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Biography and Memoir April 2025 |
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| One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El AkkadIn his frank and thought-provoking blend of history and memoir, award-winning novelist Omar El Akkad (American War) examines the West's apathy and inaction toward Israel's ongoing destruction of Gaza. Try this next: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. |
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The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their...
by Karen Valby
Karen Valby's inspiring expansion of her 2021 New York Times article profiles the trailblazing accomplishments of Black ballerinas Lydia Abarca-Mitchell, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells, and Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, who were among the first company members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem in the 1960s and '70s. Further reading: Dance Theatre of Harlem: A History, A Movement, A Celebration by Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel.
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I'm that girl : living the power of my dreams
by Jordan Chiles
This memoir from the two-time Olympian gymnast chronicles her journey to the awards podium while overcoming racism, childhood trauma and devastating setbacks, highlighting the importance of family support and the resilience of the human spirit. 75,000 first printing. Illustrations.
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| Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson... by Mallory O'MearaMallory O'Meara's (The Lady from the Black Lagoon) engaging latest chronicles the life and career of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first professional stunt woman, whose start in silent films included appearances in the long-running adventure serial The Hazards of Helen, from which she took her stage name. Further reading: Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood by J.E. Smyth. |
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| Legends and Soles: The Memoir of an American Original by Sonny Vaccaro with Armen KeteyianIn his candid and heartfelt memoir, retired sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro dishes on his successful career, including his role in signing Michael Jordan to a shoe deal with Nike and creating the Air Jordan shoe in 1984. For fans of: the 2023 movie Air, in which Matt Damon portrays Vaccaro. |
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Focus on: National Poetry Month
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| Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian BroomeIn his Kirkus Prize-winning debut, poet and screenwriter Brian Broome recounts coming of age Black and gay in 1980s Ohio, detailing his struggles with identity, addiction, and generational trauma. Try this next: No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in America by Darnell L. Moore. |
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| Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose by Nikki GiovanniRenowned poet Nikki Giovanni's final published collection before her 2024 death poignantly explores aging, grief, injustice, and resilience. Booklist calls it "timeless and profoundly resonant for both poetry aficionados and casual readers." Further reading: This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets edited by Kwame Alexander. |
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| Poet Warrior by Joy HarjoFormer United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's engaging follow-up to her 2012 memoir Crazy Brave explores her Muscogee upbringing with a poetry-loving mother, who encouraged the author's interest in words, and how she survived abuse from her father and stepfather to find communion with fellow Indigenous writers as a University of New Mexico student in the 1970s. Further reading: When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: An Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Harjo. |
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| Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha TretheweyYears after her mother's murder, Pulitzer Prize winner and former United States Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway returned to the scene of the crime, where she found long-buried answers to questions lingering from childhood. Readers stirred by this lyrical and unflinching portrait of family violence will want to check out Blood by Allison Moorer. |
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| The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and... by David WaldstreicherNamed a New York Times Notable Book of 2023, historian David Waldstreicher's thought-provoking and richly detailed biography chronicles the trailblazing life and work of Phillis Wheatley, the first known enslaved poet. Further reading: African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song edited by Kevin Young. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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