741. IN LOVE by Amy Bloom (11/3/25) Autobiography
741. IN LOVE: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom (11/3/25) Autobiography
Amy Bloom is a writer who found her love later in life and she and Brian Ameche, an architect, were a great couple in the New York scene. Amy started noticing changes in Brian gradually when he retired and gave up a great job. He started to withdraw from friends they loved, and then started getting distant with her. At the age of 65 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after an MRI in 2019. Brian had witnessed the disease in others and was determined to take control of his life and death. He asked Amy to research assisted suicide in the US where it is permitted in 10 states. The only problem is one must establish residency in order to qualify.
Amy looked into an organization in Zurich, Switzerland, called Dignitas, which is a non-profit that empowers a person to choose the end of their life with dignity and peace. It allows a person to take control of their life while they still can. This is the way he chose to go.
In the book Amy shows the particulars of the process including legal, medical, emotional, and the cultural aspects of the voluntary ending of life. She also gives a step by step of what happened at Dignitas as Brian ended his life.
I found this book so informative on a controversial topic few of us think about until it is beyond our time to do it. I think if I had a fatal disease that was going to be painful, an extraordinary hardship on my family, or extremely expensive to have caretakers, hospice or an institution that could wipe out our finances, I would love to be of sound enough mind to make this type of decision. This is a must-read.
5 Stars
734. BURNT by Clare Frank (10/15/25) Autobiography
When Clare Frank was seventeen years old she emancipated herself and became a firefighter by “forgetting” to mark down her age on the application. Spunky and ready to serve, she threw herself into the training. She knew she had found her calling just like her firefighter brother. This was a time when women were trailblazers, and despite her 5′ 2″ stature she showed her determination to succeed and she rose in the ranks all the way to chief of fire protection in California, one of the highest ranking women in Cal Fire history.
I loved hearing Frank’s narration, part tomboy, part buddy, part take no prisoners, part wise ass who stood up to men who ended up respecting her and loving her leadership. Also the book was filled with firefighting details including how the California droughts contributed to the escalation of fires of catastrophic levels and the terrifying risks the firefighters take to protect and care for us. This was revealing and made me awe struck.
5 Stars
731. MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME by Arundhati Roy (10/5/25) Autobiography
Brought up by a single mother in India, Arundhati reveals the complex relationship she had with her mother, Mary Roy, whom she described as “my shelter and my storm.” She ran away from her mother at age eighteen, “not because I didn’t love her, but in order to be able to continue to love her.” We follow her journey from architecture school to writing prize winning novels and essays, such as, “The God of Small Things” and “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”.
Roy is truly a survivor who was able to find depth, inspiration, and meaning in her life and was able to translate it to the page.
4 Stars
710. IN ORDER TO LIVE: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom (8/19/25) Auto Biography
Most who read this are Ameicans. We are not without poverty and suffering in our country. We think we can imagine what it would be like to live in an impoverished country where it’s citizens have no rights and little freedom. But in this book I realized that imagining and living in this type of country are two different things. This book gives us a first-person account of what life is like in North Korea. Yeonmi, 13, describes the food deprivation with alarming details and the harrowing consequences if caught doing something illegal. One can be assassinated or tortured for making an unapproved phone call, for criticisms of the government, or just having opinions the party does not like. The people are totally isolated from any real news of the world, only hearing propaganda from their government. They are brainwashed into believing that anything wrong in their country is the fault of other countries which are blamed for all their problems. Their “great leader” is god-like to them and public love and respect for him is mandatory.
However, the people are still starving, which forces several thousand of the bravest every year to seek asylum to keep from dying of starvation.
Yeonmi and her mother risk everything to cross the Yalu River to China when Yeonmi’s older sister went missing, probably to escape. Little did they know that the person helping them was sex trafficking them to Chinese men who needed wives after the one-child rule. After separation and finding her mother again the two find a way into South Korea which has it’s own challenges. Because South Korea is a modern industrial nation, the refugees would be needing support in the form of general school education, re-education from the false brainwashed knowledge they had learned to believe, and to fine housing for them until they could support themselves. All of this was overwhelming to them but they persevered while continuing to hunt for their lost sister.
This is truly an astounding story of a brave 13 year-old and her mother, and how they survived multiple challenges without money, influence, or knowledge. They lived on survival skills and the determination to find a better life and to unite as a family again.
5 Stars
690. NOT MY TYPE by E. Jean Carroll (7/7/25) Auto-Biography
Byline: One Woman Vs. A President. E. Jean Carroll is an American journalist, author, and an advice columnist-“Ask E. Jean” appeared in Elle magazine from 1993-2019.
Trump, long known for his boasting about his sexual encounters, like the Access Hollywood tapes where he brags he can get women to let him do anything, including grabbing their pussy, and his Howard Stern interview where after his split with Marla Maples he told Stern that “Vagina is Expensive”, Trump insisted that Carroll was “not my type.”
This book chronicles the legal proceedings of the two lawsuits Carroll won against President Donald Trump. She tells her story of being sexually assaulted by Trump, in graphic detail, at a changing room in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York. In the first case about this attack and defamation she won an award of $5 million. Immediately after the verdict Trump continued to defame her in a tirade over the verdict and she turned around and sued him again, this time the total reward came to slightly over $100 million. After the second verdict she vowed to give the money to all things Trump hates. “At 81, what do I need with all that money?” But her bravery to take on an American President may help other women to come forward in the future.
E. Jean is a talented writer and was able to use humor and wit to make this a great story about vindication.
5 Stars
686. PATRIOT By Alexei Navalny (6/29/25) Auto-Biography
Alexei Navalney, the Russian political activist, began writing his memoir shortly after his near-fatal poisoning aboard an airplane in 2020. Putin’s government had long been interested in silencing Alexei for all of his criticism of his government and his ability to draw huge protest crowds in a place that usually had things under better control. Navalny starts his memoir in his youth and shows how he came to his activism of challenging his Russian people to resist the corrupt authoritarian government and his conviction that change CAN come. This book was mostly written while he was imprisoned and sections were smuggled out to be reassembled on the outside.
Alexei recounts the numerous attempts on his life and of those closest to him. We see nothing deter him and he becomes one of the most brave “patriots” of his beloved country. His passion to not be silenced while knowing the state had no bigger priority, reminds us in the US, who are experiencing losses in our individual freedoms, to never give up and to continue to resist.
“Patriot” is Navalny’s last letter to the world while being incarcerated in the most brutal prison on earth. In the last years of his life he recalled with candor and knowledge that he will be sacrificed but not silenced.
Despite his great love for his wife and children, he could not let his principles die along with him as he made a rousing call to all who continue his work and for whom he gave the ultimate sacrifice.
As his wife Yulia writes, “This book is a testament not only to Alexei’s life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship-a fight he gave everything for, including his life. Through it’s pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply-a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage. Sharing his history will not only honor his memory, but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.” Yulia Navalnaya. We truly need heros like him all over the world to represent our freedoms.
5 Stars
675. SOCIOPATH by Patric Gagne (6/1/25) Autobiography
How would you like to know when you started kindergarten that you didn’t feel things the way other children did? People reacted to her in a way she didn’t understand. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. Most of the time she felt “nothing” and she didn’t like that.
It wasn’t until college that she was able to identify what she suspected-she was a sociopath. This personality disorder had been identified more than 200 years ago, but there had been little success or treatment that helped and little hope for having a normal life. Only when Gagne reconnected with an old boyfriend, did she have hope that she was capable of love, and she went on a mission to prove that millions of sociopaths like her are not all monsters.
What a totally interesting experience to learn about this personality disorder by a person admitting to having it and openly discussing bad things she had done with little or no conscience or guilt. She went on to get an MA and PhD in psychology to try to figure it out for herself and others. I must let you know that there has been criticism of this book as being a fake or fabricated. One critic said that her university was a diploma mill but I looked it up and it is accredited and has been in existence since 1962. If I find out anything more I will update this.
4 Stars
FREE: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox (4/19/25) Auto-Biography
In 2007 college student Amanda Knox went to Italy to study abroad. She shared housing with another student, Meredith Kercher, from
Great Britain. One day Amanda and her new Italian boyfriend came back to the apartment to find Meredith murdered. Amanda and her boyfriend were taken by the police for extreme interrogation ad charged with the crime which police described as a sex orgy gone wrong, despite the lack of evidence. The couple pleaded their innocence but the police and public media went wild with the story. After what appeared to be trial by social media, they were both convicted of murder.
This is Amanda’s second book about the case, the first dealing with the unjust trial, and this about the despair of being imprisioned for four years until an appeal reversed the verdict.
Amanda thought a release would free her completely but found that her notoriety still hounded her as she tried to lead a normal life.
The last part of the book was about the relationship she had with her Italian prosecutor. Despite the new verdict he still believed her guilty. She, through a great deal of contemplation and help from others, decided to write him letterrs. Slowly they developed an unusual relationship of understanding and respect. She then decided to return to Italy to see him in person, a risky move that could have landed her back in prison since Italy’s laws allow reversals.
I was impressed with Amanda’s transformation from a weak, traumatized inmate to an intelligent, wise, and strong woman able to confront her past and find a way to forge into a happy future.
This is an incredible story, so well written, so brave, and so triumphant.
5 Stars
658. BECOMING SPECTACULAR by Jennifer Jones (4/1/25) Auto-Biography
Jennifer Jones, not to be confused with the actress of the 60’s and 70’s, was the first African American Rockette in the celebrated New York troupe. This is a story of a little girl who loved to dance, and had big dreams at a time when there were few opportunities for black dancers outside of tap dancing jive shows.
She grew up to be tall and elegant, and Jennifer worked hard to break the barriers. It was during the Civil Rights Movement that the barriers were loosened and she was determined to be at the right place at the right time. Soon black people were given consideration in show business which helped them showcase their talent. But the Rockettes were rigid about having no one stand out in their strict lineup and their director thought black women would be a distraction. Finally in 1987, Jennifer was hired on a trial basis, and although the decision was controversial and met with pushback, Jennifer, with courage, fought for the right to be in the troupe.
This was a snippet in history of the evolving civil rights movement, and a very interesting from the perspective of one struggling to be hired for ability not color.
4 Stars
657. THE WALL OF LIFE by Shirlie MacLaine (3/31/25) Auto-Biography
This is a book I should have read rather than listened to because it is a gallery of Shirley’s life in pictures. From what I gather she goes from one picture to another telling her story with that particular person. That would be fun but I remember her from my teen years on and know most of the famous people she talks about.
Shirley is ninety now and she has had an extraordinary life, from running shotgun with the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) to Lady Grantham in Downton Abby. As she says, “I’ve seen it all, done it all, been everywhere, and met everyone.” I’m old enough to have enjoyed her work through the years. Her pixie face, sasy, but sweet personality and great comedic timing made her a favorite. If you aren’t familiar with her early work be sure to stream “The Apartment.” She won an Oscar for best actress in “Terms of Endearment.” Or, you can read this book and enjoy her reflective memories with no regrets. She truly lived life on her terms.
4 Stars
655. SAVING FIVE: A Memoir of Hope by Amanda Nguyen (3/29/25) Autobiography
At a Harvard frat party in 2013 Amanda was raped. For the American-born child of Vietnamese refugees, attending Harvard was her dream come true.
Determined to fight the rape crime, she opted for her rape be kit filed under the name of “Jane Doe” knowing that an active court case tied to her name could derail her chances of working for NASA after graduation. She was shocked when she found out that she only had six months until the state of Massachusetts would destroy her kit. With backed-up cases and many delays she was racing against the clock. She made the deadline but she was determined to fight this law which she felt needed to be taken nationally. This led to The Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, one of the only unanimously passed pieces of legislation in the history of the United States. For this achievement she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
This was well-written, had terrifying suspense, and was an amazing story.
5 Stars
At a Frat Party at Harvard in 2013, Amanda was raped. To the American-born child of Vietnamese refugees, attending Harvard was her dream, as a child living a life of trauma.
Determined to fight the rape she opted to have her rape kit filed under “Jane Doe” , knowing that an active court case tied to her name could derail her chances of working for NASA after graduation. She was shocked to find out that she had only six months before Massachusetts would destroy her kit. She chose to fight to change the law which led to the Sexual Assualt Survivor’s Bill of Rights, one of the only unanimously passed laws in the history of the US. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for this work. This was an amazing story.
5 Stars
653. RAISING HARE: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton (3/24/25) Autobiography
During the Covid lockdown Chloe Dalton retreated to her countryside home from her high-powered London life as a political advisor, a lifestyle she relished. Now, huddled down in her restored stone barn, far into the countryside, she wondered what she would do with herself all alone.
On a walk she discovered a newborn hare, abandoned and fighting for it’s life. She brought home the leveret, ignorant to how to nurse it and save it. Through trial and error she learned to feed and care for the little hare and it started to recover. She had no intentions of domesticating the hare and as it grew stronger she let it out of doors. She feared for the hare’s safety, just as humans do their offspring. But each night it would return to her. Together they develop a non-human communication with Chloe imitating the hare sounds and responses.
This was an extraordinary experience for the author and her tender writing is beautiful.
4 Stars
639. THE JFK CONSPIRACY by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch (2/12/25) Biography
Right before the inauguration of JFK, there was a little known first assassination attempt om Kennedy. This secret conspiracy, was attempted at the hands of a disgruntled sociopathic loner, who was armed with dynamite. A retired postal worker, Richard Pavlick had a simple plan. JFK was with his wife and daughter at his Palm Beach estate getting prepared to take the oath of office. As JFK exited his home Pavlick in his black Buick, had with him seven sticks of dynamite and a wire to a trigger mechanism, powerful enough to “blow up a mountain”, was waiting.
Told like an action thriller, the authors explore the history of Kennedy’s Navy days and his heroic actions on his PT109 in the/South Pacific during World War II, and the details of the life of Pavlick who was extremely anti-Kennedy and anti-Catholic and how he became galvanized to act when Kennedy won.
4 Stars
632. IN PIECES by Sally Field (1/19/25) Auto-Biography
Actress Sally Field had a lot on her plate as a child. She was socially frightened, had panic attacks, and a step-father who abused her emotionally and sexually. She felt insecure, scattered and broken.
The Sally Field we saw was the “Flying Nun”, a popular TV show where in a nun’s habit, the teen noviciate flew through the air. Then came Gidget, the happy teenage comedy with seemingly no cares. Believe me, no one could have guessed that this sunny, funny, likable young girl came from what she was describing in this book.
As she made the jump to the movies she had more diverse roles like “Places in the Heart”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, and “Forrest Gump.” was a well respected actor winning two Academy Awards, and three Emmies for some great performances.
After reading her book I can see she was able to hide her pain in her acting and in this intensely personal account of her life I respected her even more after hearing her story.
5 Stars
631. BITS AND PIECES by Whoopie Goldberg (1/17/25) Auto-Biography
In this book Whoopie gives great credit to her mother Emma. and her brother Clyde, for their unwaivering support as she rose to fame and success. They helped with her emotional support, instilled values, and nurtured her self-confidence when others were skeptical. Her mother helped her balance her career and her home life with raising her daughter and she made many other sacrifices for her.
It is nice to see a star give credit to others for her success, but as a whole this was not earth-shaking or very interesting.
3 Stars
625, THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL by Kelly Bishop (1/4/25) Autobiography
This memoir by Kelly Bishop begins when she was trying to break into show business as a dancer and landed in the original Broadway production of “A Chorus Line” where she won a Tony Award which started her 60-year career bringing her all the way to entertaining a new generation as Emily, Lorelie’s mother, in “The Gilmore Girls”.
I found Kelly’s narrative to be thoughtful and candid about admitting her mistakes like marrying young to a compulsive gambler, and to what she is proud of like being a champion to activism for the Women’s Rights Movement, and open to her sad times like the loss of her second husband to cancer. She had a brilliant, interesting, and varied career and wrote a candid, spirited story of her life experiences. I enjoyed it
613. ANGELINA by Andrew Morton (12/6/25) Biography
The byline is: An Unauthorized Biography. Morton known for his “unauthorized” bios usually leaves no dirt behind or stone unturned. His relationships with his “victims” is usually bad and most hate him for his unearthing secrets about them. Frank Sinatra was supposedly wanting to kill him. But he does give an all-around tale leaving in plenty of good stuff with the bad. Angelina, always in the headlines, gave Morton plenty of fodder to chose from, from her short impulsive marriages to Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton; her on again-off again relationship with Brad Pitt; her mysterious estrangement from her father, Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy); becoming a mother to six children in six years; and how at age 35 she became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.
Morton does uncover much of what Angelina is from the inside. We see her struggles as a child of a famous actor with his own complexities, her fast and furious road to fame, and how she overcame her demons from her past. And we see her remarkable work with children and victims of poverty.
This is an extremely interesting picture into the life of a well-known celebrity in a deep, more significant way. She should like this one.
4 Stars
558. I’M MOSTLY HERE TO ENJOY MYSELF by Glynnis MacNicol (8/8/24) Autobiography
Byline: “One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris”. In August 2021 MacNicol left New York City for Paris in pursuit of breaking free of her isolation and of wanting to absorb the excess of a more radical lifestyle. Unmarried with no children, she explored the tourist-free streets, the abundance of light, and the freedom of being free of “teethers”.
She ate delicious food, met handsome men, had exciting sex, and allowed herself the pleasure of being satisfied. She also allowed herself to disconnect from devices, feeling the internet robbed her of discovery.
With vivid stories and and humorous commentary I enjoyed living precariously by envisioning her journey and how she came to grow and evolve.
3 Stars
557. THE WOMAN IN ME by Brittney Spears (8/5/24) Autobiography
Brittney opens up about her path to stardom at a tender age. Her mother pushed her to work-typical stage door. Life was at times fun but stressful.
In 2008 her father, James Spears, was granted her conservatorship after she was twice hospitalized for involuntary psychological assessments. For 13 years he strictly governed her life and career and the access to her two sons. Her fear of losing them kept her from fighting these restraining orders until 2021 when she gained the right to make her own decisions.
This is a sad story showing how fame does not equal happiness and how you become exploited easily the younger you are.
3 Stars
554. THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB by Griffin Dunne (8/5/24) Autobiography
The author, son of Dominick Dunne, Vanity Fair’s star reporter, and Ellen Griffin, an heiress, was an actor who socialized with the rich and famous. Carrie Fisher was his best friend. This memoir is written in an honest, funny, and smart style as though he were an outsider, which he was not. He is first to laugh at himself and lacks self-pity in a book giving great detail to much pain and suffering, including the murder of his 22-year-old sister Dominique by her ex-boyfriend. Somehow through the darkness of his sister’s murder trial he is able to rise above the pain to make a movie, learn to laugh and to find the good in life.
I liked his writing style, the aspects of how the rich and famous live, and generally found it to be an interesting read.
4 Stars
552. THIS ORDINARY STARDUST by Alan Townsend (7/29/24) Autobiography
A decade age, Doctor Alan Townsend received the gravest news one can have of the diagnosis of separate, unrelated brain cancers in both his wife and young daughter. Drawing on his own knowledge as an environmental scientist with our ecological cycles and the inter-connectiveness of all creations, he found it furthered his understanding of grief and loss. He began to see scientific inquiry as more of a source of answers to a given problem, but also, as a lifeboat to help him find peace.
With a wealth of breathtaking prose, Townsend offers a balanced, moving perspective on the common ground between science and religion. This is beautifully thoughtful and well written.
4 Stars
547. WHITEY BULGER by Kevin Cullen &Shelly Murphey (7/18/24) Biography
“Whitey Bulger: Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice” follows the incredible life of a gangster whose life was more sensational than fiction. Raised in a South Boston housing project, Bulger learned all the ropes of crime at a young age. He broke all the rules and became the “most Wanted” fugitive of his generation. The co-authors follow his criminal career from teenage thievery, to bank robberies, to building an underworld empire, to a string of brutal murders. After nine years in Alcatraz Prison he reunited with his brother Billy, who became a powerful politician. He was also recruited by John Connolly, of the FBI, to inform against the mafia, which made Whitey “untouchable”, as the FBI overlooked gambling, drugs and homicide to protect their source.
This story is like a movie script-fast, chilling, violent, but true. This is a great read.
4 Stars
546. PAGEBOY by Elliot Page (7/17/24) Autobiography
This autobiography of the Oscar nominated actor, opens up about his journey of being trans. Having grown up in a movie spotlight while searching for his identify, he explains the pressure of a starlet searching for his identity while being pressured to perform as a girl. This became a confusing reality he had to escape. Along this journey he experienced criticism and abuse by powerful people in Hollywood who forced him to stay silent. Elliot shares the story of how he was able to step into his true life with joy and strength.
3 Stars
534. RULEBREAKER by Susan Page (6/15/24) Biography
Page, takes on the iconic trail-blazing life and career of Barbara Walters who made it okay for a woman to interview the most important people in the world including head of states, dictators, celebrities, and was a household name. Even though she was brought up in a well-to-do family-her father was owner of a famous New York night club, she forged her own path into early television journalism at a time when women were selling products or if lucky, doing short weather reports. Against all odds and with a fervent work ethic she succeeded to break through the glass ceiling and lead the way to giving her audiences what “they wanted to know.”
For younger Gen Xers (my grandchildren don’t know who she is) this is worth reading to see historically how the pathway for women was paved.
For those who are very familiar with Barbara you will get a good peek into her private life, most of which we weren’t privy. This is excellent reading.
4 Stars
523. LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Elizabeth Alexander (5/21/24) Autobiography
This memoir was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for literature and I am trying to read as many prize winners and nominations as I come across. This is the love story and the loss of the sudden death of Alexander’s husband and her personal quest to find meaning and purpose for the rest of her life without him. Through caring for her teenage sons and poetically reflecting on the beauty of her married life she finds some solace. This book beautifully explaines deep love in a heartfelt, though sad journey.
I tried to concentrate on the beauty of her writing, but it still carried me away to the sadness she endured and made me sad. Too sad.
3 Stars
417. MY LIFE IN FRANCE by Julia Child (7/15/23) Biography
When Julia arrived in France in 1948 with her husband Paul, she spoke no French and knew little about the country. As she began to buy food at fresh markets and enrolled at classes at the Cordon Blu, her life was changed forever by a passion for cooking the French way. This biography follows her 50-year marriage and life as she finds her voice and talents in learning to cook, in writing “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, and in finding her unique personality for her television show, “The French Chef”.
It was not as easy as it sounds with many struggles and rejections from publishers and her initiation into the world of television and celebrity at a mature age. Her obstacles were many as she broke through stereotypical barriers and persevered through it all.
If you find Julia and French cooking something you want to know more about I think you will enjoy this book.
4 Stars
436. NECESSARY TROUBLE by Drew Gilpin Faust (8/27/23) Autobiography
Drew Gilpin Faust tells about her life growing up in a privileged childhood in the segregated South, through her graduation from Bryn Mawr in 1968 and beyond.. She was encouraged to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a passive “lady.” But she lived in the time of awakening and wrote to President Dwight Eisenhower in favor of desegregation. Faust skipped midterms to attend a civil rights demonstration; participated in anti-Vietnam war protests; and spoke to how a young person “coming of age as a thinking and feeling person in those years was like walking on the edge of a precipice.”
Faust went on to become the president of Harvard, is the Arthur Kingsley Porter University professor at Harvard University, and was the Dean of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study from 2001-2007.
I was born four years before Faust, a middle-classer in a solidly white Chicago suburb, married young and immediately had children. Yet, I related to her desire to become an anti-war activist and a Civil Rights defender. With the premise that if Vietnam went communist-so goes the world, and how white atrocities against the black race were trying to prevent them from participating in the American dream were issues that aligned me to the protestors.
Faust was an amazing woman who took her own pathway making me regretful I didn’t do the same.
4 Stars
443. THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF AN ORDINARY MAN: A MEMOIR by Paul Newman (9/14/23) Autobiography
In 1986 Paul Newman and close friend Stewart Stern decided to compile an oral history in which Newman’s family and friends could participate. For five years Paul could give his side of his story. In the audiobook, which I listened to, only Paul’s voice is heard covering his rise to stardom, his marriages, his drinking, and lots of revealing stories from his friends, theater collaborators, and personal moments from his family. From a private man, he really opened up the good and bad aspects of his life and behavior.
I found this an interesting read that did not reveal many secrets except for the extent of his drinking for most of his life. I remember once long ago that I read he could drink a case of beer each day. I think this is proof that weight gain or lack of gain must be genetic. This was a good but not great book.
3 Stars
459. MY NAME IS BARBRA by Barbra Streisand (11/17/23) Biography
Can there ever be too much about a living legend? How about reading 970 pages in the book or listening to 48 hours of Barbra’s voice on the audiobook version.? I love Barbra much more for her singing voice than her acting, and her direction of movies, but she did some good work there too, in “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”, “Funny Girl”, “The Way We Were”, “Yentl”, and ” “The Prince of Tides”. She is incredibly gifted, enormously intelligent, abundantly energetic, and mightily driven for her whole life long and that persistence to detail rankled many along the way. She seemed to intuitively know what she wanted from herself and others and she was right most of the time. Her success proves her to be right and I applaud her for her courage to stick to her guns at a time when men usually ran the show.
That said, do I want every minute detail of her career? For the show biz community and super-fans this was nirvana. I would have liked a little more of her personal life and less detail of the ins and outs of her accomplishments. There were examples of her singing certain parts of a song on the audiobook and what she had to do to get the final version. I loved that part. Mostly, she told of her driving energy to take complete control of her “product” and how she accomplished this feat. For that I give her credit, but I have to admit It was challenging to listen to her for 48 hours. It was a new record for me-one I don’t want to break!
4 Stars
GRATEFUL AMERICAN: A Journey from Self to Service, by Gary Sinise (11/20/23) Autobiography
Gary Sinese begins his narrative in Chicago where he grew up. He was mainly into sports and Rock and Roll in high school when on a lark he auditioned for “West Side Story”, a move that changed his focus that led him to the stage where he co-founded The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, then to film and TV spanning a 40+ years career. His most memorable performance was in playing a Vietnam vet, paraplegic Lt. Dan Taylor, in the movie “Forrest Gump.” Not only was the viewing public affected by his brave performance, but he himself became an advocate for American active duty troops, veterans and disabled vets, and first responders. Through his Gary Sinese Foundation he has raised funds for “all those who defend this country and it’s freedoms so they will never be forgotten”.
He has combined his love of music by entertaining more than half a million troops with his “Lt. Dan Band”, an all volunteer group. This book is interesting, fun to read, and refreshing to see someone in the entertainment field support causes greater than themselves.
4 Stars
466. THE WOMAN WHO SMASHED CODES by Jason Fagone (12/11/23) Biography
At the height of World War I, Elizabeth Smith went to work for a Chicago tycoon who had close ties to the Federal Government. Elizabeth had extraordinary language skills and was asked if she would like to learn how to break codes. This ground-breaking new science led her to William Friedman who she partnered and later married.
After World War I she exposed Nazi spy rings that were spreading across South America and coming close to the United States. During World War II she broke multiple versions of the Enigma machines used by the German spies.
This book, in an easy to read and exciting manner, unveils the earliest history in code-breaking and brings to the spotlight the enormous of an unknown heroine, Elizabeth Smiith.
4 Stars
473. OATH AND HONOR by Liz Cheney (12/26/23) Autobiography
Liz Cheney is one of the few Republicans who see former President Donald Trump for what he truly is and has the courage to take a stand to expose the truth, first with joining the January Sixth Committee exposing the former president’s involvement in the insurrection on the Capitol and then to write this book.
Cheney motivation was to follow the Oath she took when she became a member of U.S. House of Representatives. In the book is her story of the moral dilemma between loyalty to her nation verses following party politics, ethics and patriotism verses her expected unpopularity in a bid for future reelection. She knew she could only be true and honest no matter the consequences. She lost her reelection and was ostracized by her own party.
I am sure History will find her heroic and she will be able to sleep at night. This book is beautifully written and narrated by the author in the audiobook.
5 Stars
495. THE ART THIEF by Michael Finkel (2/19/24) Biography
This is ..”A True Story of Love, Crime and a Dangerous Obsession”. It is a spellbinding portrait of the obsession Stephane Breitwieser had for art. He “had” to possess the art, not for profit, but for love and his desire to enjoy his personal treasure hidden in two secret rooms, for him to admire to his heart’s content. Breitwieser carried out more than two hundred heists during his eight-year rampage, hitting museums and cathedrals all over Europe, and stole along with his accomplice girlfriend, more than three hundred objet ‘de art. Part of the intrigue is his novel approach to each individual heist was he uniquely planned each according to the circumstances. Since no two situations were alike and the art never came up for sale in the underground art world, he became the biggest success story in art thievery.
His addiction was also for the “risk” associated with his passion and his incredible ability to circumvent all types of security systems. This challenge was part of the “hIgh” he got from his insatiable need to possess the impossible for himself.
This book is written like a fictional thriller which makes it all the more amazing knowing that this actually happened. I loved it!
5 Stars
499. CARSON MCCULLERS by Mary V. Dearborn (3/13/24) Biography
Carson McCullers, the famous Southern writer of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”, published in 1940 at the age of 23, wrote the book that is considered to be one of the top twenty novels of the 20th Century. It endures today for it’s brilliance of mood, character and suspense. Lonely Hunter is a haunting “Must-Read” for it’s unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated-all which underlie the human condition. It is a true classic.
That said, this book is about the author and is the first major biography of McCullers in twenty years. Letters and journals have been found giving new details of the author’s life. As a child she wanted to be a man, probably for the authority and control over her life it would have gained. At twenty she married Reeves McCullers, a Southern ex-soldier and also an aspiring writer. Carson thought he was the best-looking man she had ever seen but their marriage ended twelve years later with Reeve’s suicide, partly due to Carson’s wide acclaim for “Lonely Hunter”, which left him in her shadow. Also, there was the fact she was attracted to women. Carson also wrote “Reflections in a Golden Eye” and “The Member of the Wedding”. Her life was interesting but her books were her major achievement. Aren’t her titles delicious? Read those.
3 Stars
500. MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE by Ilyon Woo (3/17/24) Biography
Named a best book of 2023 by The New Yorker, NPR, Time, Smithsonian, and others I had to give this book a try. This true story of how Ellen and William Craft escaped slavery was amazing. Ellen, quite light-skinned, passed herself off as a wealthy, disabled, white man traveling with William as “his” slave. They fled over 1000 miles in the open riding on steamships, boats, carriages and trains that took them from Georgia to the North. This escape was filled with peril as they dodged slave traders, military officers, and had many close calls. Once free their true identities and adventures were revealed and they became celebrities crossing over 1000 more miles in the North to tell their story to thunderous applause.
This book was exciting to read, and an amazingly clever a plan, as a true adventure filled with true grit and determination in their quest for freedom.
4 Stars
507. TRUTH AND BEAUTY by Ann Patchett (4/7/24) Autobiography
Ann Patchett met Lucy Grealy in college which began a decades-long friendship. Ann was a writer and Lucy, a poet. Grealy wrote “Autobiography of a Face” ( # 511) which tells about her long battle with her face starting with cancer in her jaw and the countless years of chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgeries after part of her jaw was removed, leaving her terribly disfigured. After Grealy’s death Patchett wrote “Truth and Beauty” which is about the parts of their lives they shared. Lucy’s disfigurement kept her from finding true love which she desperately needed to survive. Ann, as her friend, had the challenge of trying to help, sometimes “fix” her friend’s problems from fame, drug addiction, despair, and loneliness. She spoke of the frustration and hopelessness she felt in not being able to save her friend from her demons and her life. This is a beautiful book about friendship, but it also shows the pain.
5 Stars
509. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Elizabeth Alexander (4/10/24) Autobiography
This memoir is the love story between Elizabeth Alexander and her husband Ficre Ghebreyesus who died four days after his 50th birthday, suddenly and unexpectedly, of a massive heart attack while excercising on his treadmill.
Elizabeth, a poet, tells their love story from their first meeting to the end of their life together, filled with rich cultural rituals and Ficre’s wise philosophy of life and death. Ficre, lived every minute of his life in the U.S. to the fullest after having immigrated from Eritrea, in East Africa, as a refugee from war. He was a painter, an activist, a Chef and a restauranteur, a father of two, and a loving , intuitive husband. Elizabeth, read her poetry at President Obama’s inaugeration in 2009, is a professor of poetry at Yale, was runner up for a Pulitzer Prize, and wrote this memoir of love and the grief of unbearable loss. In sharing her sadness she inspires us to seize the beauty of life as she seeks meaning and acceptance in the wake of her loss. Beautifully written.
4 Stars
511. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE by Lucy Grealy (4/13/24) Autobiography
After Lucy Grealy discovered bone cancer in her jaw as a girl she was forced to undergo numerous proceedures including a partial jaw removal which was disfiguring at an age girls want to be pretty. She had to endure chemotherapy, radiation and when they thought the cancer was gone endless reconstructive surgeries to try to make her more unnoticeable and comfortable. But the stares were always present, the children are cruel. Lucy valiantly tried to ignore the constant negative attention and pain she endured, while still hoping against hope that the next surgery would be the promise she hoped for. After 30 surgeries over 20 years, attempts at searching for the love she desperately needed, and poverty after college and graduate school where she earned little as a poet and had lost medical insurance, she moved to Scotland where healthcare was free.
The sadness, physical pain, and emotional pain Lucy endured in her lifetime was so extraordinary that this book was difficult to read. She had been beautiful, she had talent, she tried to make the best of things, she endured unbelievable pain and the inability to eat, and she never found true happiness with the exception of having an enduring friendship with Ann Patchett, the author, to whom she could open up about her despair and hopelessness.
4 Stars
513. THICKER THAN WATER by Kerry Washington (4/16/24) Autobiography
Kerry Washington is an actress best known for her role as Olivia Pope on the ABC drama “Scandal”, which ran from 2012-2018. She has also made many films as a leading actresss. She opens up about how a text message sent her on a journey of self-discovery which included revisiting childhood traumas and how she faces challenges and setbacks while trying to achieve her dreams.
This intimate journey into Kerry’s public and private life is part of her discovery of herself and sense of belonging. I found her words spoke truth, and honesty, and most likely were cathartic for her and moving for me.
4 Stars
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