Biography Girls

A luminous memoir in essays from the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, who reflects on her origins and the mysteries of memory. “The painful thing about adolescence is that everything seems absolute, and the painful thing about adulthood is that nothing does.” Jayne Anne Phillips grew up in...

By one of the world’s leading chemists, an entertaining and revealing tour of the chemical bonds that shape our everyday lives and provide the infrastructure for our chaotic world. We all have a relationship with chemistry. Bonds between molecules, forged and broken in the blink of an eye...

A thoughtful, poignant look at the AIDS crisis in the United States that includes primary source interviews, history, medical research, and cultural touchpoints. The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the...

Heartfelt and honest, Poster Girl is the inspirational memoir of a strong woman who epitomises the authentic spirit of country music and of Australia. "The truth is, all I've ever wanted is to be onstage and present my songs and stories.... If they come to see me, I'm giving them something to see." (Beccy Cole) Known for her hugely entertaining live shows and songs that are beloved by people of all ages, Beccy Cole has won nine Golden Guitars and seven songwriting awards, amongst other accolades.

Donut Dolly puts you in the Vietnam War face down in the dirt under a sniper attack, inside a helicopter being struck by lightning, at dinner next to a commanding general, and slogging through the mud along a line of foxholes. You see the war through the eyes of one of the first women officially allowed in the combat zone.

A Girl from Busan is a spellbinding autobiographical memoir that chronicles the life of Okhui Lee, a woman who faced immense tragedy, loss, and hardship but never lost her faith in God. Okhui Lee’s story stands out prominently from other memoirs in its honesty and vulnerability. The author depicts a vivid account of the Korean War and its aftermath that journeys across a powerful spectrum of emotions.

The New York Times bestselling memoir now adapted for young adults! Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, chronicles her life story and her extraordinary path to becoming a jurist on America's highest court in this inspiring, intimate memoir...

From basketball icon Brittney Griner comes a captivating memoir about her journey from early athletic stardom to her page-turning account of how she persevered in a Russian prison—now adapted for young adults. On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to play for a Russian...

Brought to you by Penguin. From the football cages of East London to broadcasting to millions, the engine powering Alex Scott's remarkable journey has always been her resilience. But thanks to a 'push-through mentality' the world has only ever seen the 'strong' side of Alex Scott. Now Alex is...

How does a young mother overcome an 8 percent chance of living to raise her newborn son? She becomes a warrior and provides hope for others. Daddy's Girl is the story of a father, his daughter, and the deadly battle she won. In each person’s life there are events that forever change their course. Twenty-seven-year-old Stephanie experienced two of these events in fourteen days; the birth of her only child and discovery that she has an 8 percent chance of living.

Patti Eddington always knew she was adopted, and her beloved parents seemed amenable enough to questions—but she never wanted to hurt them by expressing curiosity, so she didn't. The story of her mother cutting off and dying her hair when she was a toddler? She thought it was eccentric and funny, nothing more. When she discovered at fifteen that her birthday wasn't actually her birthday? She believed it when her mother said she'd changed it to protect her from the "nosy old biddies" who might try to discover her identity.

Kwan Kew Lai met her first Punjabi woman doctor while lying in a hospital bed with a severe kidney infection at the age of fourteen. Watching the woman walk away down the hall, Kwan Kew was convinced she could, and would, carve out her own destiny. In The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly, the author weaves in her family’s story of joy, sorrow, loss, love, and endless struggles with poverty and hunger. This poignant memoir, with universal and timeless themes, will leave you in awe.

Hilda’s family didn’t know she had muscular dystrophy. They just knew their preschooler was losing her ability to walk. But they were determined to find a cure. Being disabled in Cameroon meant not only obstacles to transport, but visits to diviners and evangelists, threats of sexual assault, discrimination, and a crisis of faith. Despite the hardship Hilda has faced, her family’s unwavering support and God’s unwavering grace have helped her persevere to become a national broadcaster.

Maria Konner takes you on her journey from living a frustrated and bored straight-dude life to becoming a fabulous trans entertainer in San Francisco. She also begins to discover herself sexually after a Halloween costume feels better than she ever imagined. What starts as a lark, quickly becomes a lifestyle. Told in a frank and entertaining manner, Maria details her experiences at Diva's, the legendary trans bar. There, she enters into a world of alternative lifestyles, sexual experimentation, crossdressing, and hardcore kink as she tests the boundaries of her sexuality.

A Girl Called Beauty is a passion project belonging to first-time published author Susan (Scully) Hetrick, who started writing in sixth grade. Even at an early age, Susie had challenges and struggles well beyond those of a normal childhood, and wondered if everyone lived the way she did. But undaunted by life's tangled paths, Susie pressed on. After being handed even more obstacles, she realized that life had thrown enough at her to fill a book, so she started writing.

Terrified after her father's arrest by the Nazis, Ruth flees to Belgium. This is the unbelievable autobiographical story of Ruth Uzrad, a Jewish teenager whose life was turned upside down by the Nazi regime. After her father was arrested one night from their Berlin apartment by the Gestapo, Ruth's mother sends 13-year-old Ruth and her two younger sisters out on their escape route across Europe by train to the safety of Belgium. But then the Nazis also reach Belgium, driving Ruth into the French Jewish underground....

It's 1985 in a small factory town near Pittsburgh. Eight-year-old Karen's parents are lifelong workers at the Anchor Glass plant, where one Saturday, an employee goes on a shooting spree, killing four supervisors, then himself. This event splits the young girl's life open, and like her mother, she begins to seek comfort in obsessive rituals and superstitions. This beautifully evocative memoir chronicles the next 14 years, as Karen moves through girlhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.

The plucky “titian-haired” sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930 - and eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women’s libbers) to enter the pantheon of American culture. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers’ lives. Here, in a narrative with all the page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew?

The Girl Explorers is the inspirational and untold story of the founding of the Society of Women Geographers - an organization of adventurous female world explorers - and how key members served as early advocates for human rights and paved the way for today's women scientists by scaling mountains, exploring the high seas, flying across the Atlantic, and recording the world through film, sculpture, and literature.

Finally, a self-help book for the millennial party girl who hates bullshit advice from "experts" who know nothing about the trauma of drinking and sex, the acute pressure of keeping up with the rest of the Adderall poppin' world, and the insecurity that comes along with feeling like you have to be thin and gorgeous and sparkly in order to be seen.