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Biography and Memoir August 2021 |
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| Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light: Essays by Helen EllisWhat it is: A witty and conversational collection of essays from the bestselling author of American Housewife and Southern Lady Code.
Read it for: Author Helen Ellis' folksy charm and light-hearted reflections on friendship and aging.
Essays include: "Are You There, Menopause? It's Me, Helen;" "Grown Ass-Ladies Gone Mild;" "I Feel Better About My Neck." |
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Family Histories & Mysteries
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| Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots by Morgan JerkinsWhat it's about: Bestselling author Morgan Jerkins, who lives in New York and was raised in New Jersey, traveled to Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and California for insight as she thoughtfully explored how the Great Migration affected families, especially her own.
Further reading: For more on the Great Migration, which saw millions of African Americans leave the South between 1916 and 1970, pick up Isabel Wilkerson's award-winning history The Warmth of Other Suns; for another book combining family, travelogue, and modern Black history, try Candacy Taylor's Overground Railroad. |
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| The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family by Bettye KearseWhat it is: Bettye Kearse's investigation into a long-standing family legend -- that she is descended from U.S. President James Madison and his enslaved cook, Coreen.
Why you might like it: Kearse's saga, supplemented with family heirlooms, oral histories, and her travels to sites connected to American slavery (including slave trading posts in Ghana and Nigeria), offers a thought-provoking revision to official historical narratives.
Also available in eAudiobook on Hoopla |
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| The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between by Hisham MatarWhat it's about: In 2012, three decades after his flight from Libya, Hisham Matar returned in search of his father, a military official who was kidnapped and imprisoned during Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Read it for: An eloquently written tribute to Matar's father and his homeland; nail-biting moments of suspense worthy of a spy novel. |
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| 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: A Visit from the Goon Squad author Jennifer Egan calls Inheritance "a gripping genetic detective story;" Marlena author Julie Buntin says it's a "read-in-one-sitting kind of memoir." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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