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Biography and Memoir September 2025 |
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Fake Work : How I Began to Suspect Capitalism Is a Joke
by Leigh Claire La Berge
In this sharp, genre-blending memoir, Leigh Claire La Berge reflects on her surreal year as a young consultant in 1999, navigating the absurd rituals of corporate life during the Y2K panic. From printing spreadsheets for doomsday prep to bizarre international meetings, she satirizes the hollow routines of financialized capitalism with wit and theoretical insight--perfect for fans of Bullshit Jobs, Office Space, and Sorry to Bother You.
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Mother Mary comes to me
by Arundhati Roy
The memoir from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness traces the complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped her life both as a woman and a writer.
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Coming up short : a memoir of America
by Robert B. Reich
The former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton tracks decades of political, economic and cultural shifts and attacks rising inequality, corporate power and democratic decline while offering a hopeful vision for a more just and inclusive American future.
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Wanted : toddler's personal assistant : how nannying for the 1% taught me about the myths of equality, motherhood, and upward mobility in America
by Stephanie Kiser
"After a dysfunctional childhood as one of four kids born to teenage parents and raised "white trash" in poor Rhode Island, Stephanie Kiser finds herself a 22-year-old first-generation college grad drowning in student loan debt. To stay afloat, she surrenders her career-track PR job for a position as nanny to New York City's toddler elite. The span of seven years takes Stephanie on a journey from working alongside a stay-at-home mom in her ten-million dollar Park Ave apartment, to a "no discipline" family, to the Kushner's, world-class doctors and finally, to a position with a young couple, both high-powered lawyers, with three small kids. Interwoven with Stephanie's time in the glamourous world of the 1% (in the unglamourous role of domestic help) is the narrative of her own upbringing, the contrasts illuminating both the effects of privilege and the grit of self-sufficiency"
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The sleep room : a sadistic psychiatrist and the women who survived him
by Jon Stock
Uncovers the disturbing history of the Sleep Room run by psychiatrist William Sargant, through survivor testimony and investigative reporting, revealing how experimental treatments, institutional power, and psychiatric zealotry left hundreds of patients traumatized, erased, or dead in postwar British medicine's darkest corner.
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Slip : life in the middle of eating-disorder recovery
by Mallary Tenore Tarpley
Paints a nuanced picture of eating disorder recovery through memoir, journalism, and scientific research, introducing a“middle place” framework that embraces setbacks as part of healing while drawing on interviews and studies to reexamine treatment practices and long-held assumptions.
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Baldwin : a love story
by Nicholas Boggs
Drawing on new archival material, original research and interviews, a new biography reveals how profoundly James Baldwin's personal relationships shaped his life and work. Illustrations. Index.
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Children of the book : a memoir of reading together
by Ilana Kurshan
A reflective memoir exploring how shared reading—both sacred and secular—deepens family bonds, nurtures parenting and transforms literature from a solitary escape into a meaningful and lifelong connection between mother and children.
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Blood harmony : the Everly Brothers story
by Barry Mazor
"The definitive biography of the Everly Brothers, one of the greatest and most influential acts in popular music history, based on dozens of exclusive and archival interviews, as well as long-lost global reporting. In between the Elvis years and the riseof the Beatles, there was no bigger act than The Everly Brothers. From 1957-1962, they were among the highest selling pop acts in the U.S. In that time, they developed their own brand of rock 'n' roll and gentle pop balladry that leaned heavily on older,close harmony styles of country music singing. "Wake Up, Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Cathy's Clown," "Let it Be Me," -- their hits were legion and their sweet and sour Appalachian-style harmonies influenced everyone from The Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel to the Beach Boys to Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The Everly Brothers--Don and Phil--are inducted members of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and progenitors of the hybrid Americana roots music format. Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story is the first biography that's focused on the dramatic, complicated relationship of these two famous and strikingly talented brothers, and explores how the evolution of their relationship played out in the much-loved music they created--through some sixty years of performing. Their story is the story of American music, from their rural Kentucky origins to massive international fame, falling out of fashion in the wake of the rise of rock bands and singer-songwriters, and their many comebacks. Blood Harmony is a fitting ode to the brothers who made a huge impact on the modern music scene, celebrating how their creative "blood harmony" evolved to become an entry point into country music for millions around the world"
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John Williams : a composer's life
by Tim Greiving
"THE MUSIC BEGAN IN AN ANCIENT FOREST. Most of Maine, ninety percent of the state, is forest. Hardy Norway maple, white ash, American elm, and Northern white cedar made the state's central coast a banquet for shipbuilders. When the first European steppedon the soil of present-day Bath in the summer of 1605, Captain George Weymouth immediately recognized this area-with its bustling river lanes, natural docks, and treasury of timber-as an excellent hub for ships. The region's gold was its white pine, which was felled and skidded across New England to make masts for the Royal Navy. Bath became known as the "City of Ships," and in the prosperous 1800s "the busy shipyards attracted workmen from outside," according to a history by Edward Clarence Plummer, "and the romance of the sea drew many of the native young men to a seaman's career." By midcentury, the city boasted multiple churches, mansions, and a theater. The Civil War asked Bath for gunboats and spent two hundred of its sons, and in the war's wake there was a brief depression; men were out of work and vagrants roamed the streets"
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Semi-well-adjusted despite literally everything : a memoir
by Alyson Stoner
The former Disney Channel star offers a telling memoir—from family and eating issues to religious trauma— that begins in Hollywood but has a chilling relatability that will impact anyone navigating identity, purpose and mental health.
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A Truce That Is Not Peace
by Miriam Toews
An internationally bestselling author offers a memoir of the will to write—a work of disobedient memory, humor and exquisite craft set against a content-hungry, prose-stuffed society.
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JFK : public, private, secret
by J. Randy Taraborrelli
"From the New York Times bestselling Kennedy historian and author of Jackie: Public, Private, Secret comes the other side of the story-her husband's: JFK: Public, Private, Secret. In this deeply researched presidential biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli tells John F. Kennedy's story in a provocative new way by revealing how public moments in his life were so influenced by private relationships with not only his family, but also Jackie's. But it's the secret life that also surprises. As Congressman, Senatorand finally President, JFK was a magnet for women. With exclusive interviews and meticulous research, Taraborrelli reveals not only the man's many affairs but also the strength and resolve his wife showed in coping with them. JFK's women include: ¨ Jackie Kennedy, and her rules of engagement for Jack's infidelity: "Show me some respect and don't rub it in my face" ¨ Inga Arvad. JFK's first love and how it ended over fears she was a Nazi spy. ¨ Marilyn Monroe. Why Jackie insisted JFK end it with her: "This one's different, Jack. This one's trouble!" ¨ Finally - the truth about of JFK's relationship with Marilyn exclusively from Marilyn's closest friend... and how it wasn't what people believed. ¨ Joan Hitchcock. The mysterious brunette who comforted Jack after Jackie threatened to file for divorce. Other great stories: ¨ How JFK's grief over his infant son caused him to make rash decisions that pulled the USA into Vietnam for the first time. ¨ The real truth, once and for all, about the Mafia's involvement in JFK's election. ¨ The startling drug abuse that clouded the President's decisions during the disastrous Bay of Pigs... ¨ ... and how Jackie managed to wean him from those drugs in time for the nearly cataclysmic Cuban Missile Crisis. ¨ The Kennedys' secret plans to renew their wedding vows, made just before JFK's assassination. The JFK presented in Taraborrelli's definitive biography is a complex and endlessly fascinating historical figure, despite-and maybe even because of-his many flaws"--
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Gwyneth : the biography
by Amy Odell"Amy Odell takes readers inside the world of one of the most influential and polarizing celebrities of the modern era--complete with exclusive new stories about her childhood, acting career, romances, and her lifestyle brand Goop. Love her or hate her, Gwyneth Paltrow has managed to stay on the A-list, her influence spanning entertainment, fashion, and the modern wellness industry. Gwyneth was born to parents viewed as Hollywood royalty, and that immense privilege turned her into a target of backlash when, at just twenty-six, she won an Oscar. Rather than cave in to criticism, she leveraged the attention for valuable endorsement deals and film roles, eventually founding her controversial wellness and lifestyle company, Goop. Over the decades, she has participated in countless carefully managed interviews, but the real Gwyneth--the basis of her motives, desires, strengths, faults, and vulnerabilities--has never been fully revealed, until now. Based on exclusive conversations with more than 220 sources, including close current and former friends and colleagues, this deeply researched biography provides insight and behind-the-scenes details of her relationships, family, friendships, iconic films, and tenure as the CEO of Goop. Gwyneth offers the fascinating, definitive look at how Paltrow rose to prominence, stayed in the limelight, and shaped culture--for better or worse--for so long." --
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The book of Sheen : a memoir
by Charlie Sheen
For the first time, the star of Platoon, Wall Street, Major League and Two and a Half Men writes the story of his extraordinary life in an unfiltered memoir. Illustrations.
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The Unexpected Journey : Finding Hope and Purpose on the Caregiving Path
by Emma Heming Willis
Draws on personal experience and expert insights to support dementia caregivers with practical advice, emotional validation and strategies for maintaining self-care and resilience while navigating the unpredictable, often isolating and life-altering reality of supporting a loved one with frontotemporal dementia.
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All the way to the river : love, loss, and liberation
by Elizabeth Gilbert
A raw and unflinching memoir of love, addiction, heartbreak, and transformation from the author of Eat Pray Love traces her journey from deep friendship to destructive passion and the hard-won freedom from patterns that once felt impossible to escape.
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Nowhere girl : life as a member of ADHD's lost generation
by Carla Ciccone
With humor, depth, and detailed reporting, this memoir explores the cultural impact of ADHD on girls and women, offering a path forward to reclaim our narratives, forgive ourselves, and parent our children (and reparent ourselves) with the softness we never received.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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