Don't Miss Lists and Other Reading Resources

Memoirs for Listening

Gardens Rich in Memory Glorified..." - Yeats

Angelou, Maya. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. 1969. 818.5409 An43ai.
The poet's childhood and adolescence in rural Arkansas where she was raised by her grandmother. CD

Armstrong, Lance. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE: MY JOURNEY BACK TO LIFE. 2000. 796. 62092 Ar57ar.
The Tour de France winner describes his battle with cancer and his return to bicycling. Cassette CD

Bragg, Rick. ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTIN'. 1997. 070.92 B73b.
Growing up poor in rural Alabama, a tribute to his mother. Cassette

Chang, Jung. WILD SWANS: THREE DAUGHTERS OF CHINA. 1991. 951.05 C362w.
Three generations of women survive the political upheaval of China, from feudal life through the Cultural Revolution. CD

Conroy, Pat. MY LOSING SEASON. 2002. 796. 32363092 C764c.
The author recalls the losing basketball season he and his team endured during his senior year at the Citadel, 1966-1967. Cassette CD

Conway, Jill Ker. THE ROAD FROM COORAIN. 1989. 305.40994 C769r.
The author's life from a remote sheep station through her education at the University of Sydney in Australia. Cassette

Goldsmith, Martin. THE INEXTINGUISHABLE SYMPHONY: A TRUE STORY OF MUSIC AND LOVE IN NAZI GERMANY. 2000. 940.5318092243 G574i.
The NPR host's story of how his parents survived the Holocaust through their membership in the Juedische Kulturbund, an artist group used by the Nazis to dispel rumors of anti-Semitism. Cassette

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: A MEMOIR. 1997. 796.357092 G632w.
The Pulitzer-Prize winning historian looks back on her Long Island childhood enriched by baseball and reading. Cassette

Graham, Katharine. PERSONAL HISTORY. 1997. 070.5092 G76g.
The publisher of the Washington Post gives a frank and honest account of her life. Cassette

Heat Moon, William Least. BLUE HIGHWAYS: A JOURNEY INTO AMERICA. 1982. 917.304927 H351b.
This classic recounts a journey along the back roads of America and the ordinary people encountered along the way. Cassette

Karr, Mary. THE LIAR'S CLUB: A MEMOIR. 1995. 818.5403 K148L.
The author's troubled childhood in an East Texas refinery town. Cassette CD

Kaysen, Susanna. GIRL, INTERRUPTED. 1993. 616.890092 K184k.
The poignant memoir of two years spent in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s. Cassette

Kingston, Maxine Hong. THE WOMAN WARRIOR: MEMOIRS OF A GIRLHOOD AMONG GHOSTS. 1976. 979.461 K61w.
Growing up Chinese American in Stockton, California, the author is shaped by her family's stories and Chinese myths. Cassette

Kondracke, Morton. SAVING MILLY: LOVE, POLITICS, AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE. 2001. 362.1968330092 K836k.
A chronicle of the author's wife's 13-year battle with Parkinson's disease and the author's activism for research. Cassette

McBride, James. THE COLOR OF WATER: A BLACK MAN'S TRIBUTE TO HIS WHITE MOTHER. 1996. 974. 71004960730092 M122m.
A Polish-born Southern-raised Jewish woman, marries a black man and raises 12 children in Harlem. Cassette

McCourt, Frank. ANGELA'S ASHES: A MEMOIR. 1996. 929.20899162073 M137a.
Leaving Brooklyn with his family during the depression for even worse poverty in Limerick, Ireland, the author recalls his difficult childhood. Cassette CD

Markham, Beryl. WEST WITH THE NIGHT. 1942. 916.760924 M341m.
The classic story of the British woman who became an African bush pilot and who was the first to fly solo, east to west, across the Atlantic. Cassette

O'Faolain, Nuala. ARE YOU SOMEBODY?: THE ACCIDENTAL MEMOIR OF A DUBLIN WOMAN. 1998. 070.92 Of1o.
The Irish journalist tells of her choice to escape from the traditional role assigned to Irish women to find contentment. Cassette

Pelzer, David. A CHILD CALLED "IT" : ONE CHILD'S COURAGE TO SURVIVE. 1995. 362.76092 P369p.
Surviving horrific abuse inflicted by his mother, Pelzer tells of his will to overcome his past. Cassette CD

Reichl, Ruth. TENDER AT THE BONE: GROWING UP AT THE TABLE. 1998. 641. 5092 R271r.
The New York Times restaurant critic recalls her early life defined by food. Cassette

Ruhlman, Michael. THE MAKING OF A CHEF: MASTERING HEAT AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA. 1997. 641.5092 R854r.
The author tells of his education at the exclusive cooking school. CD

Ryan, Terry. THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO: HOW MY MOTHER RAISED 10 KIDS ON 25 WORDS OR LESS. 2001. 977.114043092 R953r.
A woman supports her large family by entering every contest she comes across. Cassette CD

Sebold, Alice. LUCKY. 1999. 346.1532092 Se22s.
An unsparing account of the author's rape as a freshman in college and what it took to bring her case to court. Cassette CD

Snyder, Don J. CLIFF WALK: A MEMOIR OF A JOB LOST AND A LIFE FOUND. 1997. 331.13 Sn92c.
After the author loses his beloved job as a professor at Colgate University, and fails to find another position, he reinvents himself as a construction worker. Cassette

Watson, James D. THE DOUBLE HELIX: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRUCTURE OF DNA. 1968. 572.86 W334d.
The thrilling days of the race between scientists to discover the structure of DNA. Cassette

Wright, Richard. BLACK BOY. 1937. 813.52 W935zw.
Growing up in the 1940s, in rural Mississippi and Tennessee, this classic recounts the forces that shaped Wright as an author. Cassette

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