Biography and Memoir
July 2025
Recent Releases
How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir
by Molly Jong-Fast

Molly Jong-Fast, the daughter of Fear of Flying author Erica Jong, chronicles her "wildly conflicted" relationship with her mother, whose neglect spurred Jong-Fast's battles with addiction and whose dementia diagnosis in 2023 helped the two reconnect. For fans of: Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden.
Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America
by Sam Tanenhaus

Former New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus' incisive and richly detailed biography surveys the life and legacy of public intellectual William F. Buckley, Jr., whose philosophies shaped the modern conservatism movement.
Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance
by A'Lelia Bundles

A'Lelia Bundles "brings vibrant life" (Publishers Weekly) to her great-grandmother A'Lelia Walker (trailblazing entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker's daughter), who parlayed her status as the United States' first high-profile Black heiress to become a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance and a prolific patron of the arts. Try this next: Madam C.J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon by Erica Ball. 
Books You Might Have Missed
Bibliophobia
by Sarah Chihaya

Book critic and essayist Sarah Chihaya plumbs her bookish obsessions in this thought-provoking memoir exploring how literature shaped her identity as a Japanese American in a predominantly white Ohio suburb, helped her navigate mental health woes and destructive relationships, and bolstered her career as an academic. Thy these next: Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim; Asian/Other: Life, Poems, and the Problem of Memoir by Vidyan Ravinthiran.
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe
by Marlene L. Daut

Yale University professor Marlene L. Daut's scholarly and nuanced biography explores the complex legacy of Henry Chrisophe (1767-1820), Haiti's only king, whose evolution from revolutionary leader to despot shaped the country during its fight for independence and the decades that followed.
Mainline Mama
by Keeonna Harris

PEN America Writing for Justice Fellow Keeonna Harris debuts with a searing account of her experiences navigating the prison industrial complex after her partner was sentenced to 22 years in prison following their son's birth. Try this next: Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford.
Pure Innocent Fun
by Ira Madison III

In his funny and nostalgic blend of memoir and cultural criticism, TV writer and Keep It! podcast co-host Ira Madison III shares his formative pop culture influences. For fans of: Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris.
Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star
by Mayukh Sen

Mayukh Sen's thought-provoking biography of British South Asian actress Merle Oberon (1911-1979) poignantly illuminates how the star navigated passing as a white woman within the Golden Age of Hollywood's racist and classic system, becoming the first actor of color nominated for an Academy Award while disguising her heritage. For fans of: Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang. 
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Forsyth County Public Library
770-781-9840 | ForsythPL.org