Difficult Memoirs

"A brilliant and brilliantly different" (Kiese Laymon), wrenching and redemptive coming-of-age memoir about the difficulty of growing up in a hazardous home and the glory of finding salvation in geek culture. Stranded within an ever-shifting family’s desperate but volatile attempts to love...

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...

A bold, wry, and intimate graphic memoir about American identity, interracial families, and the realities that divide us, from the acclaimed author of The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing. “By turns hilarious and heart-rending, it’s exactly the book America needs at this moment...

A is for Aronia, berry member of the apple family, clothes-stainer, super-fruit with reputed healing power. D is for Durian, endowed with a dramatic rind and a shifting odor - peaches, old garlic. M is for Medlar, name-checked by Shakespeare for its crude shape, beloved by gardeners for its flowers. In this work of unique invention, these and other difficult fruits serve as the central ingredients of 26 lyrical essays that range from deeply personal to botanical, from culinary to medical, from humorous to philosophical.

Es difícil explicar cómo la palabra cáncer puede cambiarnos la vida de una manera tan drástica. En el momento en que me diagnosticaron cáncer de seno, me sentía llena de vida; pero, sin saberlo, dentro de mi cuerpo se multiplicaba y crecía ese mal que me acercaba a la muerte.Mi lucha contra el cáncer me ha hecho una mujer más fuerte, más segura, más serena y en paz conmigo misma y con la vida.

It's been three years since Miles fell for Vivian, a talented and dazzling transgender girl. Eighteen months since a suicide attempt left Vivian on life support. Now Miles isn't sure who he is without her, but knows it's time to figure out how to say goodbye. He books a solo trip to Iceland but then has a hard time leaving the refuge of his hotel room. After a little push from Oskar, a local who is equal parts endearing and aloof, Miles decides to honor Vivian's life by photographing her treasured Doc Martens standing empty against the surreal landscapes.

Stories drawn from the life and music of French composer Melanie Bonis and her "Femmes de Legende" pieces for piano. An exploration of seven legendary women in brief revisionist form and an appreciation for one woman composer, who was not allowed by the society in which she lived to fully explore her creative potential. This audio version allows listeners to hear Bonis' music and judge for themselves her place in musical history.

From the Chaos is an inspiring and thought provoking collection of thoughts and lessons - learned the hard way. Anne Miles and her two children are survivors of many of life’s real challenges, yet as a family they are bonded closer together than ever, live with genuine gratitude and appreciation, and have tackled life head-on (and still are).

Así comienza este recorrido en el que Felipe Calderón reflexiona sobre la compleja tarea de gobernar y lo que significa tomar decisiones en escenarios de incertidumbre, decisiones que, a fin de cuentas, nadie más quiere tomar. Al enfrentar este reto, dice el autor, es inevitable relatar las circunstancias, las vivencias, las ideas que rodean cada hecho. Así, a partir de una concepción muy particular de la política, como vocación y deber, Felipe Calderón presenta una visión de conjunto de las decisiones más difíciles que ha tomado en su trayectoria....

Norman Mailer and William F. Buckley, Jr., were towering figures who argued publicly about every major issue of the 1960s: the counterculture, Vietnam, feminism, civil rights, the Cold War. Behind the scenes, the two were close friends and trusted confidantes who lived surprisingly parallel lives. In Buckley and Mailer, historian Kevin M. Schultz delves into their personal archives to tell the rich story of their friendship, arguments, and the tumultuous decade they did so much to shape.

What if you could do things no one else could? Life would be so much easier if you could run faster than a train or leap over a building. You could go anywhere - be anything you wanted to be. Dating would be easier. Money would come freely. The world would be your playground. Everything would change for the better. Well, I’m here to tell you, that just isn’t true. And I would know...Super is a young adult fiction novel that follows the story of JJ Morris - a junior at Oak Hill High School.

In the summer of 1987, Payam Zamani fled Iran. As a member of the Baha'i Faith, he had already survived years of religious persecution at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. Taking the only path available to him, he escaped to Pakistan through the Emptiness Desert: a harrowing five-day trek through one of the hottest, driest, and most hostile regions on the planet. Twelve years later, he and his brother set records when the company they founded hit a $1.2 billion valuation on Wall Street.

Through vulnerable and transparent stories, Laureen Alexa Trujillo shares her personal testimony of hardship and trial and all that God taught her through suffering. She highlights the faithfulness of God and brings attention to the purpose of her struggle—to learn dependency on God by being exposed to the barrenness of the desert, surrender the false comfort of our personal Egypt, and come out stronger and more refined for the promise land we were created to inherit.

Los hallazgos científicos de Rodolfo Llinás son fascinantes y de una importancia capital para el estudio del cerebro a escala mundial. Después de cientos de horas de entrevistas con Llinás, con sus familiares, amigos y colegas, y de otras tantas en la búsqueda de archivos y álbumes familiares, Pablo Correa desmenuza para la buena comprensión de cualquier lector los hallazgos del neurocientífico colombiano más importante de todos los tiempos.

Beard's stunning debut is an epistolary novel written from 15-year-old Tess DeNunzio to her little sister Zoe. After Zoe's accidental death on September 11, 2001, a day so many others died, Tess' family is numbed by their personal tragedy. Already acutely aware of her odd place in a home where her mother and stepfather now have children of their own, Tess begins her letter as a means of figuring out her own life, from her two-hour-a-day hair and makeup ritual to her complicity in Zoe's death.

Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn't hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life. Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl. Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person.

At the tender and problematic ages of 16 and 17, Laura Eckert twice found herself as a patient at an abortion clinic, after her parents had discovered that she was pregnant. Laura was addicted to sex with her step-brother. Neither of them cared about the possible consequences of unprotected sex. The aftermath of her abortion experiences led Laura to become depressed, drink alcohol excessively, and feel the need to be isolated from those who loved and cared for her.

Raised by a mother who turned to drugs to relieve past pain, Valencia had to grow up fast. Being welcomed by gangs, being shunned by her family, and finding motherhood early should have sealed Valencia's fate, at least according to all the statistics. Open, honest, and often raw, Motherless Child exposes a falsehood far too many of us have been led to believe - that those raised in addiction will fall victim themselves. Instead, she found an inner strength born of determination, resolve, and forgiveness.

Life on the farm with Granddaddy is full of hard work, but despite all the chores, Granddaddy always makes time for play, especially fishing trips. Even when there isn't a bite to catch, he reminds young Michael that it takes patience to get what's coming to you. One morning, when Granddaddy heads into town in his fancy suit, Michael knows that something very special must be happening. For the very first time, Granddaddy is allowed to vote, and he couldn't be more proud. But can Michael be patient when it seems that justice just can't come soon enough?

The Girl Who Could Write and Unite pays tribute to one of the greatest modern American poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer and received over 70 honorary degrees from universities for writing and teaching. Her story teaches children that language is a powerful tool for change and championship.