Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

By the author of  The Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses is the story of her maternal grandmother, told as a novel for lack of detailed historical documents. It’s a wild story of a girl born in a dugout on the Texan prairie to poor and well-intentioned but not very effective parents, a girl who is [...]

Parallel Play by Tim Page

Parallel Play is the memoir of a successful journalist who was diagnosed with Asperger’s at the age of 45 after a lifetime of struggles. He starts with his early childhood, highlighting his attentive parents, and helpful and less helpful teachers and school administrators –  before Asperger’s syndrome was defined and when his behavior was interpreted [...]

Manhood of Amateurs by Michael Chabon

Manhood for Amateurs is a collection of personal stories about the author’s children, parents, and personal experiences. Most are tone-perfect, especially the ones about his children. I liked the one where he bemoans the advent of complicated Lego kits that require parental assistance (although in our house the young builder never did) and pines for [...]

American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson

American on Purpose is the memoir of the host of the Late, Late Show, which I have to admit I have never watched (no time for TV: how else do you think I read all these books?) Craig Ferguson has had a storied life including very humble beginnings as a musician and stand-up comic in [...]

Hands of my Father by Myron Uhlberg

Hands of My Father is the sweet remembrance of the author’s childhood, growing up with two deaf parents asa hearing child who had to serve as an interpreter in a world that was not too kind to any kind of disability and certainly not to deafness. Even his parents’ families treated them with surprising callousness: [...]

Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner

Crazy Love is the disturbing story of a woman who marries an abusive husband (spoiler and good news: she does escape him in the end) and who tells her story frankly and straightforwardly. Yes, he choked her the day before they moved in together — but she still moved in with him, not daring to [...]

Born Round by Frank Bruni

Can the autobiography of a bulimic restaurant critic be worth reading? Yes! I really liked Born Round, the life story of Frank Bruni, New York Times restaurant critic who has struggled with his weight his whole life (very successfully, as of now). He tells his story, and that of his immense and immensely food-obsessed Italian [...]

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun is the scary and unfortunately true story of a New Orleans family during the Katrina hurricane — and the scary parts are not the wind, the flooding, or even the dead bodies floating on the water. Actually, when the father of the family, a painting contractor, having decided to stay in New Orleans while [...]

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

Installment #3 in the Sad Book Series: Strength in What Remains tells the story of a Burundi man (Burundian?) who flees his country after brutal ethnic violence erupts and arrives in New York City with $200, no English, but plenty of smarts, persistence, half of a medical degree, and the wonderful first name of DeoGratias [...]

Farm City by Novella Carpenter

Farm City is the story of a would be farmer in West Oakland, CA, not the most auspicious setting for those of use who live nearby, whose ambitions quickly grow from sedate vegetables and reasonable bees to chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pigs. She paints an unvarnished but very entertaining picture of living in a violent [...]