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Biography and Memoir August 2022
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| Normal Family: On Truth, Love, and How I Met My 35 Siblings by Chrysta BiltonWhat it's about: Born to Debra, a lesbian single mother, and Jeffrey, a sperm donor and family friend, author Chrysta Bilton's upbringing was anything but "normal," and in early adulthood she discovered there was more to Jeffrey than met the eye. |
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| Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional by Isaac FitzgeraldWhat it is: A conversational memoir-in-essays from Isaac Fitzgerald, founding editor of BuzzFeed Books.
What's inside: Ribald tales of Fitzgerald's freewheeling coming of age, which included stints as a fireman, a smuggler, and a porn star; the author's reckoning with the toxic masculinity of his youth. |
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| Split Decision: Life Stories by Ice-T & Spike and Douglas CenturyThe premise: In 1980s Los Angeles, then-aspiring rapper Ice-T and his friend Spike had a lucrative gig robbing jewelry stores, until Ice-T decided to pursue his music career full time and Spike wound up in prison.
Why you might like it: Told from both Ice-T and Spike's perspectives, this compelling dual memoir candidly reveals how the pair's choices led them down divergent paths in life. |
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| Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy by Damien LewisWhat it's about: American entertainer and expatriate Josephine Baker's role as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II.
Read it for: A compelling and well-researched tale of wartime courage, supplemented with recently discovered letters and diaries. |
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| The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas ContrerasHow it began: After a bicycle accident spurred a brief bout of amnesia, author Ingrid Rojas Contreras learned that her Mami had also suffered from amnesia as a child, and that after the latter's recovery, she had the ability to see ghosts.
What happened next: Rojas Contreras and Mami returned to their native Colombia to disinter the remains of Rojas Contreras' grandfather, Nono, a curandero whose gifts they now shared.
What sets it apart: This moving blend of family history and Colombian history offers lyrical reflections on trauma, healing, and the power of storytelling. |
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| Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. SánchezWhat it is: A frank and witty memoir-in-essays from poet and novelist Erika L. Sánchez (I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter).
Topics include: Sánchez's upbringing as the daughter of working-class Mexican immigrants in Chicago; navigating depression and a stint in a psychiatric hospital; relationship woes; motherhood. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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