LibraryAware JULY/AUG

Notable Biographies

My next breath : a memoir
by Jeremy Renner

"The gripping and inspiring story of acclaimed actor Jeremy Renner's near-fatal accident, and what he learned about inner strength, endurance and hope as he overcame insurmountable odds to recover, one breath at a time"

The true happiness company : a memoir
by Veena Dinavahi

"It is hard for Veena Dinavahi to live while her classmates keep dying. The high-achieving daughter of loving Indian immigrants, Veena lives in a typical white American suburb-except for its unusually high suicide rate. She tries to manage her mental health in all the right ways, but nothing works. Then, on one late-night Google search, her mom finds Bob Lyon-a 60-year-old man in the backwoods of Georgia who says he can make Veena want to live again. He calls himself "The True Happiness Company" and, as their relationship progresses... "Daddy." As Veena is sucked into his strangely close-knit community, Bob's "suggestions" start to feel less and less optional. Before she knows it, she's a college dropout, married mother of three, and a Mormon convert whohas gotten way too good at dismissing her gut feeling that something is wrong. But when Bob finally pushes her too far, Veena slowly begins to realize that true happiness cannot be one-size-fits-all. She cuts ties with Bob, only to reckon with what it means to build a life outside of his influence. Driven to understand her journey, she re-enrolls in college, where studying psychology proves revelatory as she considers her experience through the broader contexts of gender, race, religion. Told with unflinching clarity and shot through with incisive wit, The True Happiness Company is Dinavahi's singular debut about losing and reclaiming your identity, rethinking mental illness, and learning to trust your intuition in a world determined to annihilate it"

Matriarch : a memoir
by Tina Knowles

It's one brilliant woman's intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America?—?and the wisdom that women pass on to each other, mothers to daughters, across generations. Illustrations.

Autism out loud : life with a child on the spectrum, from diagnosis to young adulthood
by Kate Swenson

"In this moving narrative of resilience and pure love, three mothers share their experiences and learnings about life alongside autism. Kate Swenson, Adrian Wood and Carrie Cariello are from different parts of the country and backgrounds, but they were brought together by a singular experience: they are each a mother to a child with autism. Together they have shared laughter, tears, victories and the unconditional love that molds their lives"

The girl with three birthdays : an adopted daughter's memoir of tiaras, tough truths, and tall tales
by Patti Eddington

"Patti Eddington always knew she was adopted, and her beloved parents seemed amenable enough to questions--but she never wanted to hurt them by expressing curiosity, so she didn't. The story of her mother cutting off and dying her hair when she was a toddler? She thought it was eccentric and funny, nothing more. When she discovered at fifteen that her birthday wasn't actually her birthday? She believed it when her mother said she'd changed it to protect her from the "nosy old biddies" who might try to discover her identity. It wasn't until decades later, when a genealogy test led Patti to her biological family (including an aunt with a shocking story) and the discovery of yet another birthday, that she really began to integrate what she thought she knew about her origins. Determined to know the truth, she finally petitioned a court to unseal records that had been locked up for almost sixty years--and began to put the pieces of her past together, bit by painstaking bit. Framed by a brief but poignant 1963"Report of Investigation" based on a caseworker's one-day visit to Patti's childhood home, The Girl With Three Birthdays tells the story of an adoptee who always believed she was the answer to a couple's seventeen-year journey to become parents, until a manila envelope from a rural county court arrived and caused her to question . . . everything"-- Provided by publisher

Places -- Then & Now

Lonely Planet Where to Go When With Kids
by Lonely Planet

"From spotting throngs of penguins on South Africa's Boulders Beach in January to seeing Hong Kong's dazzling festoon of lights at the city's seasonal Winterfest in December, [this book offers a] comprehensive trip planner of inspiring month-by-month adventures to spark your family's curiosity and create memories to last a lifetime. lifetime"Book Annotation

Fodor's New England
by Fodor's Travel Guides

Fodor's New England is the flagship of Fodor's New England series, which includes five other titles. Updated annually, this is the essential guide to the region where America began, covering its wealth of historic cities and towns and its scenic coastal, mountain, and rural areas, providing vital trip-planning advice and steering readers to reliable hotel and restaurant choices in every price category

World travel : an irreverent guide
by Anthony Bourdain

A guide to some of the world's most interesting places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony Bourdain. Illustrations.

The trouble with time travel
by Stephen W. Martin

Accidentally smashing a centuries-old heirloom vase, Max, assisted by her loyal dog, builds a time machine to prevent the accident only to tangle up the string of time, causing a catastrophic change in history. By the author of Robot Smash! Illustrations.

Jobs for travel lovers : opportunities at home and abroad
by Ronald L. Krannich

A new edition challenges key misconceptions while surveying hundreds of work opportunities in government, education, and a range of industries, in an updated reference that provides tips on how to conduct a productive job search and lists names and addresses of potential employers.