|
|
Biography and Memoir January 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fi
by Alexandra Fuller
From the award-winning New York Times-bestselling author, Alexandra Fuller, comes a career defining memoir about grieving the sudden loss of her twenty-one-year-old child. "Fair to say, I was in a ribald state the summer before my fiftieth birthday." And so begins Alexandra Fuller's open, vivid new memoir, Fi. It's midsummer in Wyoming and Alexandra is barely hanging on. Grieving her father and pining for her home country of Zimbabwe, reeling from a midlife breakup, freshly sober and piecing her way uncertainly through a volatile new relationship with a younger woman, Alexandra vows to get herself back on even keel. And then-suddenly and incomprehensibly-her son Fi, at twenty-one years old, dies in his sleep. No stranger to loss-young siblings, a parent, a home country-Alexandra is nonetheless leveled. At the same time, she is painfully aware that she cannot succumb and abandon her two surviving daughters as her mother before her had done. From a sheep wagon deep in the mountains of Wyoming to a grief sanctuary in New Mexico to a silent meditation retreat in Alberta, Canada, Alexandra journeys up and down the spine of the Rocky Mountains in an attempt to find how to grieve herself whole. There is no answer, and there are countless answers-in poetry, in rituals and routines, in nature and in the indigenous wisdom she absorbed as a child in Zimbabwe. By turns disarming, devastating and unexpectedly, blessedly funny, Alexandra recounts the wild medicine of painstakingly grieving a child in a culture that has no instructions for it.
|
|
|
|
A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
by Robert Hilburn
Randy Newman is widely hailed as one of America’s all-time greatest songwriters, equally skilled in the sophisticated melodies and lyrics of the Gershwin-Porter era and the cultural commentary of his own generation, with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon among his most ardent admirers. While tens of millions around the world can hum “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” his disarming centerpiece for Toy Story, most of them would be astonished to learn that the heart of Newman’s legacy is in the dozens of brilliant songs that detail the injustices, from racism to class inequality, that have contributed to the division of our nation. Rolling Stone declared that a single Newman song, “Sail Away,” tells us more about America than “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And yet, his legacy remains largely undocumented in book form—until now.
In A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, veteran music journalist Robert Hilburn presents the definitive portrait of an American legend. Hilburn has known Newman since his club debut at the Troubadour in 1970, and the two have maintained a connection in the decades since, conversing over the course of times good and bad. Though Newman has long refused to talk with potential biographers, he now gives Hilburn unprecedented access not only to himself but also to his archives, as well as his family, friends, and collaborators. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, James Taylor, and New York Times’ Pulitzer-winning columnists, Thomas Friedman and Wesley Morris, among others, contributed to the book. In addition to exploring Newman’s prolific career and the evolution of his songwriting, A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY also dives into his childhood and early influences, his musical family that ruled Hollywood movie scores for decades, the relationships that have provided inspiration for his songs, and so much more.
As thought-provoking and thorough as it is tender, this book is an overdue tribute to the legendary songwriter whose music has long reflected and challenged the America we know today.
|
|
| Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick HutchisonDisillusioned by his Seattle copywriting job and in search of a new purpose, Patrick Hutchinson purchased a dilapidated cabin in the Cascade Mountains, spending years battling renovations and the elements in his quest for a more fulfilling life. "Henry David Thoreau meets Home Improvement" (Publishers Weekly) in this funny and inspiring debut that will appeal to fans of Erica Bauermeister's House Lessons. |
|
|
|
I once was lost
by Don Lemon
Journalist Don Lemon always had a complicated relationship with God. He cherished the Southern Black church he was raised in, but struggled with the fundamentalist rejection of his right to exist as a gay man--one who wanted to marry his longtime love in a church wedding. ... In his work as a reporter, moreover, he saw his fellow Americans losing faith in a higher power, in institutions, and in each other. Setting out to understand the place that religion has in our lives today, Don turned a journalistic eye on ancient stories and found connections that sparked memories, conversations, and chance encounters. Then, suddenly, his world unraveled: in a blaze of inglorious headlines, Don was ousted from his high-profile network news job and tasked with redefining his role in the shifting media landscape. But through a year of personal changes and professional whiplash, he kept his 'eyes on the prize' and ultimately found what he was seeking: grace within himself and in this nation we call home.
|
|
| Damn Glad to Meet You by Tim MathesonFor the past seven decades, Tim Matheson has been an on-screen favorite in Hollywood. In his debut memoir, Tim takes fans behind-the-scenes of his illustrious career, and reveals what it was like to learn from and work alongside the greats, including Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke, Steven Spielberg, and Aaron Sorkin. Tim also talks about how he transitioned from acting to directing, the role in The West Wing that nabbed him two Emmy nominations–and so much more.
Filled to the brim with both riveting stories of the ever-changing entertainment industry and illuminating insight via “film school boot camp” sidebars, listeners everywhere are going to be “damn glad” they listened to this fascinating memoir. |
|
| Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel WhiteAt the tender age of twelve, Jaleel White auditioned for the role of Steve Urkel, the socially inept genius, who was in love with his next-door neighbor, Laura.
Though Steve Urkel was intended to be in only one episode, Jaleel’s indelible performance catapulted Urkel into the pantheon of American pop culture. But success can cost as much as it pays. After nine years on the popular sitcom Family Matters, Jaleel is twenty-one, a UCLA undergrad, and adjusting to a world and industry that sees him as the nasally nerd in high water pants, suspenders, and coke bottle glasses.
In this wise and witty memoir, Growing Up Urkel takes you on a memorable journey through the peaks, valleys, and plateaus of fame and fortune. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|