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Biography and Memoir April 2026 |
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| Judy Blume: A Life by Mark OppenheimerHistorian and journalist Mark Oppenheimer’s “fitting tribute” (Booklist) to author Judy Blume provides a detailed, chronological view of an ambitious, talented woman seeking something beyond the strictures of her early marriage and motherhood. Though her work was sometimes controversial, Oppenheimer pinpoints the secret of Blume’s success: she was able to produce children’s stories with a keen sense of realism in which young readers could actually see themselves. |
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You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir
by Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate came of age on sets and stages, expected to be on time, with lines learned, ready for lights-camera-action. What started as a financial necessity soon became an emotional escape from a tumultuous home life in the infamous Laurel Canyon scene of the 70s and 80s. She rocketed to stardom on the sitcom Married...with Children and went on to captivate audiences in classics like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead..., Anchorman, and Dead to Me in her five-decade long career. Then it all stopped. A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in 2021 confined her to a king-sized bed and the company of memories she'd rather forget: memories of the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that stalked her meteoric rise, of her mother's fight against addiction and abuse after her father left, and of the tax life had taken on her body and mind that was suddenly coming due.
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| Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery by Gavin NewsomCalifornia governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom’s book briskly lays out his rise in the Democratic party, reveals some of the struggles early in his life that propelled him into politics, and talks about some key achievements of his tenure, including overseeing California’s legalization of same-sex marriage seven years prior to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Try this next: The Deeper the Roots by Michael Tubbs. |
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Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
by Liza Minnelli
This fascinating, untold story reveals the intimate truth of the only child born to Hollywood legends Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland. For the first time, here is Liza up close: Raw, strong, sexy, hilarious and heartbreaking. Liza decided at the age of 16 that sympathy is my mother's business. I give people joy. That veil of joy, however, masks a lifelong struggle with Substance Use Disorder (SUD, which Liza inherited from her mother's branch of her family), boundless love to give and an equal need to receive it, broken marriages, multiple miscarriages, and hospitalizations--the highs and lows of unparalleled artistic success and lifelong friendships, as well as chronic anxiety and the threat of financial ruin. Despite every challenge, Liza's is a life wrapped in laughter and her tremendous capacity to give and receive love.
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Unshaming: A Memoir of Recovery, Relapse, and What Comes After
by Jowita Bydlowska
It's been over a decade since Jowita Bydlowska published her bestselling lightning rod of a memoir on overcoming alcohol addiction as a young mother. Both hailed and criticized for its no-holds-barred transparency, Drunk Mom was--and continues to be--refreshing and revelatory in its gritty exploration of addiction and relapse in the context of new parenthood, specifically from the experience of a woman. But what happens after the last page is turned, after the happy ending of an addiction the world assumes is safely in the rearview? When Bydlowska relapses after the success of her book, her overwhelming sense is one of shame. She struggles to reconcile the knowledge that she's helped bring comfort and hope to countless readers with her own frustration and mounting fear that the truth will only let others down.
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Lessons from a Lifetime: Ninety Years of Inspiration and Activism
by David Suzuki
Across his 90 years on planet Earth, David Suzuki has inspired generations of his followers to fight for environmental and social causes with courage and conviction. In Lessons From a Lifetime, Suzuki shares pearls of wisdom and hard-earned lessons for the next generation of activists, alongside personal stories and heartfelt contributions from his friends and family, his admirers, and even his opponents, including: Margaret AtwoodNeil YoungJane FondaElizabeth MayJustin Trudeau... and many more. In words and photographs, Lessons From a Lifetime shares David Suzuki's journey from surviving internment camps as a Japanese-Canadian child to becoming North America's most trusted voice in science communication.
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Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect
by Valerie Bertinelli
Now in her mid-sixties, Valerie reflects on the hard-won lessons of aging, self-worth, and letting go. From her experiences with menopause, relationships, and family trauma, she writes with clarity and compassion about the insecurities that have haunted her for decades: shame and anxiety about her body, and the false belief that her value depended on perfection. Through it all, Valerie reflects on the quiet, daily work of self-acceptance--the kind that doesn't make headlines but changes lives. Getting Naked isn't just a story of survival. It's a reckoning--with her past, her family history, and the generational pain that shaped her. It's about the myths we believe when we're young--about beauty, love, success--and how we carry them until they break us open. It's about unlearning the script that says women must please, endure, and stay silent. The result is a deeply personal, unexpectedly funny, and profoundly uplifting look at the inner journey we all share.
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When the Game Changes: Losing My Mum and Finding Myself
by Evanka Osmak
When fan-favourite Sportsnet TV anchor Evanka Osmak was forty-one years old, she became a hockey player for the first time. She had her dream job, a solid group of female friends, and a beautiful family; still, she realized she needed something outside of work that was just for her, particularly in the wake of a pandemic that caused all our worlds to shrink. That's when she found Sister Sports, a local hockey league just for women. Evanka was used to reporting on hockey, so she knew the game inside and out--from the broadcast studio. But she'd never played before. And she wouldn't realize until later how much this league would come to mean to her.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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