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Biography and Memoir December 2025 |
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| Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret AtwoodIn Book of Lives, Canadian author Margaret Atwood brings readers a long-awaited, “marvelously witty” (Kirkus Reviews) memoir. Writing as much about her craft as her life story, Atwood reveals how both have influenced one another, for instance explaining how the dystopian setting for The Handmaid’s Tale was in part inspired by a stint in 1980s Berlin. For another memoir that ruminates on the writing life, try Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami. |
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Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much
by Cynthia Erivo
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being too much and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves. To illustrate that it's often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine. In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she's learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think. In this book, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.
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| The Uncool by Cameron CroweIn the 1970s, writer/director Cameron Crowe was an up-and-coming teenaged rock journalist, writing for Rolling Stone and touring with the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers. Although peppered with upbeat road stories, Crowe’s memoir seamlessly weaves in more emotional passages about close relationships, his older sister’s suicide, and his later fame as a filmmaker. For fans of: Going into the City: Portrait of a Critic as a Young Man by Robert Christgau; the Crowe-directed film Almost Famous. |
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God Father of Metal Last Rites: Ozzy Osbourne and His Final Moments
by Freda Baron
This is an electrifying tribute to the wild, untamed spirit of Ozzy Osbourne - the man who turned chaos into an art form and darkness into sound. From his early days with Black Sabbath to his solo reign as the Prince of Darkness, this book dives deep into the madness, music, and meaning behind the legend. It's a journey through Ozzy's battles with fame, faith, and fate - a look at the man who defied every rule, survived every fall, and still stands as the Godfather of Metal. This is more than a chronicle; it's Ozzy's final bow, a reflection on the price of immortality and the power of music to outlive the man.
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Bread of Angels: A Memoir
by Patti Smith
The most intimate of Smith's memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years when the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative heroes and role models as Smith starts to write poetry, then lyrics, merging both into the iconic recordings and songs such as Horses and Easter, 'Dancing Barefoot' and 'Because the Night.' She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred 'Sonic' Smith, with whom she creates a life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start their family. As Smith suffers profound losses, grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life, and, finally, writing again--
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The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports
by Nicholas Thompson
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A profound meditation on what running can teach us about our limits and our lives by a record-setting distance runner who is now the CEO of The Atlantic. This is not just an engaging memoir about running. It's a meditation on what it takes to marshal and maintain motivation.-- For Nicholas Thompson, running has always been about something more than putting one foot in front of another. He ran his first mile at age five, using it as a way to connect with his father as his family fell apart. As a young man, it was a sport that transformed, and then shook, his sense of self-worth. In his 30s, it was a way of coping with a profound medical scare. By his early 40s, Thompson had many accomplishments. He was the Editor in Chief of a major magazine; a devoted husband and father; and a passionate runner. Then a chance offer gave him the opportunity to train for the Chicago Marathon with elite coaches. Giving himself over to the sport more fully than ever before, he discovered that aging didn't necessarily put you on an unbroken trajectory. Throughout the narrative, he weaves in stories of remarkable men and women who have used the sport to transcend some of the hardest moments in life. The Running Ground is a story about fathers, sons, and the most basic and most beautiful of sports.
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| The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir by Roy Wood, Jr.Comedian and television personality Roy Wood, Jr.’s memoir is filled with lessons he learned the hard way from various “father” figures, including his real father, who played a peripatetic but influential role in his son’s life. Some of these figures offered Wood wisdom and advice, while others gave him examples not to follow, but they all made enough of an impression to become comedy gold in a debut that is also “refreshingly earnest” (Kirkus Reviews). If you like this, check out Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond by Henry Winkler. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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