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Biography and Memoir June 2018
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West Winging It : An Un-presidential Memoir
by Pat Cunnane
What it's about: A whimsical assessment of President Barack Obama's White House years by his senior writer.
Read it for: Compelling and quirky portraits of the people who populate the place, from the President to the press corps. This cross between "The West Wing" and "The Office" takes you into the Oval Office, providing a witty insider's glimpse of that it's really like to work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Excuse Me While I Slip into Someone More Comfortable
by Eric Poole
What it's about: In 1977, Eric Poole is a talented high school trumpet player with one working ear, the height-to-weight ratio of a hat rack, a series of bullies, and a mother devoted to Lemon Pledge. But whe wants to be a star... ANY star.
Read it for: A hilarious and warm-hearted memoir about becoming who you really are...but only after trying to emulate celebrities like Barry Manilow, Halston, Tommy Tune, and Shirley MacLaine.
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| True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness by Christine LahtiWhat it is: a bawdy and intimate collection of essays from actor Christine Lahti, touching on her fractious childhood, her feminist awakening in college, parenthood and aging, and career highs and lows.
Did you know? Lahti is an Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award winner, and was famously in the bathroom when she was awarded the Golden Globe in 1998.
Chapters include: "What I Wish I'd Known About Love Scenes;" "Dear Pregnant Women of a Certain Age." |
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| Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World by Eileen McNamaraWhat it is: an insightful portrait of the Stanford-educated Kennedy -- the 5th of Joseph and Rose's nine children -- whose efforts helped advance the disability rights movement.
About the author: Eileen McNamara is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and director of the Journalism Program at Brandeis University.
Why it's significant: Shining a light on an overlooked member of the Kennedy dynasty, McNamara argues that Eunice's political legacy rivals that of her more famous brothers. |
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Heart Berries
by Terese Marie Mailhot
What it is: A powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest.
What makes it stand out: Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder, Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma.
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| Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage... by Debbie Cenziper and Jim ObergefellWhat it is: a moving, suspenseful account of the plaintiffs and legal teams involved in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
About the authors: Debbie Cenziper is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; Jim Obergefell was the plaintiff in the landmark case.
Why you might like it: Love Wins' timely, empowering narrative makes it an ideal book club selection. |
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The Fate of Gender : Nature, Nurture, and the Human Future
by Frank Browning
What it's about: In this wide-ranging sociological and cultural survey, Browning (The Monk and the Skeptic), a former NPR correspondent, raises questions about what gender means in the Western world today (though he includes many references to non-Western cultures).
Why it matters: This book links science to culture and behavior, and Browning questions the traditional division of Nature vs. Nurture in everything from plant science to sexual expression, arguing in the end that life consists of an endless waltz between these two notions.
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| Logical Family: A Memoir by Armistead MaupinWhat it's about: After brief stints in law school and the military, beloved author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) eschewed his conservative Southern upbringing for the freewheeling San Francisco of the 1970s, finding a community in the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement.
Is it for you? With a nonlinear yet nuanced narrative, Logical Family will appeal to Maupin's fans and general readers alike.
Want a taste? "Sooner or later, we have to venture beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us." |
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| Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet MockWhat it is: a courageous memoir from trans activist Janet Mock, foregrounding her transition and coming-of-age against the larger societal plight of trans women of color.
Reviewers say: "An enlightening, much-needed perspective on transgender identity" (Kirkus Reviews).
Further reading: Mock published a follow-up memoir, Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me, in 2017. |
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| Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn SherrWhat it is: an intimate biography of the astronaut and icon, whose heavily guarded personal life remained a secret until her death in 2012, when her obituary revealed her as a lesbian survived by her partner of 27 years.
What sets it apart: Written with the cooperation of Ride's partner, family, and colleagues, journalist (and longtime friend of Ride) Lynn Sherr's sensitive, thoroughly researched portrait celebrates Ride's life and legacy. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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