Biography and Memoir
April 2025
Recent Releases
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
by Omar El Akkad

In his frank and thought-provoking blend of history and memoir, award-winning novelist Omar El Akkad (American War) examines the West's apathy and inaction toward Israel's ongoing destruction of Gaza. Try this next: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Only say good things : surviving Playboy and finding myself
by Crystal Hefner

A world-renowned model, advocate, entrepreneur and wife of the late Hugh Hefner provides a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at a powerful cultural icon and brand, revealing the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion and sharing her transformative journey to a person who finally recognized her true worth
Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson...
by Mallory O'Meara

Mallory O'Meara's (The Lady from the Black Lagoon) engaging latest chronicles the life and career of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first professional stunt woman, whose start in silent films included appearances in the long-running adventure serial The Hazards of Helen, from which she took her stage name. Further reading: Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood by J.E. Smyth.
All you need is love : the Beatles in their own words
by Peter Brown

This groundbreaking oral history of the Beatles is based on interviews with Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and others in 1980-81 in preparation for the international bestseller The Love You Make. 
The secret lives of booksellers and librarians : true stories of the magic of reading
by James Patterson

Showcasing the smart and talented people who live between the pages, this inspiring collection of true stories, as told to one of the greatest novelists of our time, invites us into a world where we can feed our curiosities, discover new voices and find whatever we want or require.
Focus on: National Poetry Month
Punch Me Up to the Gods
by Brian Broome

In his Kirkus Prize-winning debut, poet and screenwriter Brian Broome recounts coming of age Black and gay in 1980s Ohio, detailing his struggles with identity, addiction, and generational trauma. Try this next: No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in America by Darnell L. Moore.
Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose
by Nikki Giovanni

Renowned poet Nikki Giovanni's final published collection before her 2024 death poignantly explores aging, grief, injustice, and resilience. Booklist calls it "timeless and profoundly resonant for both poetry aficionados and casual readers." Further reading: This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets edited by Kwame Alexander.
Poet Warrior
by Joy Harjo

Former United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's engaging follow-up to her 2012 memoir Crazy Brave explores her Muscogee upbringing with a poetry-loving mother, who encouraged the author's interest in words, and how she survived abuse from her father and stepfather to find communion with fellow Indigenous writers as a University of New Mexico student in the 1970s. Further reading: When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: An Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Harjo.
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir
by Natasha Trethewey

Years after her mother's murder, Pulitzer Prize winner and former United States Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway returned to the scene of the crime, where she found long-buried answers to questions lingering from childhood. Readers stirred by this lyrical and unflinching portrait of family violence will want to check out Blood by Allison Moorer. 
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and...
by David Waldstreicher

Named a New York Times Notable Book of 2023, historian David Waldstreicher's thought-provoking and richly detailed biography chronicles the trailblazing life and work of Phillis Wheatley, the first known enslaved poet. Further reading: African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song edited by Kevin Young.
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