LibraryAware October 2025

Recent Releases

Trailblazer : perseverance in life and politics
by Carol Moseley-Braun

The first Black woman ever elected to the Senate. The first woman to represent the state of Illinois. The first Black woman to serve as a US ambassador to New Zealand. These are just a few of the 'firsts' that Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun can lay claim to since entering politics in the 1970s. Since then, the self-professed 'Black girl from the south side of Chicago' has been shattering ceilings and making history. Yet her journey to Congress and to international renown was not an easy one, rife with obstacles, controversies, and lessons learned.

Awake
by Jen Hatmaker

Popular Christian living author and podcaster Jen Hatmaker courageously explores the heartbreaking and humiliating end of her marriage of 26 years and the challenges of reclaiming her independence. Hatmaker, suddenly a single mother of five, is relatable as she searchingly poses questions about her purpose and identity that she had taken for granted for so long. For fans of: Untamed by Glennon Doyle.

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis
by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley with Mary Jane Ross

More than 50 years after her divorce from the King of Rock and Roll, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley candidly recalls finding her independence after her relationship with Elvis, which had dominated her life since she was 14. Presley is frank about her triumphs (success as an actor) and tragedies (the deaths of her daughter and grandson), as well as the grief she felt after her ex-husband’s death.

Madden & Summerall : how they revolutionized NFL broadcasting
by Rich Podolsky

Separately, they were great. Together, they were the greatest ever. This book is about two stalwarts of the game of football, but their story is not without controversy. Follow the intimate stories of their lives from childhood until their deaths, before and during their great 21-year partnership. Never-before-told insider stories from friends, family members, and dozens of ex-colleagues pepper the chapters of this book on the greatest team in sports broadcasting.

Mother Mary Comes to Me
by Arundhati Roy

Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy shares vivid memories of growing up poor in India and her complicated relationship with her single mother, Mary. It is a raw account of living with a headstrong, volatile, and sometimes abusive parent, but one who also ignited the author’s dedication to Indian women’s rights, and whose death in 2022 left Arundhati overcome with grief. For fans of: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

All the way to the river : love, loss, and liberation
by Elizabeth Gilbert

A raw and unflinching memoir of love, addiction, heartbreak, and transformation from the author of Eat Pray Love traces her journey from deep friendship to destructive passion and the hard-won freedom from patterns that once felt impossible to escape. Gilbert has "an admirable ability to stare darkness in the face without losing hope. Readers struggling with addiction or seeking a path through heartbreak will find invaluable wisdom in these pages." (Publishers Weekly)

Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom
by Christine Brown Woolley

Reality TV star Christine Brown Woolley speaks earnestly about her Mormon faith and upbringing and candidly about her choice -- following the conclusion of her TLC show Sister Wives -- to leave the tradition of fundamentalist polygamy in which she was raised. If you like this, be sure to read Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear by Jinger Duggar Vuolo.

Contact your librarian for more great books!