Biography Girls

Broadway, film, and TV actress Meredith Patterson takes you through intimate, personal, joyous, and often painful stories of her rise to Broadway, doing everything from cleaning toilets to impersonating Marilyn Monroe - whatever it took to support herself while battling self-doubt and cutthroat competition and trying to stay as human as possible in an often vicious industry. This is not only the story of her rise to Broadway, but also how tragedy made her come back down to Earth and place her life’s work, her driving force, into proper perspective.

When Lauren Pizza was 13, she died. Caught under a small sailboat, she struggled to reach the surface, only to find that what she thought was up was actually down . . . and that’s all she remembers. Ever since being resuscitated by two strangers, Pizza has felt a presence in her life from the spirit world. Is it crazy? Maybe. Her family sure thinks so.

NPR's Books We Love 2023 Glamour's "The 15 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023, So Far" Vogue's "Best Books of 2023 (So Far)" Town & Country's "The Best Books of 2023" A "heartening inspiration"(The New York Times), the untold story of the people who have helped spark America’s most transformative...

In her debut memoir, Toni talks candidly about her colorful life. This powerful account is an unexpected pause-resister that will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next. From her early childhood battle with a congenital facial defect, through debilitating battles in school to her traumatic entry into the adult world, it details her struggle with anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, and a longing for love and happiness.

A lively and accessible introduction to the quintessential philosopher, and the civilized world’s first enemy of the state. Socrates: A Life Worth Living traces the life and ideas of one of Western civilization’s founding philosophers, whose influence is still felt more than two thousand...

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography The prizewinning memoir of one of the world’s great writers, about coming of age as an enemy of the people and finding her voice in Stalinist Russia Born across the street from the Kremlin in the opulent Metropol...

Author KishaLynn takes us on a journey that begins as Kisha - a thornless rose growing from concrete - learning how to live life on her own terms. The only child of a teenage single mother, KishaLynn emerges as a resilient teenager, destined to triumph by any means necessary. Childish is a cathartic chronicle of growing up as a poor, black, queer, female millennial. Its narration is filled with heroic honesty and poetic words that are infused with a perfect balance of pain and humor.

There's a seismic shift happening worldwide, as individuals from every social class question their relationship with alcohol and drugs. While marijuana gains mainstream acceptance, a profound inquiry persists: Is this okay? Am I drinking too much? Is this normal? These questions resonate deeply, particularly among professional women who are drinking at higher rates than anyone else, and White women are drinking themselves to death.

In this adaptation for middle graders based on her bestselling adult memoir, My Beloved World, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor's extraordinary life inspires. Her achievement serves as a true testament to the fact that no matter the obstacles, dreams can come true. ...

Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history’s brightest female scientists. “Rachel Swaby’s no-nonsense and needed Headstrong dynamically profiles historically overlooked female visionaries in science, technology, engineering, and math.”—Elle In 2013, the New York...

A Muslim woman’s searingly honest memoir of her journey toward self-acceptance as she comes to see her body as a symbol of rebellion and hope—and chooses to live her life unapologetically Ever since she was little, Leah Vernon was told what to believe and how to act. There wasn’t any room...

An accessible, exciting biography of the most powerful woman in the USA. First . . . student commencement speaker at Wellesley First . . . woman to become full partner at Rose Law Firm First . . . Lady of the United States First . . . First Lady to hold a postgraduate degree First . . . First...

Protagonist and first-person narrator Alicia McMahon begins her memoir later in her life with a description of her vision to produce a tribute book for her ailing Nana Murphy. Her nana still lived in the village she grew up in - Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland. This leads to a very poignant conversation between Alicia and her Nana, a few months later. Alicia then explains how life was growing up in a little parish in Ireland and shares her stories from hardships to shenanigans.

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is more than a historical document—it is a timeless exploration of the human spirit, capturing resilience, hope, and the complexities of identity in the face of unimaginable adversity. This in-depth analysis examines Anne’s personal journey during her two years in hiding, revealing the universal struggles of adolescence, the moral implications of war, and the enduring power of her words. Through her vivid reflections, Anne grapples with themes of self-discovery, family dynamics, and the search for meaning in a world torn apart by hatred and intolerance.

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who stood up, spoke up and rose up against the odds--including Oprah Winfrey! In this chapter book biography by Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King...

Relive the moments when African Americans fought for equal rights, and made history. Even though slavery had ended in the 1860s, African Americans were still suffering under the weight of segregation a hundred years later. They couldn't go to the same schools, eat at the same restaurants, or...

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned Rosa Parks the title "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement...

Inspired by her own foremothers’ legacies and the friendships formed throughout her life, Rozella Kennedy centers and celebrates the stories of 100 Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women—both famous and little-known—who changed the course of US history. In the beautiful pages of Our...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Simmons’s evocative account of her remarkable trajectory from Jim Crow Texas, where she was the youngest of twelve children in a sharecropping family, to the presidencies of Smith College and Brown University shines with tenderness and dignity.”—The New...

Saigon, November 1978. Under the cover of darkness, a desperate family leaves home and friends, hoping to escape the harsh regime of Communist Vietnam. Their goal is to reunite with the four oldest children sent ahead to the United States, but first they must evade ruthless communist patrols.