When called a badass, I say thank you. Though I was raised to say and do the right thing, I’ve spent a lifetime speaking my truth, on radio and now on podcasts, being both reverent and irreverent. It took losing three immediate family members and getting hit by a car as a pedestrian for me to learn that I don’t have to be in perpetual motion. I went from being the baby of my family to being the matriarch in a heartbeat and am honored to share what I’ve learned about resilience and authenticity in my first book, By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go.
Historically, rape victims haven’t told their stories, at least not in detail.
In Know My Name, Chanel Miller does a remarkable job of bringing the reader into her experience, before, during, and long after the rape, with vivid descriptions and remarkable honesty and authenticity. As the parent of a Stanford graduate, I was appalled to read about how the university handled this case, clearly more concerned about their own reputation and liability than the culture on campus that could allow such a travesty to happen.
The book is chilling, brilliantly written, and is a page turner.
Universally acclaimed, rapturously reviewed, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography, and an instant New York Times bestseller, Chanel Miller's breathtaking memoir "gives readers the privilege of knowing her not just as Emily Doe, but as Chanel Miller the writer, the artist, the survivor, the fighter." (The Wrap).
"I opened Know My Name with the intention to bear witness to the story of a survivor. Instead, I found myself falling into the hands of one of the great writers and thinkers of our time. Chanel Miller is a philosopher, a cultural critic, a deep observer, a writer's…
Roxanne Gay is a stunning writer and it’s critical that the voices of women of color, particularly LGBTQI+ women of color, are given a big platform and are amplified.
Eating disorders are rampant in our culture. I know. I suffered from anorexia from age seventeen to nineteen before it was widely known as a thing. Our society gives young women all sorts of messages and some of us play out our insecurities, our voicelessness, our desire for control with food.
Roxanne Gay bravely shares her story, how she felt, how she behaved, and how she was treated, illuminating the struggle that so many of us experience. It’s a not-to-be-missed work of art.
From Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist, a memoir in weight about eating healthier, finding a tolerable form of exercise, and exploring what it means to learn, in the middle of your life, how to take care of yourself and how to feed your hunger.
New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and bodies, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption,…
Whatever family you’re raised in seems normal, until you’re exposed to an alternative.
Tara Westover was raised entirely off the grid, never attending school, and helping her Mormon parents deal with dad’s junkyard and mom’s boiled herbs. One brother turns violent; another figures out a way to go to college. Tara decides to pursue an education and, as a result, she’s able to build a meaningful life.
What is painful is watching her try to go home and make peace with her, dare I say, eccentric parents? This book is a classic.
Selected as a book of the year by AMAZON, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, NEW YORK TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, VOGUE, IRISH TIMES, IRISH EXAMINER and RED MAGAZINE
'One of the best books I have ever read . . . unbelievably moving' Elizabeth Day 'An extraordinary story, beautifully told' Louise O'Neill 'A memoir to stand alongside the classics . . . compelling and joyous' Sunday Times
Tara Westover grew up preparing for the end of the world. She was never put in school, never taken to the doctor. She did not even have a birth certificate…
When it seems that all is lost, sometimes we figure out a way to pick ourselves up and put one foot in front of the other.
Cheryl Strayed did this after losing her mom and her marriage by choosing to embark on a solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. The fact that she was ill-prepared added suspense and drama to the tale, which is honest, gut-wrenching, and, at heart, a dynamite adventure story.
I love reading books by and about women who take risks and open their souls. Wild delivers.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the…
I cannot imagine sitting at the bedside of one of my children in a coma.
Isabel Allende not only did that, but used her grief, fear, pain, hope, optimism, memory, and humor to write an extraordinarily compelling book. We come to know not only Paula, Isabel’s gravely ill daughter, but a colorful cast of characters from the family’s past.
We learn about Chilean history and somehow find ourselves laughing and crying in the same chapter. At least I did. Allende is a master with words – and English is not her first language. Do yourself a favor and read this gem.
"Beautiful and heartrending. . . . Memoir, autobiography, epicedium, perhaps even some fiction: they are all here, and they are all quite wonderful."-Los Angeles Times
In this literary classic, New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende recalls the story of her beloved daughter and her remarkable family's past.
When her daughter, Paula, became gravely ill and fell into a coma, Isabel Allende began to write the story of her family for her unconscious child. Bizarre ancestors are introduced; delightful and bitter childhood memories are shared; amazing anecdotes of youthful years are relived, and the most intimate secrets are quietly passed…
Small in stature, large in presence, and always in charge, Joanne Greene anchored the news and hosted talk shows on San Francisco radio while totally devoted to her family – until a traumatic accident suddenly removed her ability to control anything.
By Accident is a story of resilience and perseverance, of will and pluck, and of positivity and gratitude for lessons learned – even as the personal hits just keep on coming.
Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect or remember. Christmas Actually is a festive drama about family and forgiveness and a snapshot of modern family life, addressing Instagram to motherhood and everything in between.
Why Christmas? My publisher wanted my new novel to have a festive theme, specifically set in Australia–sun, surf, sunburn, and prawns. Christmas in Australia is very different from Christmas in the UK, USA, and Canada. We typically wear shorts and t-shirts, eat salad and seafood for Christmas lunch, and play beach cricket in the afternoon. Despite the season, conflicts, secrets,…
Time spent with family can be challenging, especially at Christmas actually…
Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer.
With her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly-dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt.
Then as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens – both personally and professionally. Can she move on…
