|
Biography and Memoir May 2019
|
|
|
|
|
Let Love Have the Last Word : A Memoir
by Common
Common—the Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Golden Globe–winning musician, actor, and activist—follows up his New York Times bestselling memoir One Day It’ll All Make Sense with this inspiring exploration of how love and mindfulness can build communities and allow you to take better control of your life through actions and words.
Courageous, insightful, brave, and characteristically authentic, Let Love Have the Last Word shares Common’s own unique and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer. It is a powerful call to action for a new generation of open hearts and minds, one that is sure to resonate for years to come.
|
|
|
Riding the elephant : a memoir of altercations, humiliations, hallucinations, and observations
by Craig Ferguson
In Riding the Elephant, Craig discusses his deep love for his native Scotland, examines his profound psychic change brought on by fatherhood, and looks at aging and mortality with a perspective that he was incapable of as a younger man. Each story is strung together in a colorful tapestry that ultimately reveals a complicated man who has learned to process—and even enjoy—the unusual trajectory of his life.The comedian, actor and former host of The Late Late Show presents an irreverent memoir in essays that explores subjects ranging from his childhood and family life to his career and his devotion to Glasgow
|
|
|
The Parrot's Perch : A Memoir of Torture and Corruption in Brazil
by Karen Keilt
The Parrot’s Perch opens in 2013, when Karen Keilt, age sixty, receives an invitation to testify at the Brazilian National Truth Commission at the UN in New York. The email sparks memories of her “previous life”―the one she has kept safely bottled up for more than thirty-seven years. Hopeful of helping to raise awareness about ongoing human rights violations in Brazil, she wants to testify, but she anguishes over reliving the horrific events of her youth.
In the pages that follow, Keilt tells the story of her life in Brazil―from her exclusive, upper-class lifestyle and dreams of Olympic medals to her turmoil-filled youth. Full of hints of a dark oligarchy in Brazil, corruption, crime, and military interference, The Parrot’s Perch is a searing, sometimes shocking true tale of suffering, struggle―and survival.
|
|
| A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win WWII by Sonia PurnellWho it's about: undeterred American Virginia Hall, who didn't let workplace sexism and the loss of her leg in a hunting accident stop her from serving as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) spy in occupied France, where she established an underground resistance network.
Why you might like it: Offering breakneck pacing and plenty of wartime intrigue, this celebration of a little-known hero is "a joy to read" (Booklist).
Movie buzz: Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley is set to play Hall in a forthcoming film adaptation. |
|
|
Son of Havana : A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back
by Luis Tiant
The improbable story of Luis Tiant―a living link to the earliest days of Fidel Castro’s regime, a Boston Red Sox legend, and the most qualified 20th Century pitcher not yet enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In Son of Havana, Tiant puts his huge heart on his sleeve and describes his road from fields strewn with rocks and rubbish in Havana to the pristine lawns of major league ballparks. Teammates, opponents, family, and media also weigh-in―including a foreword by fellow Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski and the first in-depth interview ever with Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk on the magic behind these Boston batterymates.
Readers will share Tiant’s pride when appeals by a pair of U.S. senators to baseball-fanatic Castro secure freedom for Luis’s parents to fly to Boston and witness the 1975 World Series glory of their child. And readers will join the big-league ballplayers for their spring 2016 exhibition game in Havana, when Tiant―a living link to the earliest, scariest days of the Castro regime―threw out the first pitch.
|
|
| Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living by Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle What it is: a therapeutic and life-affirming family road trip.
Starring: nonagenarian Norma, who forgoes intensive chemotherapy after her terminal cancer diagnosis to tour the country with her retired son Tim and his wife, Ramie, in their "mobile assisted living home."
Norma says "yes" to...hot air balloon rides, NBA courtside seats, a feted appearance at the Boston St. Patrick's Day parade, and more. |
|
| Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John HodgmanWhat it's about: humorist John Hodgman's neurotic attempts to maintain summer homes in Massachusetts and Maine, which he does with middling degrees of success.
Read it for: droll, hard-earned wisdom on topics as varied as male privilege, dumpster etiquette, and regional humor.
Want a taste? "Here is some homeowner's advice. Do not put even a single box of stale Cheerios down the garbage disposal, never mind three." |
|
| In Other Words by Jhumpa LahiriWhat it is: Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's bilingual memoir of how her love of Italian prompted her to move her family to Rome, where she made surprising discoveries about her identity as a writer.
Want a taste? "Writing in another language represents an act of demolition, a new beginning."
Did you know? A national bestseller, In Other Words is Lahiri's first foray into nonfiction and was originally published in Italian. |
|
| The Comfort Food Diaries: My Quest for the Perfect Dish to Mend a Broken Heart by Emily NunnWhat it's about: Grappling with the aftermath of her brother's suicide and the end of her engagement, grief-stricken food writer Emily Nunn embarks on a cross-country road trip to visit loved ones and indulge in favorite comfort foods.
Recipes include: country ham biscuits; lemon sponge cups; cream cheese and olive sandwiches; collard soup.
Reviewers say: "nourishing" (Kirkus Reviews); "gorgeous and moving" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|