Collection: Biography & Memoir

This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much--and how little--has changed for Black Americans since our country's founding.

Full of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, A LONG TIME COMING reveals the universal importance of its subjects' struggles for justice. From freedom seeker Ona Judge, who fled her enslavement by America's first president, to Barack Obama, the first Black president, all of Shepard's protagonists fight valiantly for justice for themselves and all Black Americans in any way that they can. But it is also a highly personal book, as Shepard -- whose maternal grandfather was enslaved -- shows how the grand sweep of history has touched his life, reflecting on how much progress has been made against racism, while also exhorting readers to complete the vast work that remains to be done.

In the Harmony Memoir Series, Lori Jakiela's fourth book. A Portrait of the Artist as a Bingo Worker: On Work and the Writing Life

"I could throw a rock in just about any direction and hit a good writer. The hard part is finding the special ones, the writers who make us laugh, then cry and who make us feel like they're in our heads. Lori Jakiela is one of the special ones, and with Portrait of the Artist as a Bingo Worker, she reminds us why, essay by essay, sentence by sentence. She writes from the heart, she's fearless and funny, and her love for her family and her craft leap off the page." -- Ben Tanzer, author of Be Cool, SEX AND DEATH and Orphans

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From one of our most iconic and influential writers, the award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking a timeless collection that reveals what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt.

"Didion's remarkable, five decades-long career as a journalist, essayist, novelist, and screen writer has earned her a prominent place in the American literary canon, and the twelve early pieces collected here underscore her singularity."--O Magazine

With a forward by Hilton Als, these pieces from 1968 to 2000, never before gathered together, offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary figure. They showcase Joan Didion's incisive reporting, her empathetic gaze, and her role as "an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time" (The New York Times Book Review).

Here, Didion touches on topics ranging from newspapers ("the problem is not so much whether one trusts the news as to whether one finds it"), to the fantasy of San Simeon, to not getting into Stanford. In "Why I Write," Didion ponders the act of writing: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means." From her admiration for Hemingway's sentences to her acknowledgment that Martha Stewart's story is one "that has historically encouraged women in this country, even as it has threatened men," these essays are acutely and brilliantly observed. Each piece is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient.

A deeply validating manifesto on the gender politics of marriage (bad) and divorce (actually pretty good!) in America today, and an argument that the former needs a reboot--from journalist and proud divorcée Lyz Lenz

"This American Ex-Wife is a bomb, a bouquet (but not a wedding bouquet), a memoir, a manifesto, and a total joy to read."--Rebecca Solnit, author of Men Explain Things to Me

Studies show that nearly 70 percent of divorces are initiated by women--women who are tired, fed up, exhausted, and unhappy. We've all seen how the media portrays divorcées: sad, lonely, drowning their sorrows in a bottle of wine. Lyz Lenz is one such woman whose life fell apart after she reached a breaking point in her twelve-year marriage. But she refused to take part in that tired narrative and decided to flip the script on divorce.

In this exuberant and unapologetic book, Lenz makes an argument for the advantages of getting divorced, framing it as a practical and effective solution for women to take back the power they are owed. Weaving reportage with sociological research and literature with popular culture along with personal stories of coming together and breaking up, Lenz creates a kaleidoscopic and poignant portrait of American marriage today. She argues that the mechanisms of American power, justice, love, and gender equality remain deeply flawed, and that marriage, like any other cultural institution, is due for a reckoning. A raucous argument for acceptance, solidarity, and collective female refusal, This American Ex-Wife takes readers on a riveting ride--while pointing us all toward a life that is a little more free.

Stars of the NFL includes profiles of twenty-eight top players. This includes great quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes, other offensive powerhouses like Ja'Marr Chase and Travis Kelce, defensive mainstays like Aaron Donald and T. J. Watt, and special team standouts like Justin Tucker. Learn about their life stories, their unique styles of play, and their defining moments on the field.

Brimming with colorful photos and key stats, Stars of the NFL joins Abbeville's growing lineup of sports books for young readers, including Stars of World Soccer, Stars of the NBA, and Stars of Major League Baseball.

HGTV star real estate investor Tarek El Moussa reveals how the grounding principles that make him such a successful house flipper are also applicable to improving our personal lives.

With over a decade of experience, flipping close to 1,000 properties, selling over 1,000 houses, and owning multiple apartment buildings and self-storage facilities, Tarek El Moussa is a successful entrepreneur, real estate expert, and investor. It will surprise Tarek's fans to learn that it wasn't an easy road to the top. A young and aimless Tarek had no clue what he wanted to do with his life.

In Flip Your Life, Tarek uses his story--that of a lost man trying to find his way in the world--to take us through the steps of how we can achieve our own goals. Whether in real estate or life, Tarek reveals his proven four-step process:

1. Evaluate
2. Emulate
3. Renovate
4. Duplicate

A natural coach and teacher, Tarek offers us a candid look behind the camera, making Flip Your Life a practical, easy-to-use guide to help readers everywhere learn how to turn their lives from desultory, unhappy "flops" into focused, meaningful, and hugely fulfilling success stories.

Named a Top 100 Must-Read Book of 2023 by Time and a Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker * Shortlisted for the 2024 Writers' Prize

New York Times bestselling author Laura Cumming "combines first-rate art history with deeply felt memoir" (The Washington Post) in this fascinating, little-known story of the massive explosion in Holland that killed Carel Fabritius, renowned painter of The Goldfinch and A View of Delft and nearly killed Johannes Vermeer--two of the greatest artists of the 17th century.

"Exquisite." --Simon Schama, The Guardian

As a brilliant art critic and historian, Laura Cumming has explored the importance of art in life and can give us a perspective on the time and place in which the artist worked. Now, through the lens of one dramatic event in 17th-century Holland, Cumming "has fashioned a book that combines memoir, art criticism, and history to illuminating effect" (The New York Times Book Review).

In 1654, the Thunderclap--an enormous explosion at a gunpowder store--devasted the city of Delft, killing hundreds of people, including the extraordinary painter Carel Fabritius, and injuring thousands more.

Framing the story around the life of Fabritius, Cumming illuminates this extraordinary moment in art history while also writing about her own father, a painter. Like Dutch art, the story gradually links country, city, town, street, house, interior--all the way to the bird on its perch, the blue and white tile, the smallest seed in a loaf of bread. The impact of a painting and how it can enter our thoughts, influence our view and understanding of the world is the heart of this book. Cumming has brought her unique eye to her most compelling subject yet.

Featuring beautiful full-color images of Dutch paintings throughout, this is "a glorious tribute to the two men who showed her the truth of the notion that paintings offer 'a land in themselves, a society, a place to be'" (The Economist).

"Wonderful . . . a moving autobiography, the story of a unique business, and a detailed blueprint for hope." --Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

In this 10th anniversary edition, Yvon Chouinard--legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.--shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth.

From his youth as the son of a French Canadian handyman to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction Award Winner - A rip-roaring, edgy and unabashedly raunchy new collection of hilarious essays from the New York Times bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

"Stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny." --Jia Tolentino, New York Times bestselling author of Trick Mirror

Irby is forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin despite what Inspirational Instagram Infographics have promised her. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and has been friendzoned by Hollywood, left Chicago, and moved into a house with a garden that requires repairs and know-how with her wife in a Blue town in the middle of a Red state where she now hosts book clubs and makes mason jar salads. This is the bourgeois life of a Hallmark Channel dream. She goes on bad dates with new friends, spends weeks in Los Angeles taking meetings with "tv executives slash amateur astrologers" while being a "cheese fry-eating slightly damp Midwest person," "with neck pain and no cartilage in [her] knees," who still hides past due bills under her pillow.

The essays in this collection draw on the raw, hilarious particulars of Irby's new life. Wow, No Thank You. is Irby at her most unflinching, riotous, and relatable.

Don't miss Samantha Irby's bestselling new book, Quietly Hostile!

An NEA Big Read Selection

"This is the best account of the Hmong experience I've ever read--powerful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable."--Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

"A narrative packed with the stuff of life." --Entertainment Weekly

Kao Kalia Yang is the author of The Song Poet and The Latehomecomer, which was a finalist for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award and the Asian American Literary Award, and received the 2009 Minnesota Book Award.

At the turn of the twentieth century, William Irvine, a Scotsman, embarked on an experiment to restore the first century primitive New Testament ministry and church, using Matthew 10 as his model. The revolutionary movement caught on rapidly in the British Isles. Irvine's charismatic preaching inspired hundreds of young men and women to become itinerant, celibate, homeless missionaries traveling in pairs (2 by 2), sustained only by faith, freely spreading the nameless sect worldwide. Followers worshipped only in private homes.

Two fundamental beliefs of the Church without a Name: The church in the home and the preacher without a home. (John "Jack" T. Carroll)

In 1914, Irvine's senior staff rebelled and expelled him. They did the same in 1928 to his right-hand man, Edward Cooney. After expunging their names, roles and actions from the sect's history, they claimed Jesus was their only founder.

Although this church purposely takes no name and has a large global following, few have heard of it. Common nicknames are "Two by Twos" (2x2s) and "The Truth." Many members are unaware of its true history and banished founder.

Determined to trace the origin of this sect, Cherie Kropp-Ehrig traveled to the UK in 2004 and 2014 where she discovered its deeply buried roots in Ireland. She unearthed many historical documents, including newspaper articles, accounts, journals, court cases, photographs, letters, testimonials, family trees, etc.

This book provides meticulous details and insight into the history, divisions, key figures, pivotal events, teachings and traditions of this low-profile, unique church. Hidden schisms, scandals, exoduses, tragedies, betrayals, riots and ex-communications are revealed.

An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary journey to reclaim her heritage and unleash her power and voice while searching for a permanent home

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe has always longed for a sense of home. When she was a child, her family moved around frequently, often staying in barely habitable church attics and trailers, dangerous places for young Sasha.

With little more to guide her than a passion for the thriving punk scene of the Pacific Northwest and a desire to live up to the responsibility of being the namesake of her beloved great-grandmother--a linguist who helped preserve her Indigenous language of Lushootseed--Sasha throws herself headlong into the world, determined to build a better future for herself and her people.

Set against a backdrop of the breathtaking beauty of Coast Salish ancestral land and imbued with the universal spirit of punk, Red Paint is ultimately a story of the ways we learn to find our true selves while fighting for our right to claim a place of our own.

Examining what it means to be vulnerable in love and in art, Sasha offers up an unblinking reckoning with personal traumas amplified by the collective historical traumas of colonialism and genocide that continue to haunt native peoples. Red Paint is an intersectional autobiography of lineage, resilience, and, above all, the ability to heal.

Learn about the remarkable life of actress and comedian Betty White, a pioneer of early television with a seven-decade career, in this title in the Who HQ Now series featuring newsmakers and trending topics.

From 1939 to 2021, actress Betty White was one of the most beloved performers in the entertainment industry. She starred in fan-favorite television shows like The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and also blockbuster movies like Toy Story 4 and The Proposal. Over her decades-long career, Betty White won Emmy awards, was named an honorary mayor of Hollywood, earned a star on the Walk of Fame, and set the Guinness World Record for woman with the longest TV career ever. Off-screen, Betty advocated for animal rights, racial justice, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Learn about her legendary life in this book for young readers.

In Playin' Possum, readers get an intimate look at country music legend George Jones through the eyes of his wife of thirty years.

Ask anyone who knows country music, "Who was the GOAT--the greatest of all time?" and the answers will inevitably lead to George Jones.

Millions of people know the name of the iconic country music artist, George Jones, but few people know that behind the man and his golden voice was a strong, feisty woman who not only saved his life from cocaine addiction, alcoholism, and other abusive and self-destructive behaviors, but also was instrumental in saving his soul.

Legends, half-truths, and downright lies abound about the iconic singer, but what secrets do people not know about him? What was it like to live with him through the darkest shadows and in the brightest of lights?

Married for more than thirty years to the greatest country music singer who ever lived, the man Frank Sinatra had whimsically referred to as "the second-greatest singer in America," Nancy Jones knew George Jones better than anyone else on earth--the good George and the bad George, the horrendous, and the hilarious. George and Nancy married March 4, 1983, and with her help and encouragement, he quit his wild and wicked ways--for a while. Nancy soon learned, however, that the demons held a strong grip on the man she loved, and they were not about to release him without a fight. But Nancy Jones is a tenacious fighter, and most people who knew "the Possum," credit Nancy with saving his life and rebuilding his career.

For the first time, in Playin' Possum, Nancy Jones reveals the true "insider" perspectives and little known poignant and as well as humorous stories about the country music icon--his battles with cocaine, alcohol, abusive behavior toward her and others, his battles with himself, and most of all, his battles against the demons that sought to control him and ultimately destroy him.

Nancy knew there was a good man inside George Jones, and she felt strongly that God had given her the assignment to help him, even if he hurt her. She refused to give up on Jones. Although Tammy Wynette sang "Stand By Your Man," it was actually Nancy Jones who stood by George for more than thirty years, and helped bring him to the Light. Together, they brought joy and light to millions of people.

Ganador del Alex Award en 2022

Ganador del Christopher Isherwood Prize en 2022

BESTSELLER DEL NEW YORK TIMES * RECOMENDADO POR JENNA BUSH EN SU CLUB DE LECTURA DEL TODAY SHOW Y EN SU PODCAST READ WITH JENNA

Entre los 100 libros más notables del 2022, de acuerdo con The New York Times.

«En esta conmovedora autobiografía que no podrás soltar, un joven poeta relata la inolvidable historia de su desgarradora migración hacia Estados Unidos desde El Salvador a los nueve años, considerada 'el viaje mítico de nuestra era'. --Sandra Cisneros

Viaje. Mis padres empezaron a usar esa palabra hace más o menos un año: "un día vas a hacer un viaje para estar con nosotros. Como una aventura".

La aventura de Javier es una travesía de tres mil millas desde su pequeño pueblo en El Salvador, a través de Guatemala y México, hacia la frontera de Estados Unidos. Dejará atrás a sus queridos abuelos y su tía para reunirse con una madre que se fue cuatro años atrás y con un padre al que prácticamente no recuerda. Al viajar solo, a excepción de un grupo de extraños y un coyote contratado para guiarlos a salvo, Javier debía tardar solo dos semanas en llegar.

A los nueve años, todo lo que Javier puede imaginar es correr a los brazos de sus padres, acurrucarse en la cama entre ellos y vivir bajo el mismo techo otra vez. No puede prever los peligrosos trayectos en bote, las interminables caminatas por el desierto, las armas apuntándole, los arrestos y los engaños que le esperan. Tampoco sabe que esas dos semanas se alargarán hasta dos meses y le cambiarán la vida, junto a un grupo de extraños que acabará por cobijarlo como una familia improvisada.

Una autobiografía tan apasionante como emotiva, Solito no solo nos ofrece un recuento íntimo e inmediato de un viaje sinuoso y casi imposible, sino la milagrosa bondad y el amor que se entrega en los momentos más inesperados. Solito es la historia de Javier, pero es también la historia de millones más que no tuvieron otra opción más que irse de casa.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

An Alex Award in 2022

Winner of the 2022 Christopher Isherwood Prize

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY - RECOMMENDED ON THE 'READ WITH JENNA' PODCAST-

A young poet tells the inspiring story of his migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this "gripping memoir" (NPR) of bravery, hope, and finding family

Among the 100 Notable Books of 2022 according to The New York Times.

«A young poet tells the unforgettable story of his harrowing migrationfrom El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this moving, page-turning memoir hailed as "the mythic journey of our era". --Sandra Cisneros

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago --"one day, you'll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure."

Javier's adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone except for a group of strangers and a "coyote" hired to lead them to safety, Javier's trip is supposed to last two short weeks.

At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents' arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that a wait him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside a group of strangers who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito not only provides an immediate and intimate account of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier's story, but it's also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

Daniel C. Dennett, preeminent philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering the thorniest, most fundamental mysteries of the mind. Do we have free will? What is consciousness and how did it come about? What distinguishes human minds from the minds of animals? Dennett's answers have profoundly shaped our age of philosophical thought. In I've Been Thinking, he reflects on his amazing career and lifelong scientific fascinations.

Dennett's relentless curiosity has taken him from a childhood in Beirut and the classrooms of Harvard, Oxford, and Tufts, to "Cognitive Cruises" on sailboats and the fields and orchards of Maine, and to laboratories and think tanks around the world. Along the way, I've Been Thinking provides a master class in the dominant themes of twentieth-century philosophy and cognitive science--including language, evolution, logic, religion, and AI--and reveals both the mistakes and breakthroughs that shaped Dennett's theories.

Key to this journey are Dennett's interlocutors--Douglas Hofstadter, Marvin Minsky, Willard Van Orman Quine, Gilbert Ryle, Richard Rorty, Thomas Nagel, John Searle, Gerald Edelman, Stephen Jay Gould, Jerry Fodor, Rodney Brooks, and more--whose ideas, even when he disagreed with them, helped to form his convictions about the mind and consciousness. Studded with photographs and told with characteristic warmth, I've Been Thinking also instills the value of life beyond the university, one enriched by sculpture, music, farming, and deep connection to family.

Dennett compels us to consider: What do I really think? And what if I'm wrong? This memoir by one of the greatest minds of our time will speak to anyone who seeks to balance a life of the mind with adventure and creativity.