|
Biography and Memoir February 2019
|
|
|
|
| The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala HarrisWhat it is: a candid and inspiring memoir from California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris, who recently announced her 2020 presidential run.
Topics include: Harris' immigrant parents and her Oakland upbringing; her tenure as the District Attorney for San Francisco and the Attorney General of California.
Who it's for: readers interested in Harris' solutions to tackling some of the most divisive issues in American politics, including immigration, national security, income inequality, and the opioid crisis. |
|
|
Grateful American : a journey from self to service
by Gary Sinise
The Oscar-nominated actor shares the lesser-known story of his journey from a troublemaking Chicago youth to co-founder of the legendary Steppenwolf Theater Company and advocate for America's active-duty defenders, veterans and first responders.
|
|
| Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie LandWhat it's about: Single mom Stephanie Land struggles to make a living as a housecleaner and dreams of attending college to become a writer.
Is it for you? Though it does not speak to the impact of poverty on marginalized communities, Land's memoir is intimate and affecting.
Reviewers say: "An important memoir that should be required reading for anyone who has never struggled with poverty" (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
| Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani ShapiroWhat it's about: After submitting her DNA for analysis on a whim, Dani Shapiro discovered that her long-deceased dad was not her biological father. Grappling with the consequences of this shocking family secret, she set out to uncover the true story of her parentage.
Book buzz: Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) calls Inheritance "a gripping genetic detective story;" Julie Buntin (Marlena) says it's a "read-in-one-sitting kind of memoir." |
|
|
Rock Needs River : A Memoir of a Very Open Adoption
by Vanessa McGrady
In this heartwarming and humorous memoir, the author shares her experience with open adoption as she welcomes more than a new daughter into her home along with her biological parents—an unusual living arrangement that results in conflicting emotions and increasingly difficult decisions.
|
|
| The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-WilliamsWhat it is: a poignant and page-turning memoir of Julie Yip-Williams' five-year battle with Stage IV colon cancer.
Read it for: moving anecdotes of the author's early life; born with congenital cataracts to an impoverished Chinese family in Vietnam, she barely survived infancy after her grandmother suggested a potion to help her "sleep forever."
About the author: Harvard-educated lawyer Yip-Williams died in March 2018, leaving behind a husband and two young daughters. |
|
|
Parkland : birth of a movement
by David Cullen
The New York Times best-selling author of Columbine offers a deeply moving account of the extraordinary teenage survivors of Parkland who became activists and pushed back against the NRA and Congressional leaders—inspiring millions of Americans to join their grassroots #neveragain movement. 150,000 first printing
|
|
|
Together : a memoir of a marriage and a medical mishap
by Judy Goldman
The award-winning poet and author of Early Leaving describes how her husband of 40 years was inexplicably paralyzed by a routine procedure and how they struggled to reclaim their lives together in the face of daunting losses
|
|
| The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & Gloria VanderbiltWhat it is: an intimate year-long email correspondence between journalist Anderson Cooper and his fashion designer mother Gloria Vanderbilt, which began after Vanderbilt became gravely ill in 2015.
Read it for: the growing closeness that develops between the pair.
Further reading: Will Schwalbe's reflective memoir The End of Your Life Book Club similarly explores a relationship with an ailing parent. |
|
| Autumn by Karl Ove KnausgaardWhat it is: Written as a "Letter to an Unborn Daughter," each section of this perceptive free-association memoir eschews traditional storytelling conventions to find the extraordinary in the mundane.
Want a taste? "The little tooth, sharply white, dark red with blood at the root, is thrown into almost obscenely sharp relief against my pinkish palm."
Series alert: Autumn is the first volume in award-winning Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard's Seasons Quartet. |
|
| Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise ParkerWhat it is: a lyrical and nostalgic collection of letters addressed (but never sent) to the men (both real and hypothetical) who have impacted Mary-Louise Parker's life.
Author alert: Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Parker is best known for her starring role in the television series Weeds.
Don't miss: Parker's touching letter to her deceased father: "To convey in any existing language how much I miss you isn't possible. It would be like blue trying to describe the ocean." |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Culpeper County Library 271 Southgate Shopping Center Culpeper, Virginia 22701 540-825-8691
www.cclva.org
|
|
|
|
|