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Biography and Memoir November 2020 |
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| I'll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth BergWhat it's about: Bestselling novelist Elizabeth Berg's (The Story of Arthur Truluv) relationship with her aging parents, whom she helped care for during their final years.
Is it for you? Berg's candid and insightful memoir will resonate with readers who are caring for older family members.
Food for thought: "The failing of an aging parent is one of those old stories that feels abrasively new to the person experiencing it." |
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| The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard by John BirdsallWhat it is: A richly detailed biography of chef and cookbook author James Beard (1903-1985) that expands upon author John Birdsall's James Beard Award-winning essay "America, Your Food Is So Gay."
Read it for: A nuanced portrait of the charismatic yet complicated "Dean of American Cookery," who pioneered new cuisine while grappling with his closeted sexuality, depression, and difficult workplace reputation.
Don't miss: Lush descriptions of Beard's culinary creations that will whet readers' appetites. |
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Focus on: National Book Awards
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| The Yellow House by Sarah M. BroomWhat it's about: Author Sarah M. Broom's upbringing as the youngest of 12 children raised in a New Orleans East shotgun house that was later destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Why you might like it: Broom's lyrical family history explores the painful reality of redefining "home" following displacement.
Want a taste? "Without that physical structure, we are the house that bears itself up. I was now the house." |
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| The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the... by Colin G. CallowayWhat it's about: The complicated relationships George Washington fostered with tribal nations throughout the American Revolution and his presidency.
Why it matters: Nuanced and accessible, this well-researched biography illuminates perspectives rarely told from the era and examines Washington's cruel exploitation of the fragile alliances that were crucial to American independence. |
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| What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn ForchéWhat it's about: In 1977, after accepting the invitation of a mysterious acquaintance to visit him in El Salvador, American poet Carolyn Forché was plunged into the horrors of the country's burgeoning civil war, becoming an unlikely activist and resistance fighter.
Is it for you? Vivid depictions of violence may be too much for some readers.
Further reading: Forché's 1981 poetry collection The Country Between Us, inspired by her experiences during the war. |
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| If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Qur'an by Carla PowerHow it began: Friends for years, secular journalist Carla Power and Islamic scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi had become frustrated by the name-calling among and between their communities.
What happened next: Hoping to improve her understanding of Islam, Power undertook extensive study of the Qur'an, meeting with Akram Nadwi weekly for private lessons and observing his lectures at Oxford.
Why you might like it: This engaging Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist offers compelling insight into difficult religious topics. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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