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Biography and Memoir April 2021
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| Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight by Julia SweigWhat it is: A well-researched biography of First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson that offers fresh insights on her life and legacy.
What sets it apart: This revisionist account positions Johnson as a key player in husband Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential administration, revealing the role she played in shaping his political strategies and ambitions.
Featuring: Diary entries the First Lady recorded during her time in the White House. |
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| Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn; foreword by Michelle AlexanderHow it began: After her five-year-old son was hit by a car and killed, Susan Burton turned to drugs, spending the next decade in and out of prison.
What happened next: Burton founded the nonprofit A New Way of Life, dedicated to helping women re-enter society after incarceration.
Book buzz: Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Burton's candid and moving memoir offers clear-eyed suggestions for prison reform. |
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| Notes on a Silencing by Lacy CrawfordWhat it's about: In 1990, 15-year-old Lacy Crawford was sexually assaulted by two male classmates at her New Hampshire boarding school, an act that school administrators tried to cover up.
Is it for you? Crawford's powerful account of the trauma she endured offers an unflinching examination of rape culture and the institutions that condone it.
Food for thought: "I believe, in fact, that the slur slut carries within it, Trojan-horse style, silence as its true intent." |
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| A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa; translated by Risa Kobayashi and Martin BrownWhat it's about: Born in Japan to a Korean father and a Japanese mother, a teenaged Masaji Ishikawa and his family moved to North Korea in 1960 as part of the country's repatriation program.
What happened next: Ishikawa spent three decades enduring poverty, starvation, and ostracism under Kim Il-Sung's totalitarian rule before making a daring escape back to Japan. |
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| Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah TaussigWhat it is: A witty and engaging memoir about author Rebekah Taussig's life as a wheelchair user, with frank discussions of how disability intersects with issues like sex, dating, self-image, relationships, the media, and more.
Why you should read it: Sitting Pretty is a refreshingly candid and welcome voice in the growing body of literature about disability written by disabled people themselves. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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