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Biography and Memoir March 2020
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| Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son by Richie JacksonWhat it is: Broadway, TV, and film producer Richie Jackson's letter to his teenage son that addresses their different experiences as gay men.
Read it for: an insightful exploration of generational differences within the LGBTQIA community and what younger folks can -- and should -- learn from LGTBQIA history.
Is it for you? Though the book's advice will resonate most with LGBTQIA audiences, readers who like family memoirs will also appreciate this "heartfelt, wise, and compassionate book" (Booklist). |
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| Brother & Sister by Diane KeatonWhat it's about: actress Diane Keaton's fraught relationship with her younger brother, Randy, who grappled with addiction and mental illness throughout his life and dementia in his 70s.
What's inside: family documents (including letters and poetry) that reveal how Randy's volatility affected him and his loved ones; Keaton's frank reckoning with how she used her fame as an excuse for her estrangement from a sibling to whom she'd been close in childhood.
Want a taste? "I want to have another chance at being a better sister." |
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| Mengele: Unmasking the "Angel of Death" by David G. MarwellWho it's about: Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi physician who conducted brutal experiments on Auschwitz prisoners and evaded capture after the end of the war.
What sets it apart: Historian David G. Marwell has been researching his subject for decades: as a Department of Justice employee in the 1980s, he worked to locate Mengele.
Further reading: Debbie Cenziper's fast-paced history Citizen 865 tracks the efforts of Nazi hunters (including Marwell) whose efforts with the Office of Special Investigations helped bring war criminals to justice. |
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Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn
After her five-year-old son was killed by a car on their street, author Susan Burton turned to cocaine and then crack to dull her pain. The African American resident of South Los Angeles was inevitably arrested and spent 15 years in and out of prison, until she found a private rehab program that set her straight. Burton then created an organization that offers other previously incarcerated women a lifeline: addiction treatment, education, and a path to employment. In this moving and eye-opening memoir, Burton recounts her experiences while advocating for improvements in the prison system.
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All That You Leave Behind
by Erin Lee Carr
What it is: a poignant elegy for Erin Lee Carr's late father, New York Times journalist David Carr, who died from lung cancer in 2015; an incisive look at the ravages of multigenerational addiction.
What's inside: texts, emails, and letters exchanged between Carr and her father that offer an insightful view into the pair's relationship.
Further reading: David Carr's award-winning 2008 memoir Night of the Gun, which chronicles his own struggles with addiction and his life as a single father.
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| A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness... by Patrick J. Kennedy and Stephen FriedWhat it's about: former Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy's battles with bipolar disorder and painkiller addiction.
Why you might like it: Kennedy's candid call to action will resonate with readers hoping for an empathetic approach to mental health policy and advocacy.
Don't miss: the resource guide that concludes the book. |
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| Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America by Gregory PardloHow it began: In 1981, Gregory Pardlo's father was among the 11,000 federal employees fired by President Reagan in the wake of the air traffic controllers strike. Faced with limited employment options, he descended into alcoholism, a path Gregory and his brother would later follow.
Read it for: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Pardlo's lyrical reflections on the trappings of family legacy and black masculinity.
Want a taste? "Alcoholism was the Muzak of our familial dysfunction. Most of the time, we didn't even notice it." |
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Body Punishment: OCD, Addiction, and Finding the Courage to Heal
by Maggie Lamond Simone
Humor columnist Maggie Lamond Simone's painful journey provides insight for the thousands of others who similarly cut, starve, pick, drink, pluck, purge, and otherwise hurt themselves in private in order to survive in public. She explores the issues of substance abuse, anxiety, and depression that commonly occur with OCD, all in an effort to further the dialog around mental illness and eliminate the shame, because "the shame . . . the shame is a killer."
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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