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Still Standing: a Memoir by Dame Anna CrightonFor decades, whenever a heritage building in Christchurch has been under threat, especially in the aftermath of the 2010-11 earthquakes, one woman has consistently defended this city's architecture and history against shortsightedness and the threat of bulldozers - Dame Anna Crighton. Fearless and articulate, she has fought tirelessly and passionately, not only for the heritage of her hometown, but for the built past of Aotearoa New Zealand. But behind this well-known persona, the city councillor and heritage advocate, lies an extraordinary and unexpected life story, now told publicly for the first time.
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Do You Still Have Time for Chaos? by Lynn DavidsonDid I disturb ye good people? I hopes I disturb ye, I hopes I disturb ye enough to want to see this, your house, in ruins all around ye! Have you had enough yet? Or do you still have time for chaos? —Words spoken in court by Temperance Lloyd when she was tried for witchcraft in Devon in 1682. Do You Still Have Time for Chaos? tells the story of poet and teacher Lynn Davidson’s late-life decision to leave Aotearoa New Zealand, with scant resources, to build a life in Scotland. In 2020, in the frightening quiet of a Covid-emptied Edinburgh, she begins her memoir; temporarily at home at the Randell Cottage residency in Wellington, she completes it.
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The dissident : Alexey Navalny : profile of a political prisoner
by David Herszenhorn
This news-driven biography of Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin's most formidable rival, introduces us to modern Russia's greatest agitator, a man willing to sacrifice his freedom—and even his own life—to build the decent, democratic country he wants to live in and hopes to pass on to his children. Illustrations.
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The last fire season : a personal and pyronatural history
by Manjula Martin
In this part memoir, part natural history, part literary inquiry, the author recounts her experiences in Northern California during the worst fire season on record, which causes her to question her own assumptions about nature and the complicated connections between people and the land on which we live.
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Girl Friday : An Extraordinarily Ordinary Working Life by Kristine PhilippGirl Friday: A job title used in 1970s workplaces for a junior administration assistant or receptionist. Common synonyms include junior office chick, shit-kicker, donkey worker, general dogsbody or gofer (go for this, go for that). Girl Friday: An Extraordinarily Ordinary Working Life is the hilarious and moving memoir about women at work, pay inequality and the alienating nature of the 21st century workforce.
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| Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock, MDSecond-generation physician Dr. Uché Blackstock recounts her education and career in medicine and describes how her experiences in both areas inspired her to found Advancing Health Equity, an organization dedicated to dismantling systemic racism in healthcare. Further reading: Sickening by Anne Pollock; Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa; Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington. |
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The Girl Who Touched the Stars
by Bonnie Hancock
254 days, 12,700 kilometres, sea sickness, sharks, crocodiles and ocean. Bonnie Hancock broke numerous records on her fastest ever circumnavigation by paddle around Australia but that wasn't the achievement she is most proud of. Testing the limits of her mental and physical toughness, she learned what it means to overcome adversity and how important teamwork and perspective truly are. The Girl Who Touched the Stars is a love story, a travelogue and an exhilarating exploration of human ambition coming face to face with the beauty and power of nature. But most of all it's a lesson in overcoming self-doubt, trusting others and finding your true self.
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| An American Dreamer: Life in a Divided Country by David FinkelPulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MacArthur Fellow David Finkel explores political divisions in America via profiles of Iraq War veteran and suburban family man Brent Cummings, whom he followed from 2016 to 2020. Try this next: God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America by Lyz Lenz. |
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| Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds by Michelle HortonIn her heartwrenching debut memoir exploring the failures of the American criminal justice system, Michelle Horton chronicles her ongoing efforts to get her sister, Nikki, released from prison following her 2019 conviction for killing her abuser. Try this next: Liliana's Invincible Summer: A Sister's Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza. |
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| Errand Into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham by Deborah JowittDance critic Deborah Jowitt spotlights trailblazing modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894-1991), who produced dozens of ballets during her prolific career and whose eponymous technique is still practiced today. Further reading: Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern by Neil Baldwin. |
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| What Have We Here? Portraits of a Life by Billy Dee WilliamsIconic Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams dishes on his life and eight-decade career in this candid memoir written "with the panache and suavity that characterize his screen presence" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels. |
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Audrey Hepburn in Paris by Meghan Friedlander Audrey Hepburn in Paris gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her life there--capturing her favorite sights, sounds, and shops, always with a characteristic sense of charm, glamour, and joie de vivre that is perfectly Parisian. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Paris that made it so precious to Audrey, from famous films, chic couture, fabled photoshoots, and elegant events to the quieter moments with family and friends rarely seen by the public, including her friendship with her close companion and go-to designer Hubert de Givenchy.
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The Ballad of Speedball Baby : A Memoir by Ali SmithThe Ballad of Speedball Baby is the thrilling, darkly hilarious, and heart-wrenchingly vulnerable story of Ali Smith's coming-of-age in '90s New York as she commits to the messy, exhilarating life of a musician and must survive the slings and arrows society reserves for women who refuse to comply. As an only child reeling from the demolition of her parents' toxic marriage, the New York City underground music scene offers a young Ali a different family of misfits and talented outsiders to belong to. She becomes the bass player for edgy band Speedball Baby, a decision that will take her around the world from onstage at the legendary CBGBs to the red-light district of Amsterdam.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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