musso ; translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon. |
 "Hope is the first autobiography in history ever to be published by a Pope. Written over six years, this complete autobiography starts in the early years of the twentieth century, with Pope Francis's Italian roots and his ancestors' courageous migration to Latin America, continuing through his childhood, the enthusiasms and preoccupations of his youth, his vocation, adult life, and the whole of his papacy up to the present day"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Memorial days : a memoir / Geraldine Brooks. |
 "It was Memorial Day, 2019, when Geraldine Brooks received news that her husband, Tony Horwitz, had collapsed and died, far from home, in the middle of his own book tour. The complex tasks required in the face of such a sudden death left her no time to properly grieve for him. Three years later, still feeling broken and bereft, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Tasmania. Alone on a rugged stretch of coast, she revisited a thirty-five-year marriage filled with risk, adventure, humor, and love. There, she pondered the ways other cultures deal with mourning and finally seized the time and space she needed for her own grief"--Inside jacket flap. |
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| Magical thinking / Augusten Burroughs. |
 A collection of personal writings features observations on such topics as a contest of wills with a deranged cleaning lady, the emotional side of killing a rodent in one's home, and th4e brief fame that accompanies starring in a commercial. |
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| Memorial days : a memoir / Geraldine Brooks. |
| "It was Memorial Day, 2019, when Geraldine Brooks received news that her husband, Tony Horwitz, had collapsed and died, far from home, in the middle of his own book tour. The complex tasks required in the face of such a sudden death left her no time to properly grieve for him. Three years later, still feeling broken and bereft, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Tasmania. Alone on a rugged stretch of coast, she revisited a thirty-five-year marriage filled with risk, adventure, humor, and love. There, she pondered the ways other cultures deal with mourning and finally seized the time and space she needed for her own grief"--Inside jacket flap. |
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| Source code : my beginnings / Bill Gates. |
| The software giant explores his personal journey, recounting his early influences, friendships, family and first steps in computing that paved the way for his revolutionary career and later philanthropic focus, offering an intimate look at the experiences that shaped him. -- Provided by publisher. |
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| Fearless and free : a memoir / Josephine Baker ; translated from the French by Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis ; foreword by Ijeoma Oluo ; [introduction by Marcel Sauvage ; afterword by Jean-Claude Bouillon-Baker]. |
 "Published in English for the first time, this is the memoir of the fabulous, rule-breaking, one-of-a-kind Josephine Baker"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| She blooms : finding home after the convent : a memoir / Maura Doherty. |
 "This is a memoir about leaving family and old beliefs behind while finding new ways to grow and contribute to society. It will resonate with anyone curious about convent life or who struggles with a crisis of faith or faces major life decisions. It will appeal to anyone whose stress levels threatens to undermine their health. Maura's story heralds the saving grace of friendship, love, and the pivotal role mentors play in helping us build a meaningful life. Her story is a testament to the belief that it is never too late to "bloom""-- Provided by publisher. |
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| How to share an egg : a true story of hunger, love, and plenty / Bonny Reichert. |
 Bonny Reichert avoided engaging with her family's Holocaust history until, in midlife, she unexpectedly confronted it while writing an article. Her father's survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau was a backdrop to her upbringing, but a transformative experience in Warsaw--a perfect bowl of borscht--sparked a journey to explore her culinary roots. This journey intertwined with her personal life, from her childhood in the restaurant business to the challenges of marriage, motherhood, and her eventual path to becoming a chef. In her memoir How to Share an Egg, Reichert reflects on pivotal life moments through the lens of food. From her baba Sarah's knishes to her father's comforting scrambled eggs, cuisine serves as a symbol of joy, survival, and identity. The book blends poignant stories of scarcity and abundance with her quest for self-discovery, exploring how her personal experiences connect to her family's legacy. It's a moving meditation on heritage, resilience, and the role of food in shaping identity. |
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| Brooke Shields is not allowed to get old : thoughts on aging as a woman / Brooke Shields with Rachel Bertsche. |
 "From Brooke Shields, the icon who has inspired generations of women, comes a thoughtful, intimate, and candid exploration of the humility and power of aging"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The inherited mind : a story of family, hope, and the genetics of mental illness / James Longman. |
 James Longman was a preteen in boarding school when his dad, who was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. As he got older, James's own bouts of depression spurred him to examine how his father's mental health might have affected his own. He engaged with experts to uncover the science behind what is inherited, how much environmental factors can impact genetic traits, and how one can overcome a familial history of mental illness and trauma. |
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| Scam goddess : lessons from a life of cons, grifts, and schemes / Laci Mosley. |
 "From an early age, comedian and actress Laci Mosley knew her path would be riddled with scams, cons, robberies, and frauds. Little ones. Ones that didn't hurt people or get her in trouble. But ones that would get her where she needed to be. "You see," she writes, "everyone's a scammer and everything's a scam. Some people are better at it than others, but we all do it. The system wasn't built for people like me. Scamming saved me and has taught me how to navigate a messy and unfair world while looking out for myself, too." In Scam Goddess, Laci recounts how her scammer instincts have guided her throughout her life--from a religious childhood in rural Texas, to a stint as a city bartender at what might have been a drug front, to swindling her way past the gatekeepers of Hollywood--recounting the greatest true-crime scam stories that inspired her along the way. Whether it's by the beauty industry, capitalism, or the people we date, we're all getting scammed. In this book, Laci identifies the secrets to flipping the script and coming out ahead"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The loves of my life : a sex memoir / Edmund White. |
 Edmund White write about his sexual experiences of over seventy years of being unabashedly gay and in love with love in all its forms -- adapted from publisher. |
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| The harder I fight the more I love you : a memoir / Neko Case. |
 "Neko Case has long been revered as one of music's most influential artists, whose authenticity, lyrical storytelling, and sly wit have endeared her to a legion of critics, musicians, and lifelong fans. In The Harder I Fight The More I Love You, Case brings her trademark candor and precision to a memoir that traces her evolution from an invisible girl "raised by two dogs and a space heater" in rural Washington state to her improbable emergence as an internationally-acclaimed talent. In luminous, sharp-edged prose, Case shows readers what it's like to be left alone for hours and hours as a child, to take refuge in the woods around her home, and to channel the monotony and loneliness and joy that comes from music, camaraderie, and shared experience into art. The Harder I Fight The More I Love You is a rebellious meditation on identity and corruption, and a manifesto on how to make space for ourselves in this world, despite the obstacles we face"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The survivor : how I made it through six concentration camps and became a Nazi hunter / Josek Lewkowicz with Michael Calvin. |
 "When Nazi forces entered Krakâow, Poland, in 1939, unexpected and unresisted, Josef Lewkowicz's life became a nightmare overnight ashe and his family were rounded up and sent to concentration camps across German-occupied territory. It wasn't long before Josef found himself face-to-face with SS kommandant Amon Goeth, whose brutality was made infamous by the film Schindler's List. As Josef struggled tosurvive the violence, horror, and degradations of one prison camp after another--his journey eventually spanning continents and taking him to the limits of human endurance--he was kept alive only by his faith and his profound sense of justice. A harrowing but ultimately uplifting glimpse into a pivotal moment in history, The Survivor is the story of one man's survival and pursuit of justice against all odds. The story of resilience and tenacity, and a desire for revenge redirected as a yearning to build a better future for humanity"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Tree hugger: a memoir from off the grid / Fred Karnes. |
| After retiring as a family therapist, Fred started his autobiography while tinkering with Facebook at the urging of former clients who were in their teens. Through this venue, he shared his adventures of migrating from Iowa to Oregon in the early 1970's to build a cabin in the woods. He had no skills or a log house kit. But he did have a rudimentary instruction book and a determined spirit. Along the way, he shares stories of his mishaps, accomplishments, joys and sorrows. His stories are full of self-discovery and connecting with individuals and nature. "Tree hugger is an epithet tossed about by men who regard forested mountains in the Pacific Northwest as a commodity.They often consider people like me to be dreamy hypocrites." |
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| You'll never believe me : a life of lies, second tries, and things I should only tell my therapist / Kari Ferrell. |
 "Adopted at a young age by a Mormon family in Utah, Kari struggled with questions of self-worth and identity as one of the few Asian Americans in her insulated community, leading her to run with the 'bad crowd' in an effort to fit in. Soon, stealing from superstores turned into picking up men (and picking their pockets), and before she knew it, Kari had graduated from petty theft to Utah's most wanted list. Though Kari was able to escape the Southwest, she couldn't outrun her new moniker: the Hipster Grifter. New York City's indie sleaze scene had found its newest celebrity--just as Kari found herself in a heap of trouble. Jail time, riots, bad checks, and an explosion of internet infamy and fetishization put her name in the spotlight. Beyond the gossip and Gawker posts, there's a side to Kari the media never saw--until now"--Inside jacket flap. |
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| The first and last king of Haiti : the rise and fall of Henry Christophe / Marlene L. Daut. |
| "The essential biography of the controversial rebel, traitor, and only king of Haiti. Henry Christophe (1767 - 1820) is one of the most richly complex figures in the history of the Americas, and was, in his time, popular and famous the world over: in The First and Last King of Haiti, a brilliant young Yale scholar unravels the still controversial enigma that he was"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| How to share an egg : a true story of hunger, love, and plenty / Bonny Reichert. |
| Bonny Reichert avoided engaging with her family's Holocaust history until, in midlife, she unexpectedly confronted it while writing an article. Her father's survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau was a backdrop to her upbringing, but a transformative experience in Warsaw--a perfect bowl of borscht--sparked a journey to explore her culinary roots. This journey intertwined with her personal life, from her childhood in the restaurant business to the challenges of marriage, motherhood, and her eventual path to becoming a chef. In her memoir How to Share an Egg, Reichert reflects on pivotal life moments through the lens of food. From her baba Sarah's knishes to her father's comforting scrambled eggs, cuisine serves as a symbol of joy, survival, and identity. The book blends poignant stories of scarcity and abundance with her quest for self-discovery, exploring how her personal experiences connect to her family's legacy. It's a moving meditation on heritage, resilience, and the role of food in shaping identity. |
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| The mango tree : a memoir of fruit, Florida, and felony / Annabelle Tometich. |
 "When journalist Annabelle Tometich picks up the phone one June morning, she isn't expecting a collect call from an inmate at the Lee County Jail. And when she accepts, she certainly isn't prepared to hear her mother's voice on the other end of the line. However, explaining the situation to her younger siblings afterwards was easy; all she had to say was, 'Mom shot at some guy. He was messing with her mangoes.' They immediately understood. Answering the questions of the breaking-news reporter--at the same newspaper where Annabelle worked as a restaurant critic--proved more difficult. Annabelle decided to go with a variation of the truth: it was complicated. So begins The Mango Tree, a poignant and deceptively entertaining memoir of growing up as a mixed-race Filipina 'nobody' in suburban Florida as Annabelle traces the roots of her upbringing--all the while reckoning with her erratic father's untimely death in a Fort Myers motel, her fiery mother's bitter yearning for the country she left behind, and her own journey in the pursuit of belonging." -- Publisher annotation. |
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| Brooke Shields is not allowed to get old : thoughts on aging as a woman / Brooke Shields with Rachel Bertsche. |
| "From Brooke Shields, the icon who has inspired generations of women, comes a thoughtful, intimate, and candid exploration of the humility and power of aging"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Hollow : a memoir of my body in the Marines / Bailey Williams. |
 "At eighteen, Bailey Williams bolted from her strict Mormon upbringing to a Marine recruiting office to enlist as a 2600--a military linguist. But the first language the Marine Corps taught her wasn't Arabic, Farsi, or Dari. It was how Marines speak to, and about, women. There are only three kinds of women in the Marine Corps, she was told: you can be a bitch, a dyke, or a whore. Determined to prove she's not whatever it is the men around her believe a woman to be, Private Williams turned to an eating disorder, intending to show her discipline through the visible testament of bone. She ran endurance distances on an increasingly Spartan diet, shoving through her own body's resistance. Pushed to the brink by a leadership and a culture that demands women shrink themselves, she finally looked to the women around her, and began to wonder what else she was losing. Quietly but inexorably, the power of other women's stories whispered an alternative path to what it means to be a woman, and a warrior. Hollow is a story for anyone whose identity has been prescribed to them--and has dared question if there is another way to live" -- Provided by the publisher. |
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| Freedom : memoirs 1954-2021 / Angela Merkel with Beate Baumann. |
 "For sixteen years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany and at the forefront of European and international politics. In her memoir, she looks back on her life in two German states--East Germany until 1990, and reunified Germany thereafter. How did she, coming from the East, rise to the top of the Christian Democratic Union to become the first woman to hold the Office of Chancellor? And how did she then become one of the most powerful heads of government in the Western world? What guided her? Angela Merkel recounts daily life in the chancellor's office as well as the dramatic days and nights when she made far-reaching decisions in Berlin, Brussels, and beyond"-- Publisher description. |
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| Everyone but myself : a memoir / Julie Chavez. |
 For Julie, an elementary school librarian and mother of two boys, there was no time for debilitating anxiety. Yet the terrifying aftershocks of her first panic attack left her grappling with questions about the causes of her mental health crisis and where it would lead next. What follows is a hopeful, honest account of love and loss, a husband who can't read minds, disastrous family outings, and finding a path (with help from loved ones and a few key new friends) to the joy of a well-lived life. Sure to resonate with mothers spread thin by the demands of modern family life, Everyone But Myself offers an intimate portrait of how one woman found her way back to herself. --from Amazon. |
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| In Gad we trust : a tell-some / Josh Gad. |
| "A heartfelt and hilarious collection of essays from the comedian and entertainer known for voicing Olaf in the ... Disney franchise of Frozen, and for his award-winning turn as Elder Cunningham in [Broadway's] The Book of Mormon"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The housekeeper's secret : a memoir / Sandra Schnakenburg. |
 "A Catholic family in 1960s Chicago headed by a narcissistic and demanding father takes on Lee, a housekeeper with a mysterious past. Lee becomes like a second mother to the Krilich children, especially Sandy. After Lee's death, Sandy begins a determined quest to find out her dear friend's backstory--and proceeds to uncover one shocking fact after another, even as the story of her own family drama, and the heartwarming role Lee played in the Krilichs' lives, unfolds."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Malcolm before X / Patrick Parr. |
 "In February 1946, when the 21-year-old Malcolm Little was sentenced to eight to ten years in a maximum-security prison, he was a petty criminal and street hustler in Boston. By the time of his parole in August 1952, he had transformed into a voracious reader, joined the Black Muslims, and was poised to become Malcolm X, one of the most prominent and important intellectuals of the civil rights era. While scholars and commentators have exhaustively detailed, analyzed, and debated Malcolm X's post-prison life, they have not explored these transformative six and a half transformative years in any depth. Utilizing a trove of previously overlooked documents, Patrick Parr immerses readers into the unique cultures of Charlestown State Prison, the Concord Reformatory, and the Norfolk Prison Colony where Malcolm devoured books, composed poetry, boxed, debated, and joined the Nation of Islam. This time in prison changed the course of Malcom's life and set the stage for a decade of antiracist activism that would fundamentally reshape American culture"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Inheriting magic : my journey through grief, joy, celebration, and making every day magical / Jennifer Love Hewitt. |
 "With lessons on grief, love, and the incredible joy of parenting, Jennifer Love Hewitt's debut memoir shares wisdom learned from her late mother and shows her readers her real self-who can't be defined by a single label"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Ingrained : the making of a craftsman / Callum Robinson. |
 "For fans of H Is for Hawk and Shop Class as Soulcraft comes a captivating literary memoir, immersing readers in the life of a Scottish carpenter as he perfects his craft, builds a business, and reflects on what inheritance and shared responsibility really mean. The eldest son of a master woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father's workshop and playing among the sycamore, oak, and Scots pine that bordered his home. In time he became his father's apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects; to business meetings, bright lights, and bureaucracy; to lose touch with his roots--until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down. Faced with the end of his business, his team, and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most. In beautifully wrought prose, Callum tells the story of returning to the workshop and to the wood; to handcrafting furniture for people who will love it and then pass it on to the next generation--an antidote to a culture where everything seems so easily disposable. As he does so, he brings us closer to nature and the physical act of creation. Close enough to smell the sawdust, see the wood's grain and character, and feel the magic of furniture coming to life. At the same time, we begin to understand how he has been shaped, as both a craftsman and a son. Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on community, consumerism, and the beauty of the natural world-one that asks us to see our local trees, and our own wooden objects, in a new and revelatory light"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Mama : a queer Black woman's story of a family lost and found / Nikkya Hargrove. |
 "A rare and timely parenting memoir by a queer Black mother, Mama follows the impact of incarceration on a family, exploring the generational trauma and pulling back the curtain on the foster care system"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Hour of the heart : connecting in the here and now / Irvin D. Yalom, MD, and Benjamin Yalom. |
 "Facing memory loss at age ninety-three as well as the fallout from a global pandemic that moved much of daily life online, legendary psychotherapist and bestselling author Irvin D. Yalom was forced to vastly reconsider the shape of his sessions with patients. Rather than throw in the towel in the face of change, Dr. Yalom considered head-on the limitations imposed by these new realities and revolutionized his practice. Turning his focus to what might be achieved in a one-hour, one-time-only meeting between patient and practitioner, Dr. Yalom employed an even more concerted use of his "here and now" approach"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| My time to stand : a memoir / Gypsy-Rose Blanchard with Melissa Moore and Michele Matrisciani. |
 "Featuring Blanchard family photos and new facts about Gypsy's life that she previously kept private, My Time to Stand offers an unprecedented look at the real Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, proudly embarking on her ongoing journey to recovery and self-discovery"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| I will scream to the world / Jaha Marie Dukureh ; foreword by Ashley Judd |
 "This extraordinary memoir details the monumental journey of one young Gambian woman from survivor of FGM and forced child marriage, to global activist and political leader who became UN Women's first Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, and among the youngest people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Ingrained : the making of a craftsman / Callum Robinson. |
| "For fans of H Is for Hawk and Shop Class as Soulcraft comes a captivating literary memoir, immersing readers in the life of a Scottish carpenter as he perfects his craft, builds a business, and reflects on what inheritance and shared responsibility really mean. The eldest son of a master woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father's workshop and playing among the sycamore, oak, and Scots pine that bordered his home. In time he became his father's apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects; to business meetings, bright lights, and bureaucracy; to lose touch with his roots--until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down. Faced with the end of his business, his team, and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most. In beautifully wrought prose, Callum tells the story of returning to the workshop and to the wood; to handcrafting furniture for people who will love it and then pass it on to the next generation--an antidote to a culture where everything seems so easily disposable. As he does so, he brings us closer to nature and the physical act of creation. Close enough to smell the sawdust, see the wood's grain and character, and feel the magic of furniture coming to life. At the same time, we begin to understand how he has been shaped, as both a craftsman and a son. Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on community, consumerism, and the beauty of the natural world-one that asks us to see our local trees, and our own wooden objects, in a new and revelatory light"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| I, Rigoberta Menchú : an Indian woman in Guatemala / Rigoberta Menchú ; edited by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray ; translated by Ann Wright. |
 Now a global bestseller, the remarkable life of Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan peasant woman, reflects on the experiences common to many Indian communities in Latin America. Menchú suffered gross injustice and hardship in her early life: her brother, father and mother were murdered by the Guatemalan military. She learned Spanish and turned to catechistic work as an expression of political revolt as well as religious commitment. Menchú vividly conveys the traditional beliefs of her community and her personal response to feminist and socialist ideas. Above all, these pages are illuminated by the enduring courage and passionate sense of justice of an extraordinary woman. |
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| The impossible man : Roger Penrose and the cost of genius / Patchen Barss. |
 "As a little boy, Roger Penrose and his father discovered a sundial in a clearing behind their home. In that machine made of light, shadow, and time, six-year-old Roger discovered a "world behind the world" of transcendently beautiful geometry, beginning a journey toward becoming one of the world's most influential mathematicians, philosophers, and physicists. In the years to come, Penrose earned a Nobel Prize, a knighthood, and dozens of other prestigious honors. He proved the limitations of general relativity, and he set a new agenda for theoretical physics. However, as Patchen Barss documents in The Impossible Man, success came at a price. Penrose's longing for knowledge was matched only by his inability to understand those around him, and he struggled to connect with friends, family, and especially the women in his life. His final years have been spent alone with his research, intentionally cut off from the people who loved him. Erudite and deeply moving, The Impossible Man intimately depicts the relationship between Penrose the scientist and Roger the human being. It reveals the tragic cost-to himself and those closest to him-of Roger Penrose's extraordinary life"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| F. Scott Fitzgerald : a composite biography / Niklas Salmose and David Rennie, editors. |
 "F. Scott Fitzgerald was a man of many aspects, a writer whose complexity and multitudes this composite biography finally aptly portrays. Bringing together twenty-three leading writers and scholars on Fitzgerald, each focusing on two years of his life, this volume presents a new way of grouping together biographical material and perspectives, considering from various angles the author's best-known works as well as understudied writings, personal experiences, and literary relationships"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Thurgood Marshall : American revolutionary / Juan Williams. |
 Presents a biography of the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court, from his crusade against segregation to his friendships with other famous Black figures. |
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| Above the noise : my story of chasing calm / DeMar DeRozan, with Dave Zarum. |
 "From one of the most outspoken and respected NBA athletes comes a groundbreaking and remarkable memoir chronicling a very public struggle with depression, in the hopes that other young men will not suffer alone"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Becoming Little Shell : a landless Indian's journey home / Chris La Tray. |
 "From Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray, a singular story of discovery and embrace of Indigenous identity"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| I will do better : a father's memoir of heartbreak, parenting, and love / Charles Bock. |
 The novelist Charles Bock was a reluctant parent, tagging along for the ride of fatherhood, obsessed primarily with his dream of a writing career. But when his daughter Lily was six months old, his wife, Diana, was diagnosed with a complex form of leukemia. Two and half years later, when all treatments and therapies had been exhausted, Bock found himself a widower--devastated, drowning in medical bills, and saddled with a daunting responsibility. He had to nurture Lily, and, somehow, maybe even heal himself. I Will Do Better is Charles's pull-no-punches account of what happened next. Playdates, music classes, temper tantrums, oh-so-cool babysitters, first days at school, family reunions, single-parent dating, and a citywide crippling natural disaster--were minefields especially treacherous for Charles and Lily because of their preexisting vulnerability: their grief. Charles sought help from friends, family, and therapists, but this overgrown, middle-aged boy-man and his plucky child became, foremost, a duo--they found their way together. By turns comical and heartbreaking, I Will Do Better does not shy from moments of sadness, anger, or awkwardness. It's the remarkable journey of two defiant and wounded people, and their personal growth in the name of love. |
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| Woodrow Wilson : the light withdrawn / Christopher Cox. |
 "More than a century after he dominated American politics, Woodrow Wilson still fascinates. With panoramic sweep, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn reassesses his life and his role in the movements for racial equality and women's suffrage. The Wilson that emerges is a man superbly unsuited to the moment when he ascended to the presidency in 1912, as the struggle for women's voting rights in America reached the tipping point. The first southern Democrat to occupy the White House since the Civil War era brought with him to Washington like-minded men who quickly set to work segregating the federal government. Wilson's own sympathy for Jim Crow and states' rights animated his years-long hostility to the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which promised universal suffrage backed by federal enforcement. Women demonstrating for voting rights found themselves demonized in government propaganda, beaten and starved while illegally imprisoned, and even confined to the insane asylum. When, in the twilight of his second term, two-thirds of Congress stood on the threshold of passing the Anthony Amendment, Wilson abruptly switched his position. But in sympathy with like-minded southern Democrats, he acquiesced in "race rider" that would protect Jim Crow. The heroes responsible for the eventual success of the unadulterated Anthony Amendment are brought to life by Christopher Cox, an author steeped in the ways of Washington and political power. This is a brilliant, carefully researched work that puts you at the center of one of the greatest advances in the history of American democracy"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Master of me : the secret to controlling your narrative / Keke Palmer. |
 "Keke Palmer thought she knew who she was. What it means to be a good person and what it takes to be a success. It all seemed so simple, until she realized the challenges she would have to face to prove to herself who she wanted to be. From feeling alienated to having to restart her career after ten years in to becoming a single mother just months after her son was born-everything she worked for in life that she felt granted her what she wanted now also reminded her that "life is going to life" and throw curveballs regardless of what you deserve. It was in this realization that her understanding of value changed: "Real value doesn't come from what you experience in the world but from how you manage yourself in the midst of those storms." She found herself asking, Where do I find my power? How do I master myself? In her own raw and intimate words, Keke talks about everything from her struggles with boundaries to unconditional love, forgiveness, and worthiness. "Don't block your blessings and potential opportunities by allowing the voices of other people to influence your actions," she says. "How you're choosing to set yourself up for success is between you and the person looking back at you in the mirror." Throughout the book, Keke also poses readers with the questions needed to get them through their own challenging times by sharing personal stories and lessons she's learned along the way. She gets candid about the tools she's developed to take the reins, harness her vulnerability, and recognize ownership in the narrative of her life-which allowed her to turn personal power into major power. In this exhilarating, deeply poignant, and often laugh-out-loud book, Lauren Keyana Palmer gets real about life, work, love, and belief. These pages will encourage readers to empower themselves with the truth, leverage their currency, and find the keys to master themselves and the art of alchemy. Keke writes. "You are not on anyone else's timeline, only your own." The result is a tour de force. They said, "Jack of all Trades, Master of None." She said, "No, I am the Master. Of Me.""-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Citizen : my life after the White House / Bill Clinton. |
 The 42nd President of the United States writes about his life since leaving the White House. |
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| Growing up Urkel : a memoir / Jaleel White. |
 "An incisive and insightful memoir by one of the most beloved icons of nineties television Jaleel White, the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters."--Provided by publisher. |
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| Cher : the memoir, part one / Cher. |
 "After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Washita love child : the rise of Indigenous rock star Jesse Ed Davis / Douglas K. Miller ; foreword by Joy Harjo. |
 "No one played like Jesse Ed Davis. One of the most sought-after guitarists of the late 1960s and '70s, Davis appeared alongside the era's greatest stars--John Lennon and Mick Jagger, B.B. King and Bob Dylan--and contributed to dozens of major releases, including numerous top-ten albums and singles, and records by artists as distinct as Johnny Cash, Taj Mahal, and Cher. But Davis, whose name has nearly disappeared from the annals of rock and roll history, was more than just the most versatile session guitarist of the decade. A multitalented musician who paired bright flourishes with soulful melodies, Davis transformed our idea of what rock music could be and, crucially, who could make it. At a time when few other Indigenous artists appeared on concert stages, radio waves, or record store walls, in a century often depicted as a period of decline for Native Americans, Davis and his Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Seminole, and Mvskoke relatives demonstrated new possibilities for Native people. Weaving together more than a hundred interviews with Davis's bandmates, family members, friends, and peers--among them Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Robbie Robertson--Washita Love Child powerfully reconstructs Davis's extraordinary life and career, taking us from his childhood in Oklahoma to his first major gig backing rockabilly star Conway Twitty, and from his dramatic performance at George Harrison's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh to his years with John Trudell and the Grafitti Man band. In Davis's story, a post-Beatles Lennon especially emerges as a kindred soul and creative partner. Yet Davis never fully recovered from Lennon's sudden passing, meeting his own tragic demise just eight years later. With a foreword by former poet laureate Joy Harjo, who collaborated with Davis near the end of his life, Washita Love Child thoroughly and finally restores the "red dirt boogie brother" to his rightful place in rock history, cementing his legacy for generations to come." -- Amazon |
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| Still life at eighty : the next interesting thing / Abigail Thomas. |
 "From the New York Times bestselling author of A Three Dog Life, a witty and irreverent look at aging and the writing life, delivered with trademark brevity, humor, and wise wit"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Lifeform / Jenny Slate. |
 "What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina during a global plague and then she was expected to carry on like everything was normal--but was this normal, and had she or anything ever been normal? Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases--Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing--through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny, unclassifiable essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between racoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about post-partum hair loss, graduation speeches, and more"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| One life : the true story of Sir Nicholas Winton and the Prague Kindertransport / Barbara Winton. |
 Sir Nicholas Winton rescued 669 Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia at the brink of World War II. Most never saw their parents again. This is his story. In 1938, 29-year-old 'Nicky' cancelled a ski holiday and instead spent 9 months masterminding a seemingly impossible plan to rescue hundreds of children and find them homes in the UK. There are around 6000 people who are alive today because of him. What motivated an ordinary man to do something so extraordinary? This book, written by his daughter, Barbara, explores the 106-year life of an incredible humanitarian, a man whose astounding feats only came to public light decades later. His legacy is to encourage us all to act when we see injustice or need, and to remind us that every one of us can change the world for the better.-- Publisher description. |
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| From under the truck : a memoir / Josh Brolin. |
 "From Josh Brolin, a unique and decidedly un-celebrity memoir, by turns affecting, funny, uncanny, and unforgettable. Weaving a latticework of different strands, moving back and forth through time, Josh Brolin captures a life marked by curiosity, pain, devotion, kindness, humor. He recounts an unconventional childhood far from Hollywood. Raised on a ranch in Paso Robles, California, he was surrounded as a child by the wolves, cougars, and other wild animals gathered by his fearless and explosive mother, Jane Agee Brolin. Her tragic, early death haunts this book, and the force of her unforgettable personality is felt throughout. Brolin also brings to life his career in the film industry-from his breakout role in The Goonies to the set of No Country for Old Men-and the professional and personal ups and downs in between and since. With unflinching honesty but also great humor, he shares insights into relationships, addiction, love, and fatherhood, while letting the white space in between words speak for itself. Grappling with the mysteries of life and death in a way that will catch readers by surprise, From Under the Truck is an audacious and riveting memoir from a born writer"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Beyond the mountains : an immigrant's inspiring journey of healing and learning to dance with the universe / Deja Vu Prem. |
 "The powerful story of how an immigrant from the Philippines overcame childhood trauma and an emotionally abusive marriage to find her voice and thrive"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Freedom : memoirs 1954-2021 / Angela Merkel with Beate Baumann. |
| "For sixteen years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany and at the forefront of European and international politics. In her memoir, she looks back on her life in two German states--East Germany until 1990, and reunified Germany thereafter. How did she, coming from the East, rise to the top of the Christian Democratic Union to become the first woman to hold the Office of Chancellor? And how did she then become one of the most powerful heads of government in the Western world? What guided her? Angela Merkel recounts daily life in the chancellor's office as well as the dramatic days and nights when she made far-reaching decisions in Berlin, Brussels, and beyond"-- Publisher description. |
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| Cher : the memoir, part one / Cher. |
| "After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Fierce ambition : the life and legend of war correspondent Maggie Higgins / Jennet Conant. |
 "Marguerite Higgins was both the scourge and envy of the journalistic world. A longtime reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, she first catapulted to fame with her dramatic account of the liberation of Dachau at the end of World War II. Brash, beautiful, ruthlessly competitive, and sexually adventurous, she forced her way to the front despite being told the combat zone was no place for a woman. While the Herald Tribune exploited her feminine appeal--regularly featuring the photogenic "girl reporter" on its front pages--it was Maggie's dogged determination, talent for breaking news, and unwavering ambition that brought her success from one war zone to another. Her notoriety soared during the Cold War, and her daring dispatches from Korea garnered a Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence--the first granted to a woman for frontline reporting. A star reporter, she became part of the Kennedy brothers' Washington circle, though her personal alliances and politics provoked bitter feuds with male rivals, who vilified her until her untimely death. Drawing on new and extensive research, journalist and historian Jennet Conant restores Maggie's rightful place in history as a woman who paved the way for the next generation of journalists, and one of the greatest war correspondents of her time."-- Amazon. |
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| Letters / Oliver Sacks ; edited by Kate Edgar. |
 "The letters of one of the greatest observers of the human species, revealing his intimate thoughts on life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family and scientists over the decades A prolific correspondent, Dr. Oliver Sacks--who describes himself variously in these pages as "a philosophical physician," "an astronomer of the inward," a "neuropathological Talmudist," and "a consummate observer" with "a pure love for phenomena"--wrote letters throughout his life to his parents, his beloved Aunt Lennie, to friends and colleagues from London, Oxford, California, and around the world. The pages begin with his arrival in America as a young man, eager to establish himself away from the confines of postwar England, and carry us through his bumpy early career in medicine and the discovery of his writer's voice and métier; his weightlifting, motorcycle-riding years and his explosive seasons of discovery with the patients who populate his book Awakenings; his growing interest in matters of sight and the musical brain; his many friendships and exchanges with fellow writers, artists and scientists (to say nothing of astronauts, botanists, and mathematicians), and his deep gratitude for all these relationships at the end of his life. From Francis Crick and Jane Goodall to W. H. Auden and Susan Sontag, from lovers to patients, and ordinary folk who wrote to him with their odd symptoms and questions, all are treated equally to Sacks's lyrical, ferocious, penetrating and at times hilarious observations. His musings often contain the first detailed sketches of an essay forming in his mind. Sensitively introduced and edited by Kate Edgar, Sacks's longtime assistant (and one of his correspondents), the letters deliver a complete portrait of Sacks as he wrestles with the workings of the brain and mind. We see, through his eyes, the beginnings of modern neuroscience as it unlocks many secrets of how the human brain defines us. We experience the arc of a remarkable personal evolution, closely following the thought processes of one of the twentieth century's great intellectuals, whose life was long and productive and whose words, as evidenced in these pages, were unfailingly shaped with generosity and wonder toward other people."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Carson the Magnificent / Bill Zehme with Mike Thomas. |
 Twenty years in the making, Zemhe and Thomas's book examines "one of the most inscrutable figures in entertainment history: a man who brought so much joy and laughter to so many millions but was himself exceedingly shy and private. Zehme traces Carson's rise from a magic-obsessed Nebraska boy to a Navy ensign in World War II to a burgeoning radio and TV personality to, eventually, host of The Tonight Show--which he transformed, along with the entirety of American popular culture, over the next three decades-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Dinner for vampires : life on a cult TV show / Bethany Joy Lenz. |
 "A deliciously witty and inspiring memoir by One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free. In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to breakthrough as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show's millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult. An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenzfound the safe haven she'd been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister--a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family's Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one ofhis sons and steadily drained millions of her TV income without herknowledge. Family "minders" assigned to her on set, "Maoist struggle session"-inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counseling with "Leadership" were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal. Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill superfan), she finally managed to escape the family's grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered her relationship with God and her understanding of faith."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Hello, friends! : stories of dating, destiny, & day jobs / by Dulcé Sloan. |
 Dulcé Sloan's first memoir is organized into essays from her life. From a childhood moving between cities, starting her own business selling toys at a Miami flea market, to being a Black kid in a predominately white school, she's always used her masterful wit to challenge the status quo. Her purpose in comedy unfolded while navigating clubs and the set of The Daily Show. Have you ever dated an adult who roller skated, or went out with a mechanic just to get free auto service? Yup, she's got that story for you. Her stories are both wildly entertaining and culturally resonant. |
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| The price of power : how Mitch McConnell mastered the Senate, changed America, and lost his party / Michael Tackett. |
 The first definitive biography of Mitch McConnell, revealing the personal and political life of one of the most powerful senators in American history. Drawing on thousands of pages of archival materials, letters, and more than 100 interviews with associates, colleagues, and McConnell himself, Michael Tackett pieces together the story of McConnell's early life, his formative battle with polio as a young child, and the teenage infatuation with politics that persisted through his four decades in the Senate. |
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| Ingenious : a biography of Benjamin Franklin, scientist / Richard Munson. |
 Benjamin Franklin was one of the preeminent scientists of his time. Driven by curiosity, he conducted cutting-edge research on electricity, heat, ocean currents, weather patterns, chemical bonds, and plants. But today, Franklin is remembered more for his political prowess and diplomatic achievements than his scientific creativity. Franklin was a shrewd experimenter, clever innovator, and visionary physicist whose fame opened doors to negotiate French support and funding for American independence. Munson argues that Franklin's political life cannot be understood without giving proper credit to his scientific accomplishments. |
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| My good bright wolf : a memoir / Sarah Moss. |
 "An unflinching memoir about childhood, food, books, and our ability to see, become, and protect ourselves"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| They went another way : a Hollywood memoir / Bruce Eric Kaplan. |
 "A darkly comic memoir about being a working creative person in a world that is growing ever more dysfunctional, by acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist and television writer Bruce Eric Kaplan In January of 2022, Bruce Eric Kaplan found himself confused and upset by the state of the world and the state of his life as a television writer in Los Angeles. He started a journal to keep from going mad. That journal is now They Went Another Way. The book's through line traces his trying to get a television project set up in the increasingly Byzantine world of Hollywood. But as he details the project's ups and downs, Kaplan finds himself not only ruminating on show business, but also on today's political and social issues, on old movies and TV shows and music, on his family, on his friends, on his past, on his failing heating system, and on all the dead birds that kept showing up in his backyard. This hilarious and surprisingly moving book is about life-about art, about love, about alienation, about connection, about ugliness and beauty, about disappointment and wonder and hope. In short, it is about everything. And if it's not, it almost is"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Mondrian : his life, his art, his quest for the absolute / Nicholas Fox Weber. |
 "The extraordinary and surprising life of Piet Mondrian, whose unprecedented geometric art revolutionized modern painting, architecture, graphic art, dress design, and much more"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Damn glad to meet you : my seven decades in the Hollywood trenches / Tim Matheson. |
 "If you know Tim Matheson, odds are it's as Eric "Otter" Stratten, known for the iconic line "Damn glad to meet you" in Animal House-the National Lampoon's iconic, endlessly imitated raunch comedy that imprinted at least three generations with all kinds of terrible ideas of what college was going to be like. But that's not the only time Matheson has graced our screens-in fact, FAR from it. A longtime pro actor in Hollywood, Matheson was a contract player in the studio system. He's been an on-screen favorite all the way back to Leave It to Beaver, then on classic TV like Hawaii 5.0, The West Wing, Ironside, Kung Fu, Medical Center, Police Story, Adam 12, and Night Gallery, as well as films like Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry vehicle Magnum Force, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, the Chevy Chase comedy smash Fletch, and the role of Carol Brady's "presumed-dead" husband in A Very Brady Sequel. What's more, he's far from slowing down in his career; he's enjoying a fifth season as Vernon "Doc" Mullins on the Netflix smash hit, Virgin River. He's old school Hollywood and, at some point or another, he's crossed paths and collaborated with, quite literally, everyone. In this memoir, Matheson reveals what it was like to learn from and work alongside everyone from Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Dick Van Dyke, and Debbie Reynolds to Chevy Chase, Mel Brooks, John Belushi, Steve Martin, John Candy, Chris Farley, Ryan Reynolds, and so many more. In addition to sharing his favorite stories from behind-the-scenes of his most iconic projects, he also talks about how he transitioned from acting to directing, the time he bought (and then sold) National Lampoon with a business partner in the '90s, and how his recurring role as Vice President Hoynes on The West Wing nabbed him not just one, but TWO nominations for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series" at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Thoughtful, heartfelt, and filled to the brim with fun stories of the ever-changing entertainment industry, you're gonna be "damn glad" you read this fascinating memoir"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| I'm laughing because I'm crying : a memoir / by Youngmi Mayer. |
 "'Do you know what happens if you laugh while crying? Hair grows out of your butthole.' It was a constant truism Youngmi Mayer’s mother would say threateningly after she would make her daughter laugh while crying. Her mother used it to cheer her up in moments when she could tell Youngmi was overtaken with grief. The humorous saying would never fail to lighten the mood, causing both daughter and mother to laugh and cry at the same time. Her mother had learned this trick from her mother, and her mother had learned this from her mother before her: it had also helped an endless string of her family laugh through suffering.In I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying, Youngmi jokes through the retelling of her childhood as an offbeat biracial kid in Saipan, a place next to a place that Americans might know. She jokes through her difficult adolescence where she must parent her own parents: a mother who married her husband because he looked like white Jesus (and the singer of The Bee Gees). And with humor and irreverence and full-throated openness, she jokes even while sharing the story of what her family went through during the last century of colonialism and war in Korea, while reflecting how years later, their wounds affect her in New York City as a single mom, all the while interrogating whiteness, gender, and sexuality.Youngmi jokes through these stories in hopes of passing onto the reader what her family passed down to her: The gift of laughing while crying. The gift of a hairy butthole. Because throughout it all, the one thing she learned was one cannot exist without the other. And like a yin and yang, this duality is reflected in this whip-smart, heart-wrenching, and disarmingly funny memoir told by a bright new voice with so much heart and wisdom." —Amazon |
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| Growing up Urkel : a memoir / Jaleel White. |
| "An incisive and insightful memoir by one of the most beloved icons of nineties television Jaleel White, the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters."--Provided by publisher. |
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| From under the truck : a memoir / Josh Brolin. |
| "From Josh Brolin, a unique and decidedly un-celebrity memoir, by turns affecting, funny, uncanny, and unforgettable. Weaving a latticework of different strands, moving back and forth through time, Josh Brolin captures a life marked by curiosity, pain, devotion, kindness, humor. He recounts an unconventional childhood far from Hollywood. Raised on a ranch in Paso Robles, California, he was surrounded as a child by the wolves, cougars, and other wild animals gathered by his fearless and explosive mother, Jane Agee Brolin. Her tragic, early death haunts this book, and the force of her unforgettable personality is felt throughout. Brolin also brings to life his career in the film industry-from his breakout role in The Goonies to the set of No Country for Old Men-and the professional and personal ups and downs in between and since. With unflinching honesty but also great humor, he shares insights into relationships, addiction, love, and fatherhood, while letting the white space in between words speak for itself. Grappling with the mysteries of life and death in a way that will catch readers by surprise, From Under the Truck is an audacious and riveting memoir from a born writer"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Citizen : my life after the White House / Bill Clinton. |
| The 42nd President of the United States writes about his life since leaving the White House. |
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| Master of me : the secret to controlling your narrative / Keke Palmer. |
| "Keke Palmer thought she knew who she was. What it means to be a good person and what it takes to be a success. It all seemed so simple, until she realized the challenges she would have to face to prove to herself who she wanted to be. From feeling alienated to having to restart her career after ten years in to becoming a single mother just months after her son was born-everything she worked for in life that she felt granted her what she wanted now also reminded her that "life is going to life" and throw curveballs regardless of what you deserve. It was in this realization that her understanding of value changed: "Real value doesn't come from what you experience in the world but from how you manage yourself in the midst of those storms." She found herself asking, Where do I find my power? How do I master myself? In her own raw and intimate words, Keke talks about everything from her struggles with boundaries to unconditional love, forgiveness, and worthiness. "Don't block your blessings and potential opportunities by allowing the voices of other people to influence your actions," she says. "How you're choosing to set yourself up for success is between you and the person looking back at you in the mirror." Throughout the book, Keke also poses readers with the questions needed to get them through their own challenging times by sharing personal stories and lessons she's learned along the way. She gets candid about the tools she's developed to take the reins, harness her vulnerability, and recognize ownership in the narrative of her life-which allowed her to turn personal power into major power. In this exhilarating, deeply poignant, and often laugh-out-loud book, Lauren Keyana Palmer gets real about life, work, love, and belief. These pages will encourage readers to empower themselves with the truth, leverage their currency, and find the keys to master themselves and the art of alchemy. Keke writes. "You are not on anyone else's timeline, only your own." The result is a tour de force. They said, "Jack of all Trades, Master of None." She said, "No, I am the Master. Of Me.""-- Provided by publisher. |
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