Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

Happy New Year!

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
3 stars

This was a good read, best understood as a memoir rather than a how-to. It encompasses the author's early influences, what he's learned about the publishing industry over the years and how he overcame the break in his years-long writing flow when he was hit by that van in 1999.

Fishface wrote: "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
3 stars

This was a good read, best understood as a memoir rather than a how-to. It encompasses the author's early influences, what h..."

That was an interesting book. Read it quite a while ago.

The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks
4 stars



I was 15 during Watergate and remember our history class had to watch the Watergate hearings in class every day. If you've ever watched a trial on TV, you know it does not move along as fast as those courtroom shows that are solved in an hour. No fast forwarding in those days. Pretty boring stuff back then. So, I don't know why I thought it might be more interesting reading about it now. I have watched the author on MSNBC comparing Watergate to the events happening today and that was my favorite part of the book. I liked her autobiographical information the best. The book was published in 2020 so the events that took place on January 6th are not in the book. It would have been interesting to read her perspective of that day.

My Love Story by Tina Turner
4 stars

This is an interesting read because she grew from a girl with humble beginnings to a rock star who had a huge stage presence and accomplished so much. This book is basically Tina continuing her story from where she left off.

I've known about her since I was young because of my mother and she's just so talented.

Learning to Live Out Loud
Piper Laurie
4/5 stars
I knew about Piper Laurie but I don't think I ever saw her in many films but I going to check out some of her older films. She was the mother in the horror film Carrie (which I did see). She also lived quite an interesting life. I really enjoyed her autobiography. She just recently died in 2023 at the age of 91.

In The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI author Fei-Fei Li combines autobiography with an account of her involvement in the development of artificial intelligence. Fascinating stuff.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2024/01/11/t...

Mike wrote: "In The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI author Fei-Fei Li combines autobiography with an account of her involvement in the dev..."

This looks interesting, so I've added it to my want to read shelf.

Corn Born & Corn Bread: A Collection of Southern Essays by Neal Wooten
3 stars


First time reading this author. This was downloaded from the library and the typos were a little distracting. It was funny at times and a little nostalgic. I am currently reading another book by this author and some of the stories are also in this book.

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs
3 stars


The author chooses one experiment at a time, for instance, he is not going to tell a lie for a whole month. In his previous book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible he experimentally with living the way they did in the bible. At times I thought the author had to be a little bit crazy. It is funny at times, but most of the time fell flat for me.

The Courage to Care: A Call for Compassion by Christie Watson

A nurse continues her examination of the profession in the NHS. It's got a lot of anecdotes including her own adopting her son journey. If you've ever been in hospital or had a loved one in hospital, read this book. Her first one, The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story is also worth reading.
This book was written before the pandemic. It shows what nurses do and how everyone can benefit from the soft skills nurses have, namely, being kind to everyone regardless of their background or why they end up in hospital.

A Girl from Yamhill
Beverly Cleary
4/5 stars
This is one of two biographies written by Beverly Cleary. This is the first one and it details her life growing up in Yamhill, Oregon. This is a juvenile biography but I really enjoyed it and I think adults will really enjoy this book. I am going to read her second book My Own Two Feet and am looking forward to that one also!

I felt like reading something about islands. So Island Notes: Finding my place on Aotea Great Barrier Island by Tom Higham and Island Nurses: Stories of Birth, Life and Death on Remote Great Barrier Island by Leonie Howie and Adele Robertson

The first memoir I kind of skimmed through, as it was a bit disjointed. A wannabe hippie/Walden Pond type decides to live off grid dragging his family with him, but then realises its a lot more work than he realises. The second book is a lot better as its written by two nurses who share what it's like to practice rural nursing on the island, where, in emergencies the patients have to get airlifted to Auckland Hospital. There are several home births and there's a chapter on deaths, mostly due to cancer. In between there's the usual mishaps and injuries, the problems being getting to the calls for help in the first place, since the roads are so dusty and potholed or only accessible by horseback/tide and the nurses and GP were operating out of a caravan at one point.
As you can imagine it's a full on job but also rewarding since it's a tight knit community of only 1000 people.

Behind the Gates of Gomorrah: A Year With the Criminally Insane by Stephen Seager

It's not quite One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but close enough. A psychiatrist takes a job in Napa State hospital where the criminally insane are treated (or just medicated). Violence erupts every now again but it's just seen as normal, even if staff are in danger. I am not sure how to process this one...we have Mason Clinic in Auckland where you get sent if you killed/raped/assaulted someone but were let off because you were insane at the time...but isn't everyone to a certain extent. Can't just blame the drugs/alcohol. Things get to a point where the author is laid off but..for some strange reason, he decides to go back. Of course, it's a job and he needs to pay a mortgage. But he got assaulted on the first day!

Some of the crimes described are gut wrenchingly horrific, though I suppose living with other criminals is punishment enough. Or it keeps them away from innocent others anyway.

Hearts of Darkness: Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI, by Jana Monroe
3 stars

I bought this thinking it was true crime, but I'd say it's really best understood as a memoir. I learned a lot about the FBI and the life of an agent, with just a sprinkling of the crimes she worked on. She seems to have had a huge impact on the Bureau and an important role in dragging it out of the Hoover era. Well-written and worth your time.

In her memoir Arbitrary Stupid Goal author Tamara Shopsin writes in an offhand, casual style about her life in Greenwich Village where her parents owned a restaurant.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2024/01/18/a...

The Dragline Kid: A Gold-Miner's Daughter from Hope, Alaska Finds Adventure in Kenai, Alaska, but Hits Pay-Dirt Outside by Lisa Augustine
4 stars


I love these memoirs by every day people about growing up in days gone by. This one seemed like it was written as a keepsake for her children and grandchildren. The author grew up in Alaska in the 40's and 50's. It was interesting to see what Alaska was like back then. She led an interesting life, leaving Alaska when she got married at 16, a marriage that didn't last more than a year, but led her to Washington, D.C. The book ends when she marries her second husband and a sequel was promised. I will have to look for it. The book was published in 2002 and I figured the author had to be in her 80's by now. I did a search to see if she is still alive and sadly she passed away in 2016.

Koren wrote: "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs
3 stars


The author chooses one experiment at a t..."
Oh this guy..is this a recent book because I remember reading his other two. The first was about one year of reading the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. Then the Bible one, and I suppose he got on the publishing gravy train and couldn't stop doing more one year stunts.

Like the guy who authored The Year without a Purchase: One Family's Quest to Stop Shopping and Start Connecting which I recently read...there are now lots of books about doing certain things for a year. Maybe I should start a thread on these crazy books.

Koren wrote: "The Dragline Kid: A Gold-Miner's Daughter from Hope, Alaska Finds Adventure in Kenai, Alaska, but Hits Pay-Dirt Outside by Lisa Augustine
4 stars
[bookcover:The Dragline Kid: A Gold-..."

It's too bad she didn't end up writing her sequel.

Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "The Dragline Kid: A Gold-Miner's Daughter from Hope, Alaska Finds Adventure in Kenai, Alaska, but Hits Pay-Dirt Outside by Lisa Augustine
4 stars
[bookcover:The Draglin..."

Yes. She was so beautiful in her pictures in the book I wanted to find a picture of her in later years but couldn't find one. Her obit on findagrave.come says she was the author of 4 books but I could only find 2 on Amazon and the second one was fiction.

Her findagrave website:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1...

Flowers are my Passport by J Barry Ferguson
I found this interesting because flowers are also my thing though I never became a florist, I just like gardening them.
It's a memoir by a NZer born in Dunedin but a lucky break meant at age 30 he went round the world and ended up in NYC doing big floral displays for high society - the Astors, Rockefellers, etc.

So a bit of it is name dropping for the seriously rich. He got into theatre and was managing his own garden business as well. Then he sold it all and went back to NZ to retire after having a heart attack. He published a book called Living with Flowers: Revised Edition so it would have been interesting for anyone with a floral flair. I hadn't quite managed so, as there isn't much of a market for flowers here but its interesting what people will do and how much they would pay for a in NYC for a fresh peony from NZ or a clivia! ($1700)

Unbreakable: My Story, My Way
4.5 stars

This book gave me an insight to Jenni's life and how she was as a person. She wasn't perfect, (she had a difficult past) but she was hardworking and determined to make her dreams come true.

Hit The Road And Thrive: Seven Secrets for Living the Dream

Hope it's okay to share my own memoir in here! It's currently for free on my website www.daveletterfly.com and it was an absolute joy to write - I hope you all enjoy it and give it a go. I love all kinds of feedback I receive, good bad and everything in between!

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
5 stars


As the title says, this book is written diary style. Do not read this if you have a weak stomach. The doctor works mostly in ob/gyn. This book is laugh out loud funny. He is British, so sometimes it was a bit hard to understand the lingo. He does explain a lot with footnotes, but if you are reading the ebook, the footnotes are at the end of the book and there are no links, so it makes it hard to go back and forth. We know going in that he did not stay in medicine and became a comedian and comedy writer, so at first I thought it was a lot of complaining, but the insights into government controlled medicine were interesting and I kept hoping for that his humorous insights would be at the end of the story. I stayed up late to finish this one and immediately looked to see what other books this author had and can't wait to start the next one.

Koren wrote: "This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
5 stars


As the title says, this b..."

I read this book a couple years ago and really enjoyed it!

I saw this one on the shelf but didn't end up going for it, as I'm a bit medical memoired out for now.

Vital Signs: Heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious stories of a junior doctor's first year

I can't handle too much blood and guts.

Koren wrote: "This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
5 stars


As the title says, this b..."

I only gave this three stars, but then my dad was an overworked and underpaid doctor for some years before he started making better money so I came at it from a different perspective. But when I checked my review I didn't state why it was a like and no more for me.

My Own Two Feet: A Memoir
Beverly Cleary
4/5 stars
This is the second memoir from Beverly Cleary, writer. The book starts with her college years during the depression including WWII, working at a library and ends with the publication of her first book. I really enjoyed this book too! I am surprised this is a Juvenile book but it is definitely a book adults will enjoy!

I am almost finished reading My Name Is Barbra. It’s a great read! Streisand is a thoughtful, empathetic, caring human, and she tells a great story. Now I have to watch all her movies again!

Stacy wrote: "I am almost finished reading My Name Is Barbra. It’s a great read! Streisand is a thoughtful, empathetic, caring human, and she tells a great story. Now I have to watch all her movies again!"

I am glad you liked it. It is on my reading list!

Stacy wrote: "I am almost finished reading My Name Is Barbra. It’s a great read! Streisand is a thoughtful, empathetic, caring human, and she tells a great story. Now I have to watch all her movies again!"

One of my favorite singers and actresses. Can't wait to read this book.

Small-Town Boy, Small-Town Girl: Growing Up in South Dakota, 1920-1950 by Eric Fowler and Sheila Delaney
4 stars


This book was published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, so I assume it has a lot of local interest there. It Somehow found its way to a Minnesota used book sale, which is where I found it. Mitchell is not all that far from me. I have been past the Corn Palace but not inside. The Corn Palace is a place where the outside of the building is completely covered with different colors of corn. This book is about growing up in two different kinds of South Dakota in the first half of the 20th Century and is almost like two books in one. The first half of the book is written through the eyes of a boy who didn't have a lot growing up and the second is through the eyes of a young girl whose father was a doctor and while they weren't rich they didnt want for anything. For some reason I thought the boy's story was more interesting, but enjoyed both.

Sure to Rise: The Edmonds story by Richard Wolfe

Bios of prominent business people/empires tend to be hagiographies and this one is no exception. The grocery man turned baking powder factory salesman and owner of the Edmond's brand - which included the now iconic Edmonds cookbooks which were originally free recipes included with the tins had become a landmark factory complete with garden in Christchurch his lifetime.

After he died it got sold off (eldest son died young) to bigger corporates, the original factory demolished, and operations moved to Auckland.

The academic historians really worked on this book to uncover everything they could about those tins of Baking Powder until you are heartily sick of seeing the ubiquitous logo on every ad they ever produced in the glossy gallery, with gatefold pages...while on top of that top chefs write ringing endorsements of the baking powder brand.

I don't love baking powder THAT much.
As for Thomas Edmonds, he retired early rich from his business venture and scarpered off overseas travelling and living it up. He also donated a band rotunda to the city and joined the Theosophical Society, conjuring up business entrepeneurs of the past no doubt. What really worked was the marketing spiel slogan "sure to rise' and those cookbooks that gave tips at the bottom of the pages like 'never slam the oven door'.

When the trade in key ingredient tartaric acid dried up they actually made a cheaper baking powder called Acto made of phosphate but it couldn't compete with the original because the phosphate left a funny taste that had to be disguised with huge amounts of sugar.

According to the marketing spiel though..if you used the original Edmonds baking powder in all your baking you would be a great cook every time. I don't really know as I don't bake much and because of that any baking powder is so old that its doesn't always work. I wonder if there's much in that Bible verse that tells you to 'beware of leaven of the Pharisees'. Mum kept the original tin and it's looking pretty rusty to me. Not sure I would put it in my food!

For the lover of the memoir genre, Donna Leon's new book Wandering through Life: A Memoir is not to be missed. Suzanne Toren's narration of the audiobook version is superb.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2024/02/01/w...

Finally I've finished another memoir! I'm reading another one right now, along with a couple of novels.

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung 4 stars

This was a powerful memoir of a child's suffering and survival during the horrific reign of the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979. I will note that the author was given 100 pages of family history, etc, by one of her much older brothers, because there is no way a child that young would have remembered some of that stuff without help. She was 5 by the Asian way of reckoning age, but less than 4 1/2 by western reckoning when her middle class family was part of the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh.

I'm not going to describe all that happened, since it's something best learned by reading it yourself, but there are very disturbing scenes because it was during a brutal regime, and I would not recommend this for children unless a parent knows for sure that they won't suffer nightmares, etc, from reading it. I say this knowing full well that not all precocious readers are already emotionally equipped to read everything they are capable of reading. One of mine could have, and one of mine couldn't--the other wasn't a precocious reader.

If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos
4 Stars


Of course, I watched Full House. Who didn't? I had forgotten that John was in the cast of ER, one of my all-time favorite shows. I didn't know he played with The Beach Boys. At times, John comes across as being vulnerable, and at times he comes across as being a jerk. I was surprised he didn't go into more depth about his alcoholism. The chapter talking about the death of his close friend Bob Saget was a heart-breaker. And of course, it wasn't bad looking at the cover picture. Can't believe this guy is 60 years old.

Koren wrote: "If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos
4 Stars


Of course, I watched Full House. Who didn't? I had forgotten that John was in the ca..."

I saw it, but not regularly because it started when I chose to not own a TV (single) and ended the year my eldest child was born. I primarily saw some reruns, but due to my eldest's situation my children were quite TV deprived (too much screen time made her irritable.) Not that they suffered for it!

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton

Lavish coffee table book of all Dolly Partons' stage costumes. She had a bubble dress before Lady Gaga did. Her inspirations are Mae West, Ru Paul and Barbie. I'm surprised she didn't mention Marilyn Monroe (She's Mariah Carey's muse). You get to see her wigs. It's like delving into Dolly's trunk/walk in wardrobe. What a lady!

Rhinestones, fringes, heels, meet the designers/stylists/wardrboe assistants...and see the famous coat of many colours. She's a national treasure.

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

Adoption is a subject near and dear to my heart. One of my favourite parts of this book is when Chung acknowledges that adoptees have different feelings about and experiences with their being adopted. My two adopted brothers alone are proof of that fact, but that's not fodder for this review. This will, in no way, sum up the book.

Chung was part of a trans-racial adoption, about which there are very mixed feelings and opinions, but even her story isn't going to be universal for all children in the situation. One thing she didn't mention and that many people don't realize, is that this goes all ways--parents of also adopt white babies and babies of other races. Ultimately, a loving and safe home is the best, but obviously some children, no matter how open and loving parents are, will question why their parents gave them up. Others, like Chung, will have lived in a place where they are a very small minority (but even kids of the same race who look different will receive, as will their families, rude questions asking why a child looks different from their family). In addition, when she was adopted this was still fairly new and there was a lot of ignorance surrounding this.

I liked this book but didn't love it.

No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach Anthony Bourdain

I watched all of No Reservations, so this book was more of Anthony Bourdains recollections on making the show, the highlights and the lowlights. Poignant now he is no longer with us. He had a love-hate relationship with travel I think..
This book has pictures with his captions, though the only mention of New Zealand for this reader is his quad bike mishap.

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
This one I sort of skimmed through because I had read books of hoarding before and its not nice reading descriptions of horrible squalor!
This one I'd probably put in the gender diverse category because Sandy was born Peter and it took a long time to get to where she is (and having seen the worst of life, has this instinct to sort it all out to pass for normal) but I'd say this book also is one of those warnings/cautionary tales what happens if you let yourself go and not do your housework - someone else will need to come in and clean up your mess.

A Class of Their Own: Adventures in Tutoring the Super-Rich by Matthew Knott

A Cambridge graduate gets some jobs tutoring the super-rich. It's another world, being paid to 'help' with homework. He gets invited to go on super rich vacations with Russian Oligarchs. They children don't need any help really its a status thing, since everyone else has a tutor, and if they fail their exams, no biggy as bank of mum and dad will tide them over.
Matt's an outsider to all this (a scholarship student and child of two teachers) However the constant references to himself being gay get annoying.

A reminder of my one time tutor job in which I had no idea how to do some maths problems having not learned in that class, or proofreading others work. I don't remember ever having any help to do my own homework or a 'study buddy'. The whole point of doing homework, is you really have to do it yourself.

Gracie: A Love Story
George Burns
4/5 stars
Written by the actor George Burns, he talks about his life and his love for his wife and partner Gracie Burns. He talks about his adopted children since Gracie couldn't have children and he also goes over their roles in entertainment including films, radio and television. Very entertaining!

Julie wrote: "
Gracie: A Love Story
George Burns
4/5 stars
Written by the actor George Burns, he talks about his life and his love for his wife..."

Love those two. I read this book a while ago.

Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South by Beth Macy
4 stars


The title makes us think this is a true crime story, but it is many stories rolled into one. It is the story of two brothers in the late 19th and early 20th century who were albino black men and their mother let them join the freak show at the circus. She was led to believe they would come back but they did not bring them back and the mother searched for them for years. There are many parts to this story: the history of circus freak shows, the history of a Jim Crow South and how awful the conditions were for black people at that time, and the life story of the two main characters, George and Willie Muse.

Among My Souvenirs: The Real Story Vol. 1 by Connie Francis
3 stars


I did not know that Connie Francis had a previous memoir that was published in the 1980's. Maybe some of the things I wish she would have talked about were in the previous memoir. It probably should not come as a surprise that this memoir focuses on articles and letters she has collected over the years. It also talks a lot about how domineering her father was. She talks a lot about her lost love, Bobby Darrin. I know her best from the movie Where The Boys Are, so I was disappointed she only talks about it for a page or two and assume it was talked about it more in the first book. It seems to end abruptly. She talks about her first abusive marriage that only lasted a few months and not her subsequent (3) marriages at all and the book ends abruptly with 'to be continued' but so far I have not found this follow-up book. I think I would only recommend this to die-hard Connie fans.

Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film
Don Graham
4/5 stars
I have seen this film years ago and highly enjoyed it. The author did a nice job of relating the history of the making of this film and the events around the actors lives in that time period. I am definitely going to re-watch it.

Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed
3 stars


An e-book short, only 30 pages. If it had been longer than that I don't think I would have stuck with it. It seemed like it was a lot of complaining about her mother-in-law, but then on her death bed she realized she had had a hard life and maybe that was the reason she was that way. Reading the reviews, I think I am one of the few that felt this way and most people liked it. It was a Free With Prime book, so go ahead and give it a try. It doesn't take long to read it.

Walking with Peety: The Dog Who Saved My Life by Eric O'Grady
5 stars


A sweet story about a man and his dog. I can identify with this story of a man and his dog and how the dog helped him to lose weight by getting him up and moving and giving him a purpose in life. I thought it was amazing that his nutritional counselor would recommend getting a dog when the guy had never had a dog in his life, but it turned out ok. Eric seems like a nice guy and I'm glad it all worked out for him.

In The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting: How a Bunch of Rabble-Rousers, Outsiders, and Ne’er-do-wells Concocted Creative Nonfiction author Lee Gutkind writes about the evolution of creative nonfiction and his own role in the genre. He describes how he went from selling shoes to working for an ad agency to becoming a faculty member at the University of Pittsburg, even though he didn't have an advanced degree.

My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2024/02/20/t...