Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

This is a place for discussion or reviews of any Biography, Autobiography, or Memoir you are currently reading or have finished in 2022.

Currently reading "The Boys in the Boat" by David James Brown. I remember only hearing of Jesse Owens in school and his taking on the Germans in the 1936 Olympics. It is wonderful to hear more stories from the '36 Olympics.

Zelda
Nancy Milford
2.5/5 stars
This is the story of Zelda Fitzgerald, her life, her marriage to Scott Fitzgerald and her fight against mental illness. This was an awfully long book not helped by the extremely small print. It seemed to me that a lot of the information was repeated but the author was thorough in her research.

Joyce wrote: "Currently reading "The Boys in the Boat" by David James Brown. I remember only hearing of Jesse Owens in school and his taking on the Germans in the 1936 Olympics. It is wonderful to hear more stor..."

I loved that book!

Julie wrote: "Joyce wrote: "Currently reading "The Boys in the Boat" by David James Brown. I remember only hearing of Jesse Owens in school and his taking on the Germans in the 1936 Olympics. It is wonderful to ..."

4 stars from me but I can't remember why I didn't give it 5.

To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge
by Rosemary Riddell

An interesting book about being a (now retired) judge - and a female one at that. I don't know much about it having not ever been inside a courtroom - I only ever watched Ally McBeal on tv! I was once called up for jury service but they did not pick me out of the line up. Though I have been inside a prison..
Worth reading to find out more about how justice works (or doesn't work) in NZ. It has flashes of humour not quite expected for such a serious job!

Frozen Dinners: A Memoir of a Fractured Familyby Elaine Ambrose

A quick read at 170 pages. I had not heard of Ambrose frozen dinners or the trucking company since I don't live in the US - here we have Talley's, Sealord or McCain... or Watties. Anyway. After having read a memoir of Steve Jobs by his daughter this one seemed a bit similar about Elaine's father who was the visionary behind a multi-million dollar business, who started from poverty in Idaho and built up an empire. Again growing up she did not really understand him and being the daughter as well (sons tend to be favoured over daughters) though this family had a marriage where the wife stuck by her man.
However his workaholism cost the family dearly and it seems you can have too much of a good thing ***spoiler alert ****...the firstborn son ends up crashing the business and hoodwinking his widowed mother - I did not really digest all the legal battles the family faced..but its just set out here when the dad died.

Elaine herself went off to university (and raised the money on her own to go, she fought for this) but then got married and found her university education didn't prepare her for feeding jello to her toddlers. That marriage ended though it's not clear really why and she reinvented herself as a writer. The end of the book was more like what she became after as she cared for her mother who by then had dementia.

I would say its more of a cautionary tale but also one of those memoirs of dads who really made something of themselves, who took on the 'American Dream' though it came crashing down in many ways Elaine did admire her dad for his entrepreneurial skill. He had 'gumption'.

Willie Nelson's Letters to America by Willie Nelson
4 stars


Willie Nelson is an American icon. This is a short book where Willie reflects on different things...his music, songwriting, life, family and his reflections are written as letters, sometimes to people, sometimes to inanimate objects. He also tells jokes. Most of them have been around for a while and quite a few of his stories I have read in his other books. Worth a read as it is short and there are funny moments and moments that will make you think.

Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back by Jackie Speier

Jackie was the aide to US congressman Leo Ryan who was shot and killed when he tried to visit Jonestown just before the tragic events of November 18 1978.
Jackie survived the bullets and this is her story of how she got her life back afterwards.
She became a congresswoman herself and ran several campaigns, advocating changes in legislation to better represent women. I think she was pretty amazing to have gone through that ordeal (and several afterwards) and not let any setback get her down. I guess we only have one life on earth and to make it count. Inspiring.

Stories from Jonestown by Leigh Fondakowski

The author compiles a number of interviews with survivors of the Jonestown tragedy more than twenty years on as she is creating a play. Included are two of Jim Jones' children, Stephan and Jim Jones Jr.
As over 900 people died, there are a LOT of different stories from the family members left behind, those that escaped, or those that were part of the People's Temple and didn't go to Guyana. They even interviewed the journalist who wrote the first expose of the People's Temple. Understandably some of this is raw, and many do not want to talk.

Things that struck me off the different accounts was of one teen girl who escaped on the plane, not knowing she was pregnant. Then there's the lady who slept through the fateful morning and woke up to find everyone dead. Parents of children who went that were church goers. Jones' sons, one of whom was away playing basketball that day. One who was there and regretted not tipping over the vat of poison. The parents of the child that was the centre of the custody battle that Jones claimed was actually his.

There are written testimonies of members and what their life was like BEFORE they joined the temple. And then revelations that Jones was strung out on meth all that time he went crazy.

At the end there is a list of all the names of the dead. Thankfully, this book does not have photos except for on the cover. It would have been harrowing to see them all smiling or footage of the last day (which WAS recorded, on video as well as audio)

I don't know what the play was like but hopefully it did bring a sense of healing to those left behind.

Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle
Mary J. MacLeod
5/5 stars
This was a wonderful recollection of a nurse’s time working on a Scottish Isle in the late sixties. There are two more books in this collection and I look forward to them. This reminds me of the writings of James Herriot’s books.

The Farmer's Son: Calving Season on a Family Farm by John Connell
4 stars


I'm not a farmer so this book gave me incite into how hard that job is. There is a lot of hard work, hard times, and not much money in it. This author made me feel like I knew him and wanted to help him. The book takes place in Ireland. It was interesting to see how farming differed there from the US and how some things were the same. The work is so hard it makes you wonder why anyone would want to do it. My heart went out to the animals.

Old New Zealand by Frederick E Manning

A somewhat scattered memoir of recollections of 'the good old days' in NZ before it was governed by the Brits. (i.e prior to 1840) Has insights from a Pakeha Maori and told in a rather amusing manner.

Included details about - cannibalism, tohunga (priests or wizards), warfare, robbing, tapu and trading.

Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia by Thomas Graboys, M.D.


I have two friends with Parkinson's so I was interested to find out what a Parkinson's patient goes through. The author also had Lewey Body dementia. He is a doctor and young at 49 years old and also has only been married a few years after the cancer death of his first wife so he has a unique perspective as to what is happening to him. About half way through this book it started to sound repetitive but I did learn more about what Parkinson's patients go through. It was sad to find out the author died just a few years after the book was written.

Started reading Stephen King’s On Writing - never was a fan of his but I thought this might be helpful as an aspiring author. Not so sure though, now that I’ve started it. Anyone find it either entertaining or useful?

Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
4/5 stars
This was a wonderful autobiography of Dwayne Hickman who starred in the TV series The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis which aired from 1959-1963. He talks about his life on the show, his career as an actor and life after being an actor including running a Las Vegas resort and later as a CBS executive where he managed comedic shows like MASH and more. Highly recommended!

Julie wrote: "
Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
4/5 stars
This was a wonderful autobi..."
I will look for this.

Lisa H.: The True Story of an Extraordinary and Courageous Woman by Richard Severo

This was the only book in the library I could find about someone who suffers from Neurofibromatosis, apart from the Elephant Man bio and the children's book Wonder. Importantly it's about a young American woman (21 at the time of writing) though her name has been changed and there are no photos as all in this book, so one has to imagine the amount of disfiguration especially of her face.

She is undergoing surgery to remove some of the fibroids/tumours and also to I suppose, help get her face back to as 'normal' as it can be, however, this involves removing one of her eyes. Then it seems she will be legally blind as her remaining eye has glaucoma.

Since this disease/disorder (not terminal as such like cancer or heart disease) is a mutation and has 50% chance of being passed on, sufferers need to live with the cruelty of strangers who stare or pass comment/judgement based on their looks. Especially hard for a young woman, though Lisa remarkably has a brilliant mind and is not handicapped mentally.

I thought she was a brave woman and the reporter tried to to do justice to her story, with explaining the surgical procedures (so many over the years), her growing up years and her family and how she dealt with trying to be accepted as a human being.

There is no known 'cure' for this rare disorder and this book was published in 1985 but has helped bring an understanding of what it's like to live with such a condition, especially as a female where beauty and looks are prized. I can also sort of understand why some women, who don't suffer any medical condition like this, become plastic surgery junkies as the work is always ongoing since skin doesn't stay young forever.

Selina wrote: "Lisa H.: The True Story of an Extraordinary and Courageous Woman by Richard Severo

This was the only book in the library I could find about someone who suffers from Neurofibromatosi..."
Nice review!

Women's Work: A Reckoning with Work and Home by Meghan Stack

An interesting memoir of an American journalist raising her children overseas in China and then India (her husband is also a reporter) and trying to write a book, so she hires a maids and a nanny to help give her time. Then she ends up investigating what it really means to hire women to do household work and what they have to give up and the families they have to leave behind to look after hers.

So aside from the fraught employer-employee relationship where your employees also live with you, the suspicions and the boundary confusions there's also the trials of pregnancy and the unspoken sorrow of a mother's plight...and why men don't help doing more of the housework???

It's another white privelige book so don't expect a lot of insight because its not actually written by the maids/nannies themselves but at least she is trying to understand - however you might be put off by how she magnifies her rich peoples problems into something way bigger than the poor people's problems!

Selina wrote: "Lisa H.: The True Story of an Extraordinary and Courageous Woman by Richard Severo

This was the only book in the library I could find about someone who suffers from Neurofibromatosi..."

I believe this is what my niece has. She calls it NF. I know she gets little tumors anywhere on her body. I don't know a lot about it.

This is my rather 'snarky' review:


Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli
3 stars


I've read two of the authors other books and this one seemed like more of the same. This time she delves deeper into her relationship with Eddie Van Halen. Even though they were divorced, she remained close with him. She doesn't talk at all about her current relationship and according to a search it looks like they were divorced around the time the book came out. I wondered what her more recent husband and Eddie's current wife up until his death thought about how close they were. I became annoyed at all the drama over her weight when she states repeatedly how an extra 5 to 10 pounds makes her feel so ugly and unloved. YES! 5 TO 10! So now she is at peace with her 5 to 10 pounds, but she was in her other books also. I think if she comes out with another book about her low self-esteem I will probably skip it.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Lisa H.: The True Story of an Extraordinary and Courageous Woman by Richard Severo

This was the only book in the library I could find about someone who suffers from N..."

yep one of my friends has it and her daughter as well. The daughter has been having surgery since it is quite bad on her face.
I can't imagine what it is like to go through all that..and even if they do get to cut it all away the fibroids can grow back.

I mean I have freckles etc can always cover them with makeup but I can't actually remove them. Some ladies go in for treatment to fade their freckles but its expensive and you have to keep going back cos it won't really remove them just lighten your skin.

Even with skin colour, you can get a spray tan or a bleach/lightening but it won't change your natural skin tone and you'd have to keep doing it all the time just to keep the same.

The Eternal Party: Understanding My Dad, Larry Hagman, the TV Star America Loved to Hate by Kristina Hagman
3 stars


I had mixed feelings about this book. Written by a daughter about her famous family, it seemed like they put the fun in dysfunction. For all Larry Hagman's faults, his daughter loves her family and all their quirky ways. I thought she over-thought her dad's dying words and made too much of a big deal about it, making it look like the whole book was an exploration of the meaning behind the words. I thought this was more of a 'first we did this and then we did that' and a 'look who I know' type of bio. If you like Larry Hagman you will likely like this book.

Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman
3 stars


Interesting book but I would say if you read presidential bios there is not a lot here you probably don't already know, especially the more recent ones, Clinton and Trump, there is nothing new here. I did like the author's sense of humor. I would have liked to see more humor.

Nurse, Come You Here!: More True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle
Mary J. MacLeod
5/5 stars
This is the second book in the series of MacLeod’s life as a nurse and mother. In this one the family, re-locates to California due to her husband’s new job. She talks about life in the USA compared to life on the Scottish Isle they lived on but unfortunately, she was unable to work as a nurse since she did not have a license to practice in the US. I am enjoying her books. There is one more book in the series that I look forward to reading.

You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness by Julie Klam


***Possible spoilers***

It was interesting to read about the author's experiences with adopting and fostering dogs. I always thought it might be fun to foster dogs and not have the forever responsibility but this book made me think otherwise. It seems that it is not all fun and games. The author has a hard time letting go of every animal that comes her way and ends up with 4 dogs in an apartment. I found it a little annoying that the author gave human emotions to the animals she fostered. For instance, she wants to keep dogs because they have had a traumatic background and she wants to make sure it has a happy-ever-after. She has to keep the elderly dog's puppies because she figures the dog has had so many losses already. She has to keep another dog because her 4 year old daughter has become attached. So she keeps all these dogs that don't seem to be housebroken very well, even though her husband is against it. I thought she considered everyone else's feelings, except the husbands. Well, hopefully they are still married and have downsized some on the dogs! I did enjoy this book, but after reading it I don't think I'll be fostering dogs any time soon.

Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How refreshing to read a book about a politician that has a positive spin. If you are looking for dirty secrets, you won't find it here. This is a tight knit family and their love for each other is amazing. How lucky was our president to have such a loving sister to watch out for his best interests? She has the insider information because she ran his campaigns except for the last one. Most of the political stuff she touches on only briefly. She deals with the dark days (the death of his wife, daughter, and son) with sensitivity. I think we would all like to have a sister like Val, who has our back all the time and loves us no matter what.

Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How refreshing to read a bo..."

I did not know that he had lost all those family members - so sad. Adding this book to my TBR list.

Reef Life: An Underwater Memoir by Callum Roberts

I love watching underwater documentaries about the coral reefs. It's because I'm not a swimmer/diver and would never get to do it (plus no tropical reefs near me) they are fascinating.
This book was about a scientist who does research counting fish populations and observing different reefs all around the world. A dream job! But sad too because the reefs are declining due to overfishing, pollution and the biggie Climate Change, which is acidifying the water and devastating the corals (they are being bleached) home to millions of fish and sea life.

Having to observe the gradual decline and being unable to stop it must be heartbreaking.

Julie wrote: "Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How refreshin..."

His first wife and young daughter (I think she was around 4 years old) were killed when a semi plowed into them. His son Beau died from brain cancer a few years before he became president. You might recall he didn't run for president against Trump the first time because he was grieving for his son.

The House of Kennedy by James Patterson
4 stars


If you have read other books about the Kennedy family, or if you have lived through most of the Kennedy years, you probably won't find anything new here. However, if you are looking for a concise version of each of the children of Joe and Rose Kennedy and some of the more well-known grandchildren, this would be excellent. I think we get a romantic idea about the Camelot years, but they were far from perfect. It seems almost everyone has some skeletons in their closet. This was easy to read and not at all text-bookish.

The Invisible Girl: The True Story of an Unheard Voice by Torey Hayden

The latest of Torey Hayden's - this time a 15 year old girl comes under her care. Torey is now in Wales and doing charity work with social services. Eloise comes from a dysfunctional family and been fostered out but her foster family thinks she's stalking one of the other daughters and so doesn't know what to do with her. Eloise seeks Torey out to see if she can help. By spending time with Eloise, Torey gets to know her better and why she exhibits disruptive or inappropriate behaviour, and how she tries to cope. I think this is one of her better memoirs in which the simplest remedy for neglected children is time, and understanding that someone does see them. Because often, they are not seen at all.

Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
Fredrik Backman
4/5 stars
This non-fiction book revolves around the author Fredrik Backman, his relationship with his son and what he wants to teach him. I have always enjoyed his books and this non-fiction doesn’t disappoint. Short but very sweet!

Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How refreshing to read a bo..."
Koren have you signed up somewhere to review books? Just wondering where you got your advanced reading copy from.

Used to get them in the bookshop though we didn't have to write reviews of them..some of them were memoirs but was mostly Australian fiction which I'm not that interested in.

I've also been a judge on a children's book panel but we just needed to rate and shortlist some books, not publish reviews.

Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How refreshin..."

The company sent me a private message here on Goodreads and asked me if I wanted to review it. I've had that happen before with e-books, but this is the first time I was sent an actual book. They included a website address I could go to and sign up to be a reviewer, but I decided not to do it. It looks like anyone can sign up, but it looks like it is only open to U.S. and Canada. Here is the link:

https://celadonbooks.com/celadon-arc/

My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers
4 stars


I didn't know much about Bakari Sellers aside from seeing him on CNN. I did not know he was a U.S. Congressman. The biggest part of this book is how his father played an influential role in the Civil Rights movement in the 60's and how it shaped his life. Both he and his father were present for some important moments in the fight for Civil Rights. An interesting read, especially if you weren't around at the time to know the history.

Into the Cave: The Inspirational Inside Story of the Thai Soccer Team Rescue

Just finished reading this and was so impressed with the level of respect and balance of detail the author managed to accomplish in his retelling of the story. Really moving.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. ..."
Wow you must have some chachet on Goodreads!

Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman
4/5 stars
I loved The Office and when I found this book at the library, I put everything else down to read this wonderful book told by everyone who acted, produced , wrote and worked on the series. If you haven’t seen the series -don’t read this book but definitely see the series then read this book. Highly recommended for fans of the series!

Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in exchange for an h..."

There are plenty of authors that come to Goodreads to see what people are saying about their books.

Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Selina wrote: "Koren wrote: "Growing Up Biden by Valerie Biden Owens
5 stars


I received an arc of this book in ex..."

I got another message here at Goodreads asking if I wanted to get ARC's to review. It is a link to a website and looks like anyone can sign up. Unfortunately, I am guessing they don't ship to other countries. I wish the postage wasn't so high. I can buy a book for what it costs to send to someone out of country.

Here's the link. I didn't sign up so I'd be interesting to hear from anyone that does.

https://booksirens.com/become-a-book-...

hmm it said that people from outside the US can join
But I think I read too many American books already. I want to support my local authors.

At long last I've read a memoir this year!

Leap of Faith by Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed

3 stars

I have never seen the Netflix series, but loved the concept of meeting someone and falling in love without seeing each other--based on values, communication, chemistry-of-the-mind, etc.

This isn't profound, though, and is definitely a way for this couple to make money, which they frankly confess is something they want to do (not so much from the book, but from their business.) I can see why this couple would have been popular on that show.

It also proves, very quietly and without breaking any rules they signed, just how vile the reality show business is--not that I am shocked. I was disgusted with the plethora of alcohol available 24/7--it explains some of the crap I've seen when I have watched a season or two of a show, usually with one of my kids who wants to watch it.

The scene about how they ruined Cameron's rap with editing was very telling--I am so very happy a crew member has actually posted the uncut version taken from a cell phone.

I which this couple well, but am not one to follow celebrities even in shows I watch season after season so won't be following this pair.

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction by Elizabeth Vargas
3 stars


I have to say, I don't really understand crippling anxiety and I still don't after reading this book. I don't understand if someone has that much anxiety why they would take a job on television and being in the public eye. She deals more with her professional life than her personal life and her divorce is barely touched on, which makes me think we arent being let in entirely. I think this book might be helpful for people who want to know there are others out there and they arent going through anxiety and addiction alone.

Because it’s Read an eBook Week, I’m offering my travel memoir, En Route, and my dating diaries, Creating Sparks that Last, free!
I’ll post the link here: https://www.linktr.ee/elora_canne
Enjoy!

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
5 stars


What an amazing true story! A family of 12 children, 6 of the boys acquire schizophrenia at a young age. Of course, this made them very interesting studies. Is it nature or nurture? The family is pretty dysfunctional, as you might expect, but the parents are pretty clueless about what to do, as there is not a lot of information at the time (the children are born between 1945 and 1065 and most of the children are symptom-free until their 20's). Most of the first-person accounts are told through the eyes of the two daughters, who are the youngest in the family and lived through the dysfunction, abuse and sometimes molestation, by the affected brothers. Very well researched and interviewing by the author.

In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain by Tom Vitale
3 stars


If you watched Anthony Bourdain on TV you will get more out of this book than I did. I watched it a little and I did see the episode with President Obama, so that chapter was a little more interesting. The author worked closely with Bourdain and was deeply affected by his death. If you want to know more about Anthony Bourdain you should read one of his books. This book is more about what went on behind the scenes of the show. If you don't like liberal use of the f word than you should probably skip this.

The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant
3 stars



Natchez, Mississippi is a quirky little town with a history of slavery and racism. The book explores how this plays a part in the lives of its residents today. Interspersed between chapters is the story of an African prince who is captured and taken to America to be entered into a life of slavery and how he finds a way to return to his homeland. I found parts of this book to be interesting and parts to be boring. It took me a while to get into this book but I did eventually get into it.

I am reading Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy ,AND
State of Terror by Louis penny & Hillary Clinton