Cultural Memoir

Painting evocative pictures of the island with her words, Thompson draws the reader into an inner circle that is a slice-of-life slideshow about growing up in Jamaica in the 1960s and 1970s. Set against a backdrop of current events, island life comes alive, from school, church, and extended family, to influential mentors, marriage, children, and a series of successful businesses. Woven throughout this life story is the abiding presence of God and angels guiding and protecting her.

In this deeply personal coming-of-age story, a young man journeys from the familiar nature of Northern Nigeria to the heart of the East, uncovering pieces of himself along the way. Through culture shocks, hard-earned skills, heartbreaks, and hidden caste systems, he learns to survive, adapt, and create.

Raised in a traditional Iranian family, eighteen-year-old Parvin Kolahdooz felt increasingly restricted after the 1979 Islamic revolution. She was trapped in a society where just a few strands of her hair showing from under her hijab could land her in jail, where her fatherlessness left her increasingly vulnerable to being given away in marriage, and where venturing alone put her at risk of sexual harassment or death. Left with no other choice, Parvin prepared to flee.

In this “sometimes painful, always compelling story of a high-school dropout” (Peter Goldman), Christopher Zara breaks down his winding journey from dropout to journalist and the impact that his background had in the world of privilege. Boldly honest, wryly funny, and utterly open-hearted...

Bi-Cultural: Living and Leaving the World of Illusions is a story about an African-American man experiencing life growing up in suburban America. Battling racism, self-hate, and self-esteem issues; he finds power in music, travel, and self-study, and is introduced to African spiritually and culture. The audiobook finds the author at this developed stage, being able to share his perspective and advice on the world, and how to make the most of this physical experience.

In Jure Sanguinis: Reclaiming My Great-Grandfather’s Legacy, author Stephanie Frazer shares her personal and determined journey to obtain Italian dual citizenship through the bloodline of her great-grandfather. Guided by the legal principle of jure sanguinis—citizenship by right of blood—Stephanie embarks on a deeply emotional mission to trace her Italian lineage and reconnect with a heritage nearly lost to time.

Leaving Aberdeen is the story of a young Southern girl's awakening during a turbulent time of racial reckoning, from reading torn textbooks in a one-room schoolhouse to attending a premier HBCU, from professional modeling to motherhood, and from accepting her "place" to supporting her husband's membership as a Black Panther.

Stevie Wonder's achievements as a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer are extraordinary. During a career that has spanned almost fifty years, he has earned more than 30 Top 10 hits, 26 Grammy Awards, and a place in both the Rock and Roll and Songwriter Halls of Fame - and he's not finished yet. On the verge of turning 60, he is still composing, still touring, and still attracting dedicated fans around the world.

BLACK MAN CAN’T DO is a bold, unfiltered journey into the life of a Black man navigating the raw, demanding world of heavy equipment operations—an industry built on muscle, precision, and an unspoken racial divide. James A Rietz exposes the truth behind the construction fences, where bulldozers, cranes, and excavators roar—and so do centuries-old stereotypes. As the only Black face on many job sites, James didn’t just learn how to move earth—he learned how to move mountains of doubt, prejudice, and exclusion.

Long accused of racism and “white flight”, the ethnic Americans driven from their homes and neighborhoods—the author included—finally get the chance to tell their side of the story.

From the daughter of the bestselling author of Father Joe: the poignant and ultimately hopeful memoir of a young girl’s struggle to live a normal childhood in the chaotic seventies, and to overcome sexual abuse by her famous father Earlier this year, Tony Hendra’s memoir, Father Joe: The Man...

An important, groundbreaking book - two decades in work - that tells the story of the unlikely but history-changing 28-year bond forged between Pauli Murray (granddaughter of a mulatto slave who, against all odds, as a lesbian Black woman, became a lawyer, civil rights pioneer, Episcopal priest, poet, and activist) and Eleanor Roosevelt (first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1948 and human rights internationalist) that critically shaped Eleanor Roosevelt's, and therefore FDR's, view of race and racism in America.

The author of the classic New York Times bestseller Passages returns with her inspiring memoir—a chronicle of her trials and triumphs as a groundbreaking “girl” journalist in the 1960s, to iconic guide for women and men seeking to have it all, to one of the premier political profilers of...

Come Along with Me is a compelling memoir of resilience, activism, and breaking barriers in the causes of health equity and social justice. Henrie Monteith Treadwell recounts her personal and legal struggles to become the first African American student admitted to the University of South Carolina since Reconstruction, a pivotal moment in civil rights history. More than a personal narrative, this audiobook is a call to action, inspiring young people of color—especially women—to push forward against systemic injustices.

Xiaolu Guo has traveled further than most to become who she needed to be. Now, as she experiences the birth of her daughter in a London maternity ward surrounded by women from all over the world, she looks back on that journey. It begins in the fishing village shack on the East China Sea where her illiterate grandparents raised her, and brings her to a rapidly changing Beijing, full of contradictions: a thriving underground art scene amid mass censorship, curious Westerners who held out affection only to disappear back home.

After a nearly fatal bout of appendicitis, Hal Borland decided to leave the city behind and move with his wife to a farmhouse in rural Connecticut. Their new home on one hundred acres inspired Borland to return to nature. In this masterpiece of American nature writing, he describes such wonders as the peace of a sky full of stars, the breathless beauty of blossoming plants, the way rain swishes as it hits a river, and the invigorating renewal brought by the changing seasons. The delights of nature as Borland observes them seem boundless, and his sense of awe is contagious.

The son of a Salvadoran mother and Scotch Irish mechanic father, Marcos spent much of his life trying to break away from his Southern Appalachian past and the trauma experienced there and striving to get closer to his Salvadoran heritage. His journey includes steeping himself in the Spanish language and Latin American literature, especially the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez; a stint in Nicaragua with Witness for Peace, followed by missionary work in Guatemala; and social-justice work with Mexican migrant farmworkers in Alabama.

A childhood memoir that recalls events from the life of a Cuban boy in 1950s Havana, Cuba, this book is a chilling account of trust and achievement, deceit and failure, and faith in the noble life lessons learned from his family. The author relates his tale through the filter of magical realism. He describes a young life lived amongst circumstances involving a wealthy family navigating life demands in mid-20th century Cuba, a country at civil war.

As the US occupation of Iraq rages, novelist Mortada Gzar, a student at the University of Baghdad, has a chance encounter with Morise, an African American soldier. It’s love at first sight, a threat to them both, and a moment of self-discovery. Challenged by society’s rejection and Morise’s return to the US, Mortada takes to the page to understand himself. In his affecting memoir, Mortada interweaves tales of his childhood work as a scrap-metal collector in a war zone and the indignities faced by openly gay artists in Iraq with his impossible love story and journey to the US.

Candid and moving, The Face Pressed Against a Window charts the life of one of our most celebrated business leaders. Tim Waterstone is one of Britain's most successful businessmen, having built the Waterstones empire that started with one small bookshop in 1982. In this charming and evocative memoir, he recalls the childhood experiences that led him to become an entrepreneur and outlines the business philosophy that allowed Waterstones to dominate the book-selling business throughout the country.