Staff reviews: Biography and memoirLike this list

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• Harmon Killebrew

  Ultimate Slugger

  Aschburner, Steve

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  The name Harmon Killebrew is synonymous with the Minnesota Twins as is Joe Dimaggio with the New York Yankees and Ted Williams with the Boston Red Sox. Aschburner tells Killebrew's story from his time growing up in small town Idaho; to his early…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Man of Many Fathers

  Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir

  Wood, Roy, Jr., 1978-

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  Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show, Have I Got News for You) is an insightful comedian and writer who, in this brief memoir, shares what he has learned from his parents and the various men in his life that have given him lessons he has taken to heart.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate to

  a Memoir

  Lucia, Mary, 1970-

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  Mary Lucia is a Twin Cities celebrity with years of experience as a DJ/Radio Personality. She bears her soul in this memoir, sharing traumatic details of her upbringing and of a specific, terrible chapter, in her life - when she was stalked over…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Last Nomad

  Coming of Age in the Somali Desert : a Memoir

  Salh, Shugri Said, 1975-

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  With a gift for storytelling, the author recounts her life growing up as a nomad in the Somali Desert, being caught up in the civil war while living in Mogadishu, and finally emigrating to Canada and the U.S. Her vivid writing brings the quieter,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Trauma Cleaner

  One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster

  Krasnostein, Sarah

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  This is nonfiction and is an amazing story of a trans woman who has a trauma cleaning business. - Christina

• The Black Russian

  Alexandrov, Vladimir E.

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  Another amazing true story. - Kassian "The Black Russian is the incredible story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, born in 1872 to former slaves … sought greater freedom in London, then crisscrossed Europe and … went to Russia in 1899. … He eventually…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Actress of a Certain Age

  My Twenty Year Trail to Overnight Success

  Hiller, Jeff

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  Readers searching for a funny and warm-hearted book should absolutely pick this one to start next. Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere) shares his life story which includes showbiz indignities and tender-hearted moments with loved ones, and it all makes…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Once Upon a Tome

  the Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller, Wherein the Theory of the Profession Is Partially Explained, With a Variety of Insufficient Examples

  Darkshire, Oliver

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  A witty memoir by Oliver Darkshire as he takes readers with him as he enters into the fascinating profession of a rare bookseller, where his eccentric coworkers are only outdone by the unusual regular customers. A short, cozy biography that will…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Educated

  a Memoir

  Westover, Tara

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  All Westover knew about life was everything her father taught her as they lived in Buck Peak, Idaho. Her father did not fully agree with and feared the government, school system and did not trust anyone with her family. She and her other siblings…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Man Who Could Move Clouds

  a Memoir

  Rojas Contreras, Ingrid

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  Memoirs have been my jam this year and I tell everyone I can about this title - Jose Maria

• His Name Is George Floyd

  One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

  Samuels, Robert, 1984-

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  This Pulitzer Prize winner will appeal to readers of biographies, local history and civil rights. The authors conducted over 400 interviews with family, friends, teachers, teammates and neighbors of George Floyd. These memories provide…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Joyful Recollections of Trauma

  Scheer, Paul, 1976-

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  Fans of the podcast How Did This Get Made? may be familiar with some of the childhood stories Paul Scheer shares in this memoir. Despite his comedic talents, Scheer relates some harrowing memories of his childhood with an abusive stepfather with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Always Another Country

  a Memoir of Exile and Home

  Msimang, Sisonke

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  The daughter of exiled anti-apartheid freedom fighters, the author tells the story of her life growing up in many different places and countries all over the world: Zambia, Canada, Kenya, United States (including four years as an undergraduate at…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Fatty Fatty Boom Boom

  a Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family

  Chaudry, Rabia

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  Readers will find this book to be both funny and insightful as you follow Rabia Chaudry's journey growing up in the U.S. while having a strong connection with Pakistani food and family. The author is incredibly honest and forthright about her life…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Better Living Through Birding

  Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World

  Cooper, Christian

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  Remember the Central Park “birding while Black” incident of 2020? Turns out that Christian Cooper is not only an avid birder, but also a professional writer and self-professed nerd. A longtime activist, this memoir about living as a Black, gay man…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Dragons, the Giant, the Women

  a Memoir

  Moore, Wayétu

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  I found Wayetu Moore's memoir of her family's experience during the outbreak of violence in Liberia during the 1990s to be utterly gripping. Readers who admire the author's writing may want to try her first fiction book, She Would Be King. - Antonio…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Between Two Kingdoms

  a Memoir of a Life Interrupted

  Jaouad, Suleika

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  This will be the one book I've read this year that I will recommend anyone to read. Jaouad chronicles her life right before a cancer diagnosis, her years of struggle with the disease, and her life in limbo after remission where she embarks to see…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Finding Me

  Davis, Viola, 1965-

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  Viola writes with painful candor about growing up in squalid poverty and domestic abuse. Her rise from that to actress stardom is serendipitous and astonishing. It was hard to put this book down. - Sue H., Osseo Library

• Manchild in the Promised Land

  Brown, Claude, 1937-2002

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  A fictionalized autobiography of the author explores the life of a young African-American boy. The boy and his family moved to NY from the south in search of a better life. However, life in Harlem makes the boy a hardened and streetwise criminal…Read moreRead more of this annotation