Biography and Memoir
April 2026

Recent Releases
La Lucci
by Susan Lucci with Laura Morton

Actress Susan Lucci opens up in her “vivid and engaging” (Kirkus Reviews) second memoir about her life and career highs and lows. With unsentimental candor, the soap icon recounts continuing to work in film and Broadway in her late seventies and goes deep into her inspirations, disappointments, and her motivation to keep going despite some painful losses, notably the death of her husband of 53 years, Helmut Huber, of a stroke in 2022.
Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria
by Loubna Mrie

When Syrian photojournalist Loubna Mrie joined the Arab Spring protests as a teenager in 2011, her father, an intelligence official for the Assad regime, cut her off. This started her career documenting the ensuing civil war, and her powerful debut details the personal toll it took -- both from the horrors she witnessed and the implosion of her family -- as political and sectarian violence engulfed the country.
Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery
by Gavin Newsom

California 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. 
Judy Blume: A Life
by Mark Oppenheimer

Historian 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.
Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke...
by Gabriel Sherman

In media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s winner-takes-all worldview, his four children -- Lachlan, Liz, James, and Prudence -- become little more than negotiators across the conference table vying for control of his mega-corporation. Biographer Gabriel Sherman documents the family drama, cynicism, and ruthlessness of all concerned in Bonfire of the Murdochs.
You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina Applegate
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. 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. Now, at her most intimate and vulnerable, she unveils a story not even those closest to her fully know. 
In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man: A Memoir by Tom Junod
In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man: A Memoir
by Tom Junod

From two-time National Magazine Award winner Tom Junod, a searching, brilliantly stylized memoir about a charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image, the many secrets he hid, the son's obsessive quest to uncover them, and ultimately, the true meaning of manhood Affecting. . . . Moves like a song, drawing you in with its melody before delivering an emotional wallop. --The New York Times 
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
by Liza Minnelli

Global icon Liza Minnelli shares her inspiring story: stepping out from the long shadow of a mega-star mother and legendary film director father, fighting a lifetime battle with addiction, and emerging from it all to become a once-in-a-lifetime artist. 
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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