Showing titles in Biographies & Memoirs

Buddy Cole, the acid-tongued raconteur created by comedian Scott Thompson, earned international fame as one of the most beloved characters on Kids in the Hall. Originally published in 1998, Buddy’s classic faux-memoir was a master class in pushing the envelope and pissing off the censors. Now, 20 years later, Scott Thompson is bringing Buddy back to the stage, with an international tour and also a reissue of Buddy Babylon, presented with new never-before-seen material, introducing Buddy to new generations.

LGBTQ advice columnist John Paul Brammer writes a “wise and charming” (David Sedaris) memoir-in-essays chronicling his journey from a queer, mixed-race kid in America’s heartland to becoming the “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw” of his generation.

Andreas Souvaliotis was raised at a time when being on the autism spectrum wasn't easily diagnosed or even discussed. Minds like his were simply considered odd. He also knew from an early age he was gay, and it terrified him as he was growing up with openly homophobic parents in one of Europe's least tolerant societies. Andreas' differences made him an outsider, right through to his mid-40s. And then suddenly, everything changed. Misfit is the extraordinary memoir of a man who realized there was strength in his strangeness, that it could be used as a force for good.

Scott Stabile's parents were murdered when he was 14. Nine years later, his brother died of a heroin overdose. Soon after that, Stabile joined a cult that would dominate his life. Through all these challenges, Stabile grew stronger and more committed to living his life from love. Whether trying - as we all must - to silence shame, show up for friends, or overcome dreaded what-ifs, Stabile shares hard-won insights that will return listeners to love, both of themselves and of others.

Flailing in jobs, failing at love, getting addicted and un-addicted to people, food, and drugs - I'll Tell You in Person is a disarmingly frank account of attempts at adulthood and all the less than perfect ways we get there. Chloe Caldwell has an unsparing knack for looking within and reporting back what's really there, rather than what she'd like you to see.

From longtime activist Cleve Jones, here is a sweeping, beautifully written memoir about a full and remarkable American life. Jones brings to life the magnetic spell cast by 1970s San Francisco, the drama and heartbreak of the AIDS crisis and the vibrant generation of gay men lost to it, and his activist work on labor, immigration, and gay rights, which continues today.

From the moment he began writing his syndicated sex-advice column, "Savage Love", Dan Savage has never been shy about expressing his opinion on controversial topics - political or otherwise. In the height of his activism, he addresses issues ranging from parenting and the gay agenda to the Catholic Church and health care. Speaking to a broad range of subjects with brutal honesty and irreverent humor, American Savage is a pivotal piece that cements Dan Savage’s place as a provocative and insightful voice in American culture.

Queer. Muslim. Arab American. A proudly Fat woman. Randa Jarrar is all of these things. In this provocative memoir of a cross-country road trip, she explores how to claim joy in an unraveling and hostile America.

When Putsata Reang was eleven months old, her family fled war-torn Cambodia, spending twenty-three days on an overcrowded navy vessel before finding sanctuary at an American naval base in the Philippines. Holding what appeared to be a lifeless baby in her arms, Ma resisted the captain’s orders to throw her bundle overboard. Instead, on landing, Ma rushed her baby into the arms of American military nurses and doctors, who saved the child's life. “I had hope, just a little, you were still alive,” Ma would tell Put in an oft-repeated story that became family legend.

Beginning the day the Supreme Court ruled her marriage legal, Angela Yarber's queer little family traversed the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid her wanderings, this queer clergywoman grapples with the loss of faith, addiction, death, parenting, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, she creates a new dream, not just for herself, but for all marginalized people living in America.

Discovering George Michael's Faith confirmed for David Crabb what every bully already knew: He was gay. What saved him from high school was finding a group of outlandish friends who reveled in being outsiders. David found himself enmeshed with misfits: wearing black, cutting class, staying out all night, drinking, tripping, chain-smoking, idolizing the Pet Shop Boys - and learning lessons about life and love along the way.

In 2005, Dan Bucatinsky and his partner, Don Roos, found themselves in an L.A. delivery room, decked out in disposable scrubs from shower cap to booties, to welcome their adopted baby girl - launching their frantic yet memorable adventures into fatherhood. Two and a half years later, the same birth mother - a heroically generous, pack-a-day teen with a passion for Bridezilla marathons and Mountain Dew - delivered a son into the couple’s arms.

This book is a transition from a sad, lonely, bullied existence to becoming an adult and still having to live with these same challenges. It is about having an overwhelming desire to experience sex and love and the emotional toll it takes. It captures the struggles and final acceptance of a life where love is sought, but the definition of what is truly found is inspirational.

In Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices (in Media) and Learning to Love Yourself, educator and media critic Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins—aka Doctor Jon Paul—delivers an honest and extraordinary new take on how the author, and other Black Fat Femmes like them, have come to find and understand their identity. You'll learn about how standing at the intersection of multiple identities, communities, and causes shapes people and how they see the world.

Owning It, produced especially for Pride Month in collaboration with the historic live event and podcast Don’t Tell My Mother!, brings Audible Members a collection of uplifting, raw, and hilarious stories from queer actors, comedians, and personalities. Cohosted by beloved actress and activist Alexandra Billings and storytelling maven Nikki Levy, Owning It is a joyous celebration of LGBTQIA+ stories and icons.

In dieser zutiefst bewegenden Erzählung schildert die Autorin den schleichenden Zerfall ihrer kleinen Familie. Die Authentizität dieser Geschichte wurzelt in den 1950er-Jahren, als der Vater aus der DDR in den Westen Deutschlands flieht. Für die zurückgelassene Familie beginnt eine Ära voller Entbehrungen. Die überforderte Mutter, konfrontiert mit den täglichen Herausforderungen der Kindererziehung, sucht Zuflucht in Alkohol und Tabletten. Diese Flucht vor der Realität hinterlässt verheerende Auswirkungen auf alle Familienmitglieder, insbesondere auf die Entwicklung der Kinder.

Elizabeth Gilbert regresa con la historia del gran amor de su vida. La autora que inspiró a millones de lectores a vivir con autenticidad (Come, reza, ama) y creatividad (Libera tu magia) nos muestra cómo alcanzar la libertad. En 2000, Elizabeth conoció a Rayya. Se hicieron amigas, luego mejores amigas, luego inseparables. Cuando la tragedia irrumpió en sus vidas, la verdad quedó finalmente al descubierto: estaban enamoradas. También eran un par de adictas, abocadas inevitablemente a la catástrofe.

Days after Alex Cooper told her parents she was gay, they drove Alex from their home in Southern California to Utah, where they signed over guardianship to fellow Mormons who promised to save Alex from her homosexuality. For eight harrowing months, Alex was held captive in an unlicensed "residential treatment program" modeled on the many "therapeutic" boot camps scattered across Utah.

The goal of Trans-Parent Love is to help promote conversations that get people talking about the questions, concerns, and commonalities we have with each other while navigating change. In our current culture, our children are leading a revolution of honesty, bravery, and transparency that is both beautiful and baffling for parents and family members. When a person identifies as transgender, they have had this internal conversation for quite some time. Like any change in plans, it can provoke anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and ultimately acceptance and PRIDE.

I Am Enough, A Gay Guy's Truths is the memoir of the author, James A. Fink; a father of four. At the age of 15, young James suddenly found himself a father-to-be with a woman 13 years his senior. After a years-long journey of self-discovery, James came out as a gay man in 2011.