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Biography and Memoir July 2025 |
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Walk Like a Girl
by Prabal Gurung
Traces the author's journey from his challenging upbringing in Nepal and India to becoming a celebrated New York fashion designer, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and acceptance while honoring the influence of his mother and his defiant embrace of authenticity in the face of societal prejudice.
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| How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir by Molly Jong-FastMolly Jong-Fast, the daughter of Fear of Flying author Erica Jong, chronicles her "wildly conflicted" relationship with her mother, whose neglect spurred Jong-Fast's battles with addiction and whose dementia diagnosis in 2023 helped the two reconnect. For fans of: Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden. |
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Tomboy Ballerina: My Life from Baseball to American Ballet Theatre and Beyond
by Roni Mahler
Known for her singular approach to cross-training while teaching ballet to football players, Mahler has taught around the world and, as the Artistic Associate of Cleveland Ballet/Ballet San Jose, dedicated over three decades to teaching, coaching, and performing. Written in collaboration with her ballet disciple and friend, this intimate account details her journey from the ballet stage and the baseball diamond to the gridiron and beyond.
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| Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance by A'Lelia BundlesA'Lelia Bundles "brings vibrant life" (Publishers Weekly) to her great-grandmother A'Lelia Walker (trailblazing entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker's daughter), who parlayed her status as the United States' first high-profile Black heiress to become a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance and a prolific patron of the arts. Try this next: Madam C.J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon by Erica L. Ball. |
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Books You Might Have Missed
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| Bibliophobia by Sarah ChihayaBook critic and essayist Sarah Chihaya plumbs her bookish obsessions in this thought-provoking memoir exploring how literature shaped her identity as a Japanese American in a predominantly white Ohio suburb, helped her navigate mental health woes and destructive relationships, and bolstered her career as an academic. Thy these next: Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim; Asian/Other: Life, Poems, and the Problem of Memoir by Vidyan Ravinthiran. |
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| Mainline Mama by Keeonna HarrisPEN America Writing for Justice Fellow Keeonna Harris debuts with a searing account of her experiences navigating the prison industrial complex after her partner was sentenced to 22 years in prison following their son's birth. Try this next: Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford. |
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| Pure Innocent Fun by Ira Madison IIIIn his funny and nostalgic blend of memoir and cultural criticism, TV writer and Keep It! podcast co-host Ira Madison III shares his formative pop culture influences. For fans of: Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris. |
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| Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star by Mayukh SenMayukh Sen's thought-provoking biography of British South Asian actress Merle Oberon (1911-1979) poignantly illuminates how the star navigated passing as a white woman within the Golden Age of Hollywood's racist and classic system, becoming the first actor of color nominated for an Academy Award while disguising her heritage. For fans of: Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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