| True Crime by Patricia CornwellKay Scarpetta series author Patricia Cornwell’s autobiography reads like a gritty, dramatic backstory for one of her characters. She talks plainly but captivatingly about her dysfunctional childhood, the multiple incidents of sexual violence she endured, her early journalism career, and the real-life female medical examiner who served as inspiration for Scarpetta. This chatty, candid memoir has “more action and drama than many novels” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberlé Williams CrenshawLegal scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw has put rigorous research behind her coined concept of “intersectionality” -- a term describing the experience of more than one socially marginalized identity. But her own experiences as a Black girl and woman provided her with ample source material, which she relates in an impassioned, straightforward memoir that “vibrates with authority” (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, & Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground by Zayd Ayers DohrnPlaywright Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the oldest son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, leftist radicals belonging to the 1970s terrorist organization the Weather Underground. Dohrn describes what it was like growing up off the grid as his family honed tactics for evading federal agents, and how both of his parents struggled to balance their love for their children with commitment to the cause. |
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| Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America by Lauren HoughMemoirist Lauren Hough hits the road with her dog, Woody, in an American travelogue inspired by John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. As she traverses the states, Hough alternates road anecdotes with scenes from her life -- pondering friendship cut short by death and taking stock of modern life’s compromises and indignities; yet she somehow mines hopeful conclusions in a book that’s “as much of a journey inward as it is outward” (Library Journal). |
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| The Sane One: A Memoir by the Co-Creator of Pen15 by Anna KonkleActor and television writer Anna Konkle’s debut memoir explores her adolescent years with the same awkward, cringey humor that characterizes Pen15, the Hulu series that she co-created with Maya Erskine. But Konkle also shows her somber side by candidly addressing her extremely strained relationship with her divorced father (thankfully mended by the time the latter passed away from cancer). |
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| Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben MezrichIn September 2022, 19-year-old chess competitor Hans Niemann toppled grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a face-to-face match, stunning the chess world. Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating shortly afterwards, and author Ben Mezrich (Breaking Twitter) revisits the resulting scandal. The back-and-forth recriminations, intensified by the involvement of the popular gaming site Chess.com, would turn this high-drama feud into the stuff of legends. |
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This Is Your Mother: A Memoir by Erika J. SimpsonWhen Erika Simpson was growing up, her mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers and middle child of ten, her origin story became a Genesis. Leaving home and a cheating husband while pursuing higher education, her path felt like an Exodus. Her rules for survival, repeated like commandments, guided Erika's own journey into adulthood. But where does a mother's story end and a daughter's begin? In this brave, illuminating memoir, Erika offers a joint recollection of their lives as they navigate the realities of destitution often left undiscussed.
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No Ordinary Bird: Drug Smuggling, a Plane Crash, and a Daughter's Quest for the Truth by Artis HendersonAn exhilarating memoir by a daughter uncovering the secret of her father's rags-to-riches story, from poor farm boy to international drug smuggler, and the many mysteries surrounding his sudden death by plane crash. "How do you tell the good guys from the bad?" For years, it was simply called "the accident." But many things weren't getting discussed. Beyond the dramatic betrayals, dangerous drug lords, and geopolitical intrigue is the beating heart of this riveting memoir: a daughter's grappling with a dark legacy and her memories of the father who had been the light of her life.
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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