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Biography and Memoir May 2017
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Thursday, May 18 The library will open at 10:00 am on Thursday, May 18, due to a staff meeting. Sunday, May 28 The library will be closed on Sunday, May 28 and all Sundays through September 3. Monday, May 29 The library will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
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| Find a Way by Diana NyadDistance swimmer Diana Nyad (who had already swum 28 miles around Manhattan) tried in 1978 to swim between Florida and Cuba, failing on that occasion and (years later) on three more. Her initial attempts at the Cuba-Florida transit were stymied by weather, dehydration, hypothermia, asthma, and jellyfish. In Find a Way, Nyad recounts her life, details her training methods, and explains her strategy for long open-water swims. At age 64, on August 31, 2013, she set out again from Havana, completing the crossing to Key West in 53 hours. This absorbing sports memoir offers a "gripping example of the strength of the human spirit" (Library Journal). |
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Change of Seasons: A Memoir
by John Oates
A memoir by the co-founder of the rock duo Hall & Oates explores the childhood music that shaped his early music perspectives, the unlikely artistic pursuits that led to the band's first hit, and his personal struggles with fame.
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Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving
by Michelle Stevens
A psychologist and founder of the Post-Traumatic Success nonprofit describes the brutal experiences with a pedophile that led to her multiple personality disorder and her long journey to recovery, sharing her work to raise awareness about sexual abuse, its effects on victims and effective methods for healing.
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| Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story by Steven HatchIn November 2013, American Dr. Steven Hatch went to work at a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia; by June 2014 the Ebola virus had killed several of his colleagues. In vivid, compelling detail, Hatch describes his experiences in Liberia, calling his memoir a "horror story." He reviews West Africa's history of colonialism, post-colonial dictatorships, and lagging technology that made the region vulnerable to the epidemic. His compassionate writing evokes empathy for the Africans, who were often reduced to anonymity by Western journalists as they recounted the heroism of volunteer American and European health workers. In a starred review, Booklist declares that this powerful work "deserves sharp notice" for its analysis of the events. |
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| Grace Notes: My Recollections by Katey SagalBest known for her role as Peggy Bundy on television's Married...with Children, Katey Sagal has experienced a varied career in show business as a singer-songwriter and actress. In Grace Notes, she chronicles her life in conversational vignettes about growing up, her relationships with her parents (both of whom died young), her own illness with cancer, her addictions, and her friends and family. This book is for readers who appreciate insightful memoirs about the authors' lives, as well as for Sagal's fans. For another reflective autobiography that omits superficial gossip, check out Linda Ronstadt's Simple Dreams. |
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Focus on: Athletes and Competitors
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Casey Stengel: Baseball's Greatest Character
by Marty Appel
A biography of the only baseball player in history to play for all the New York Teams describes how he went on to revolutionize the role of manager and won 10 pennants and seven World Series with the Yankees.
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Ballplayer
by Chipper Jones
The eight-time All-Star switch-hitter for the Atlanta Braves shares the story of his remarkable career against a backdrop of meteoric free agency years, offering additional insights into the larger stories of the Braves and the MLB.
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| Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by Nate JacksonFor six years, Nate Jackson played for the Denver Broncos, sometimes as a tight end, sometimes as a wide receiver. He was never a household name, but considering that he came from a Division III school, he was living the dream of many a football player. In his candid and often witty memoir (his writing skills got him gigs at Slate and The New York Times, among others), he shares the highs and lows of his time with the NFL. Football fans might want to compare his experiences with those found in the 2015 memoir NFL Confidential by "Johnny Anonymous." |
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| Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who... by Gianmarc ManzioneFew people pay attention to professional bowling, and even fewer know about the 1960s and '70s phenomenon of action bowling, where teenaged bowling hustlers could make big bucks...as long as they didn't run afoul of the Mob. In Pin Action, Gianmarc Manzione brings action bowling to life and vividly depicts Ernie Schlegel, a former hustler who succeeded in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Profiling other colorful bowlers (such as Joe the Kangaroo and Bernie Bananas), gangsters, and gamblers, Manzione weaves a gritty and absorbing tale of a nearly forgotten sport and one of its most fascinating practitioners. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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