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A man of two faces : a memoir, a history, a memorial
Author(s):
Description:
With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, Viet Thanh Nguyen rewinds the film of his life. He expands the genre of personal memoir by acknowledging larger stories of refugeehood, colonization, and ideas about Vietnam and America, writing with sardonic wit and incisive analysis, as well as a deep emotional openness about his life as a father and a son. At the age of four, Nguyen and his family are forced to flee his hometown and come to the USA as refugees. After being removed from his brother and parents and homed with a family on his own, Nguyen is later allowed to resettle into his own family in suburban San Jose. But there is violence hidden behind the sunny facade of what he calls AMERICA TM. One Christmas Eve, when Nguyen is nine, while watching cartoons at home, he learns that his parents have been shot while working at their grocery store, a place where he sometimes helps price tins of fruit with a sticker gun. Years later, as a teenager, the blood-stirring drama of the films of the Vietnam War throw Nguyen into an existential crisis: how can he be both American and Vietnamese, both the killer and the person being killed? When he learns about an adopted sister who has stayed back in Vietnam, and ultimately visits her, he grows to understand just how much his parents have left behind. And as his parents age, he worries increasingly about their comfort and care, and realizes that some of their older wounds are reopening. Here he explores the necessity of both forgetting and of memory, the promises America so readily makes and breaks, and the exceptional life story of this original and important writer working today.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
B Ngu
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Author(s):
Description:
It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling, and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last. With its raw, unflinching honesty, Prince Harry shares a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.
Format:
Audiobook
Call Number:
B Har
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Glow in the f*cking dark : simple practices to heal your soul, from someone who learned the hard way
Author(s):
Description:
For the past decade, Tara Schuster worked to repair the emotional wounds inflicted during what she refers to as her neglected, "mess-wreck disaster" of a childhood. She brought radical self-care, healing rituals, and self-love into her life, and on most days, she was a grateful, happy, and stable adult. But then she lost her job, the one on which she had staked her entire adult identity. Cue an out-of-body-panic-attack-doom-spiral and deep depression that brought her harshest childhood traumas to the surface. Isolated at home during a global pandemic, she experienced piercing loneliness and a lack of purpose like she had never known. Finally, after a particularly dangerous dissociative episode, she realized that enough was enough; she needed stop the relentless hustling that had gotten her this far, and to recover her innermost self. This book is a guide to healing your deepest soul wounds, getting off your "good enough" plateau, developing habits that will give you lasting courage and resolve, and creating the life that you actually want. Full of practical, free baby-steps we can take today, it's for people who are ready to liberate themselves from their emotional suffering, discover their purpose, sit in the driver's seat of their experience, and get ready to glow in the dark.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
158.1 Sch
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The absent moon : a memoir of a short childhood and a long depression
Author(s):
Description:
Luiz Schwarcz relates the story of his own ordeal of depression in the context of a family story of murder, dispossession, and silence--the long echo of the Holocaust across generations. When Luiz Schwarcz was a child, he was told little about his grandfather and namesake Laaios--"Luiz" in Hungarian. Only later would he learn that his grandfather, a devout Hungarian Jew, had defied his country's Nazi occupiers by holding secret religious services in his home and, after being put on a train to a German death camp with his son André, had ordered André to leap from the train to freedom at a rail crossing while Laaios himself was carried on to his death. What Luiz did know was that his father was a very unhappy man, and his melancholia haunted the house. The noise that defined childhood for Luiz was that of his father in the next bedroom, tortured by insomnia, striking his foot against the bed post, seemingly for hours, night after night. Young Luiz assumed responsibility for his parents' happiness, as many children of trauma do, and for a time he seemed to be succeeding: he blossomed into the family prodigy, becoming an outwardly gregarious, athletic, and academically successful young man, eventually growing into a literary publisher of great promise. His house was still filled with silence, but he found a home in that silence--a home that he filled with books and with reading. But then, at a high point of outward success, Luiz was brought low by a devastating mental breakdown against which his resources were pitifully inadequate. This is in part the story of his journey to that point and in part his journey back from it, as Luiz learned to forge a different, more honest relationship with his own mind, with his family, and with their shared past. This book is beautiful, tragic, noble, piercingly honest, and ultimately redemptive--the product of a lifetime's reflection, animated by love and compassion and given powerful literary shape in the refiner's fire by a master storyteller.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
616.8527 Sch
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Author(s):
Description:
In 1955, Emmett Till was lynched when he was 14 years old. That remains an undisputed fact of the case that ignited a flame within the civil rights movement that has yet to be extinguished. Yet the rest of the details surrounding the case remain distorted by time and too many tellings. What does justice mean in the resolution of a 66 year-old cold case? A new telling of the story of Emmett Till, relayed by his cousin and best friend, a survivor of the night of terror when 14-year-old Emmett was taken from his family's rural Mississippi Delta home in the dead of night.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
364.134 Par
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Enchantment : awakening wonder in an anxious age
Author(s):
Description:
Katherine May offers an invitation to rediscover the feelings of awe and wonder available to us all. Many of us feel trapped in a grind of constant change: rolling news cycles, the chatter of social media, our families split along partisan lines. We feel fearful and tired, on edge in our bodies, not quite knowing what has us perpetually depleted. This low hum of fatigue and anxiety made Katherine May wonder what she was missing. Here she invites the reader to come with her on a journey to reawaken our innate sense of wonder and awe. She shares stories of her own struggles with work, family, and the after effects of pandemic and the feelings of overwhelm as the world rushes to reopen. May explores the restorative properties of the natural world, moving through the elements of earth, water, fire, and air, and identifying the quiet traces of magic that can be found only when we look for them. She unearths the potency and nourishment that come from quiet reconnection with our immediate environment. Each of us can open the door to human experience in all its sensual complexity, and find the beauty waiting for us there.--
Format:
Large Print
Call Number:
LP 158.1 May
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Good for a girl : a woman running in a man's world
Author(s):
Description:
Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her personal story and a rallying cry for reform of a sports landscape that is failing young female athletes. Lauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running: one of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro. She has seen the way that our sports systems--originally designed by men, for men and boys--fail young women and girls as much as empower them. This is Fleshman's story of falling in love with running as a girl, being pushed to her limits and succumbing to devastating injuries, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes. Fleshman gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete and argues that the time has come to rebuild our systems of competitive sport with women at their center.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
796.42 Fle
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Author(s):
Description:
This tells of one woman's dream to become a veterinarian in a field historically dominated by men, and how, through her work both with her patients and their people, she comes to better understand humanity, mortality, and the unique role animals play in our lives. Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her. Dr. Fine persevered, and brought her compassionate doctor/grandfather's principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to contextualize pets' care in terms of their stories. Here she shares the touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet. Woven into Dr. Fine's story are the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessons--how we can be better caretakers of the animals in our lives and, ultimately, of ourselves.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
636.089 Fin
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Undercooked : how I let food become my life navigator and how maybe that's a dumb way to live
Author(s):
Description:
A collection of essays about how food became one man's obsession and coping mechanism, and how it came to rule--and sometimes ruin--his relationships. When Dan Ahdoot speaks of his unhealthy relationship with food, he means it's what gives his life meaning. Ahdoot realized that food has been the through line in the most important moments of his life. Growing up as a middle child, Ahdoot struggled to find his place in the family until he and his father discovered their shared love for la gourmandise. But when the tragic death of his brother pushed his parents to strengthen their Jewish faith and adopt a strictly kosher diet, Ahdoot and his father lost that savored connection. To fill the absence left by his brother and father, Ahdoot began to obsess over food and make it central in all his relationships. From breaking up with girlfriends over dietary restrictions, to hunting just off the Long Island Expressway, to savoring his grandmother's magical food that was his only tactile connection to his family's home country of Iran, to jetting off to Italy to dine at the one of the world's best restaurants, only to send the risotto back, this is an absurdly funny yet heartfelt look at what happens when you let your stomach be your guide.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
647.95 Ahd
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I want to die but I want to eat tteokbokki
Author(s):
Description:
Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends; adept at performing the calmness, even ease, her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. If she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favorite street food, the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a 12-week period, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse.--From statement provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
616.8527 Pae
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Author(s):
Description:
A narrative mix of memoir, inspiration, and specific exercises and prompts, with timely messages about social and racial justice and how the world needs to move beyond body positivity to something even more exciting and revolutionary--body liberation.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
306.4613 Kin
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Lesbian love story : a memoir in archives
Author(s):
Description:
"When Amelia Possanza moved to Brooklyn to build a life of her own, she found herself surrounded by queer stories: she read them on landmark placards, overheard them on the pool deck when she joined the world's largest LGBTQ swim team, and even watched them on TV in her cockroach-infested apartment. These stories inspired her to seek out lesbians throughout history who could become her role models, in romance and in life. Centered around seven love stories for the ages, this is Possanza's journey into the archives to recover the personal histories of lesbians in the twentieth century: who they were, how they loved, why their stories were destroyed, and where their memories echo and live on"--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
306.766 Pos
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Crossing bridges : my journey from child prodigy to fiddler who dared the world
Author(s):
Description:
Mark O'Connor traces his journey from his childhood years, when at age 10 he was winning classical guitar competitions against University graduates, and at age 12 was thrust as a soloist onto the Grand Ole Opry stage introduced by the "King of Country Music," Roy Acuff. The story covers O'Connor's 1970s child prodigy years on the road as national fiddle and guitar champion. The acclaimed musician learned at the feet of American music legends while exploring his relationships with mother, dysfunctional family, a near career-ending accident and his involvement in some of the world's most iconic instrumental bands. O'Connor's details the personal triumphs, struggles and demons that informed the decisions he made about his music, career path and the risks he was willing to take for a shot at the brass ring.-- From Overdrive.com.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
787.2092 OCo
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I would meet you anywhere : a memoir
Author(s):
Description:
"A memoir about one woman's search for her birth parents, exploring complicated relationships with family, the legacy of WWII internment on generations of Japanese Americans, and the challenges adoptees often face in learning their own histories"--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
306.874 Ito
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Oh my mother! : a memoir in nine adventures
Author(s):
Description:
"A mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance"--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
306.8743 Wan
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The night parade : a speculative memoir
Author(s):
Description:
In this genre-bending and deeply emotional memoir that mirrors the sensation of being caught between realms, the author, after the death of her father, grapples with her bipolar disorder and sets out to interrogate the very notion of recovery through the lens of figures from Japanese, Taiwanese and Okinawan legend.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
616.895 Lin
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Author(s):
Description:
For decades, Rebel Wilson had single-mindedly focused on her career, making a name for herself through her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, and Isn't It Romantic. Now, she's ready to chronicle the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences. A malaria-induced hallucination? An all-style martial arts fighting tournament? Junior handling at dog shows? And this was all BEFORE she moved to Hollywood! Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilson's incredible journey of "making it," constantly questioning, "Am I good enough? Will I ever find love? Will I ever change and become healthy?" Rebel writes for the first time about the most personal and important moments in her life--from fertility issues, weight gain and loss, sexuality, overcoming shyness, rejections, and, well... okay there's at least one story thrown in about Brad Pitt! It's all here. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves while making us laugh uncontrollably. --
Format:
Book
Call Number:
B Wil
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Author(s):
Description:
Growing up Black and gay in America has never been easy. Before Porter was winning Emmys, Tonys and Grammys, he was a boy in Pittsburgh who was seen as different, who didn't fit in. At five years old Porter was sent to therapy to 'fix' his effeminacy; he was endlessly bullied at school, sexually abused by his stepfather, and criticized at his church. This is his story: of a boy whose talent and courage opened doors for him, but only a crack. Of a teenager discovering himself, learning his voice and his craft amidst deep trauma. And of how determination led him through countless hard times to where he is now; a proud icon who refuses to back down or hide. -- adapted from jacket
Format:
Book
Call Number:
B Por
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Author(s):
Description:
The author narrates the saga of his parents' experiment to raise their own biological children alongside children adopted from Korea, Vietnam, and the South Bronx, relating how their best intentions proved inadequate for confronting the racism and xenophobia that added to the complexity of holding together a large family.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
362.734 Gut
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Author(s):
Description:
"A memoir tracing the author's life and art, from his teen years, to the formation of his legendary rock group, to his years as a member of Sonic Youth"--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
781.66 Moo
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Author(s):
Description:
The daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath recalls how she moved to the countryside to start a new life, but instead found herself rescuing a baby magpie and embarking on an unlikely journey toward joy and connection.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
598.864 Hug
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Author(s):
Description:
Fourteen years old and growing up in the Middle East, Lamya is an overachiever and a class clown, qualities that help her hide in plain sight when she realizes she has a crush on her female teacher. She's also fourteen when she reads a passage in Quran class about Maryam, known as the Virgin Mary in the Christian Bible, that changes everything. Lamya learns that Maryam was untempted by an angelically handsome man, and later, when told she is pregnant, insists no man has touched her. Could Maryam be... like Lamya? Spanning childhood to an elite college in the US and early adult life in New York City, each essay places Lamya's struggles and triumphs in the context of some of the most famous stories in the Quran. She juxtaposes her coming out with Musa liberating his people from the Pharoah; asks if Allah, who is neither male nor female, might instead be nonbinary; and, drawing strength from the faith and hope of Nuh building his ark, begins to build a life of her own--all the while discovering that her identity as a queer, immigrant devout Muslim is, in fact, the answer to her quest for safety and belonging.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
306.766 H
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Better living through birding : notes from a Black man in the natural world
Author(s):
Description:
Christian Cooper is a self-described Blerd (Black nerd), an avid comics fan, and an expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, near where he lives in New York City. When birdwatching in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old. But when a routine encounter with a dog-walker escalates age old racial tensions, Cooper's viral video of the incident would send shockwaves through the nation. Here Cooper tells the story of his life leading up to the now-infamous encounter in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in American today. From sharpened senses that work just as well in a protest as in a park, to what a bird like the Common Grackle can teach us about self-acceptance, this book exults in the pleasures of a life lived in pursuit of the natural world and invites you to discover your own. This is Cooper's story of learning to claim and defend space for himself and others like him, from his days as a writer for Marvel Comics, where Cooper introduced the first gay storyline, to vivid and life-changing birding expeditions through Africa, Australia, the Americas and the Himalayas. Cooper invitates us into the wonderful world of birds, and what they can teach us about life, if only we would stop and listen.--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
598.07 Coo
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Sure, I'll join your cult : a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere
Author(s):
Description:
Stand-up comedian Maria Bamford offers a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems--from Dale Carnegie, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs. Maria Bamford has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it, and here brings us on a quest to participate in something. She recounts every anonymous fellowship she has joined, every hypomanic episode, and every easy 1-to-3-step recipe for fudge in between. Bamford explores what it means to keep going, and to be a member of society (or any group she's invited to) despite not being very good at it. In turn, she hopes to transform isolating experiences into comedy that will make you feel less alone (without turning into a cult following).--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
B Bam