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Biography and Memoir July 2025 |
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| Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Belonging by Cristina JiménezIn her moving debut, MacArthur Fellow and community organizer Cristina Jiménez recounts her family's fraught immigration journey from Ecuador to the United States in the 1990s, detailing her fears of living undocumented, her commitment to social justice activism, and her role in helping enact Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Try this next: Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo. |
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| Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America by Sam TanenhausFormer New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus' incisive and richly detailed biography surveys the life and legacy of public intellectual William F. Buckley, Jr., whose philosophies shaped the modern conservatism movement. Further reading: Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism by Carl T. Bogus. |
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This American Woman: A One-In-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna GargThis American Woman recounts the author's journey from resisting an arranged marriage in India to building a multifaceted life in America, ultimately finding her calling in stand-up comedy while challenging expectations and embracing self-determination with humor and resilience. Try this next: Survival of the Thickest by Michelle Buteau.
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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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Books You Might Have Missed
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Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. In New York, he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy--especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis--and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre. Try this next: Leading Lady by Charles Busch. |
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Who I Always Wasby Theresa OkokonIn this debut essay collection, a writer examines the enduring impact of her father's mysterious death on her identity, exploring themes of grief, Blackness, African spirituality, and the complexities of belonging, while reflecting on her experiences as a Black woman navigating unrequited love and familial abandonment in predominantly white Wisconsin suburbs. Try this next: Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford.
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| The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. DautYale University professor Marlene L. Daut's scholarly and nuanced biography explores the complex legacy of Henry Chrisophe (1767-1820), Haiti's only king, whose evolution from revolutionary leader to despot shaped the country during its fight for independence and the decades that followed. Further reading: Haiti: The Aftershocks of History by Laurent Dubois. |
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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: The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Forsyth County Public Library
660 W. Fifth St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-703-2665forsythlibrary.org |
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