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Biography and Memoir October 2026 |
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| The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience by Chris YoungFor a teenaged Chris Young, selling drugs was the only available escape from his poverty-stricken and violent domestic life. Upon being handed a mandatory life sentence after multiple felony arrests, Young startled everyone at his hearing by advocating for himself armed with nothing but his extensive reading of the books in the prison library, a speech that eventually secured his early release. Young’s story of overcoming tremendous odds is a “resonant, inspirational tale of redemption” (Booklist) that underscores the racism and injustice corrupting the penal system. |
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Swan Song: Diana, My Sister by Charles SpencerIn September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before a watching world and shared his grief at losing his beloved sister, Diana. Now, nearly thirty years later, he tells the astonishing story of his life with Diana and the tragic week of her death. As each other's closest confidantes, they roamed the family estate, endured challenging boarding schools, survived terrifying nannies, and helped each other through the agony of their parents' divorce. Yet everything changed when Diana married the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, and overnight became a global icon. In Swan Song, Charles Spencer provides the most intimate, loving, and honest portrait yet of his sister.
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The Stepsby Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Stallone reflects on the difficult childhood and years of rejection that shaped his pursuit of an acting career. Framed by his arrival in New York City in 1969 and Rocky’s triumph at the 1977 Academy Awards, this memoir explores the struggles, determination, and risks behind his rise to success. .
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| The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn by Dave ZirinRevisionist historian and liberal activist Howard Zinn’s sense of justice began developing early. Journalist Dave Zirin’s inspiring biography shows how Zinn’s experiences as a teenaged labor organizer and a young WWII airman were instrumental in forming his perspective as a history scholar, anti-war agitator, and author of The People’s History of the United States -- the book that made Zinn famous and earned him many enemies for its radical retelling. |
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A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival by Virginia EubanksIn 2015, journalist Virginia Eubanks’ partner, J., was the victim of two separate assaults near their home, one of which resulted in serious injuries. The PTSD that J. suffered over the ensuing years was soon passed along to Eubanks, as she became J.’s primary (unpaid) caregiver. She found a way of coping by immersing herself in lifesaving and wilderness survival, and her book reveals striking parallels between emergency rescue and care work, which too often falls to loved ones.
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| Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline BicksShakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks occupies the University of Maine’s inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, a fortuitous position that quickly led to a dialogue and friendship with Mr. King. In an accessible voice, Bicks reveals creepy parallels between the works of the Bard and those of the Master of Scares, and even shares some nuggets of writing wisdom from the famous author himself. If this interests you, seek out King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. |
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Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction by Lisa KrögerWeird fiction wouldn't exist without the women who created it. Meet the female authors who defied convention to craft some of literature's strangest tales. And find out why their own stories are equally intriguing. Monster, She Wrote shares the stories of women past and present who invented horror, speculative, and weird fiction and made it great. You'll meet celebrated icons (Ann Radcliffe, V.C. Andrews), forgotten wordsmiths (Eli Coltor, Ruby Jean Jensen), and today's vanguard (Helen Oyeyemi). And each profile includes a curated reading list so you can seek out the spine-chilling tales that interest you the most.
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Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams by Robert EnglundMeet Robert Englund, the award-winning actor best known for his role as Freddy Krueger -- the legendary horror icon featured on the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains roster -- a character as unforgettable and enduring as Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Boris Karloff's Frankenstein. Packed with Robert's hilarious stories, playful self-deprecation, and a generous helping of never-before-revealed A Nightmare on Elm Street trivia, Hollywood Monster offers an unparalleled look at the beloved film icon. |
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| Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World by Daniel KrausCelebrated author and screenwriter Daniel Kraus comes clean about the immense influence that George A. Romero’s 1968 zombie classic Night of the Living Dead had on him as a film fan and writer. Kraus doesn’t just discuss the film -- he vivisects it, guiding the reader practically frame-by-frame, in an engrossing thesis that casts the redefining of horror cinema as a metaphor for the grisly death of modern culture, “oozing with grief…while simultaneously bursting with life” (Booklist). It’s a can’t-miss feature for horror fans. |
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| It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror by Joe Vallese, editorPut together by NYU writing professor Joe Vallese, It Came from the Closet is an essay anthology featuring 26 queer or trans writers reflecting on the excitement, revulsion, and sense of belonging they found in horror cinema and literature. The feelings of comfort and validation the contributors describe were often not to be found in a society that ironically viewed them as “monsters.” This thought-provoking collection, while touching on disturbing themes, is shot through with humor, wit, and original ideas. |
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| Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard KopleyEnglish professor Richard Kopley offers a detailed account of Edgar Allan Poe’s brief life mixed with close readings of the author and poet’s work. With the latter, Kopley makes a persuasive case for Poe as the godfather of both the horror and detective genres, though his achievements were undermined by his demons -- namely, alcohol; grief at the death of his young wife, Virginia; and frustration at his failure to gain financial success for his writing. In a crowded field, this biography “can well be called definitive” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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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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