memoir

Mexikid

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by Pedro Martín
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Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There is some bullying and teasing by siblings, and talk of death. It’s in the Middle-Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Pedro is one of nine children, the son of immigrant parents – he and his younger siblings were born in the US; his parents and older siblings immigrated from Mexico – which makes him, a “Mexikid”. Not really Mexican enough, but also not really American enough. And then, one Christmas break, Pedro’s family drives back to their hometown to fetch his abuelito and bring him back to live with them. It’s a life-changing trip, not only because of the adventures Pedro has but because of the things he learns about his family.

I thought this was a lot of fun! I loved how Martin portrayed his boisterous, big family; you could tell that family is super important to him. Sure, the siblings fought and teased, but there was genuine affection there. And I liked how he brought in his family history while relating the events of the trip they took. It was entertaining, funny, and thoroughly enjoyable to read about this particular time in history. I liked the art – and the ways Martin used the art to tell his story.

Highly recommended.

Audiobook: Making It So

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by Patrick Stewart
Read by the author
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Film section of the bookstore.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time (or if you’ve known me for any time), you probably know that I have a weakness for celebrity memoirs. Not all of them – I never did read I’m Glad My Mother is Dead – but of some celebrities who I have a passing interest in, I’m there. Especially if they read the memoir themselves. Which, of course, Sir Patrick does. 

This follows his life, from his childhood in Yorkshire through his time in regional theaters to the Royal Shakespeare Company, and finally landing as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier in television and films. He’s pretty open and blunt about his shortcomings and faults and the ups and downs of his career and his marriages. He was a delightful person to spend 18 hours with – you can tell he is a storyteller at heart. I think he believes in the power of telling a story, which is one of the things that drew him to acting, and that definitely shows. 

It’s not the best memoir I’ve ever read, but it’s a solid read (and a good listen; he’s an excellent narrator, which is no surprise), and I enjoyed the time I spent listening to it. 

Sunshine

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by Jarrett J. Korsoczka
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Content: There are sick kids and talk of death. It’s in the Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

In the companion to Hey Kiddo, Krosoczka depicts his experiences with Camp Sunshine, a place for sick kids – many of them terminally ill – and their families to go to get away from hospitals and being sick. Krosoczka volunteered for a week when he was 16, and he didn’t know what to expect when he first got there but ended up meeting incredible people and having his life changed for the better.

It was a touching and sweet graphic novel. I loved how Krosoczka depicted not only the other kids volunteering but also the kids and their families. He hits the highlights of the week he volunteered, and followed some of the relationships he kept afterward. It’s a good reminder that getting outside yourself and volunteering to help others is important. And it’s a good book.

Audiobook: All In

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by Billie Jean King, Johnette Howard, and Maryanne Vollers
Read by Billie Jean King
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: King talks about difficult subjects including sexism, discrimination, her affair, and eating disorders. It’s in the Sports section of the bookstore.

In this memoir, King writes of how she got into tennis, her struggles for equal treatment in the sport for women, her winning championships and being number one in the world, as well as her winning the infamous “Battle of the Sexes”. She talks about coming to terms with her sexuality as well as broadening her activism. It covers her life up to the present, including her marriage to her long-time partner Ilana Kloss.

I picked this one up not because I had any real affection for King, but because I was looking for something different to listen to and was in the mood for a sports book. I found it interesting – it’s not just a history of King’s life, it’s a history of women in professional sports, of the evolution of tennis in America, of the history of Women’s, Civil, and LGBTQ+ Rights. If I can say anything, it’s this: King has been around for a long time (she was born in 1943) and has seen and done and been involved in a lot. She wasn’t particularly fantastic as a narrator; I sped it up so she’d read at a speed that I could tolerate, but I did appreciate hearing the emotion in her voice when she talked about certain subjects. She was very frank about her life, her mistakes, her evolution, and her path to a very fulfilling life. I did like hearing about the other players on the tennis tour, especially when she got to ones I recognized (say around the 1980s), and I did enjoy hearing her view on her personal and professional battles.

It’s not my usual read, but I liked it well enough.

Audiobook: Soil

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by Camille T. Dungy
Read by the author
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Content: There is some mild swearing (I think? Maybe not?) and frank talk of racism and violence against Black people. It’s in the Creative Non-fiction section of the bookstore.

The premise of this is simple: Camille Dungy owns a house in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and she wants to make her overly-chemicalized turf lawn into something more environmentally friendly and sustainable. She writes about the process the “prairie project” as she and her husband dub it, but the book is more than that. It’s a reflection on environmental writing and the people who usually write (read: white, rich, often men) about the environment. It’s about the intersection of social and environmental justice. It’s how, as a Black woman, Dungy feels not only called to work the land but also compelled to protect it and welcome all living things.

This was such an enjoyable audiobook experience. Dungy is an excellent narrator, and I felt myself not only learning from her but having my own need to garden and see growing things affirmed. I should be better about growing things that are native here, as opposed to just planting any old thing (and seeing what grows), which is kind of what I do now. But, I loved and respected what Dungy had to say about the earth, the environment, and about social justice.

Excellent.

Walking With Sam

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by Andrew McCarthy
First sentence: “When I was a very young man and became very successful in the movies very quickly, I harbored a notion that I had not earned my accomplishments, that I hadn’t done the requisite work, that it was all merely a fluke, that I didn’t deserve it.”
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Content: There is some mention of drug use, several f-bombs,, and other mild swearing. It’s in the Biography section of the bookstore.

I was probably always going to be interested in this book; I love travel books, and I have a friend who has walked the Camino twice. Plus there’s the celebrity factor. But, after finishing The Longest Way Home, I have immense respect for McCarthy as a travel writer. And he delivers in this book.

When he was in his early 30s, McCarthy walked the Camino – inspired by a book – and had a life-changing experience. As his oldest son grew up, McCarthy wanted to share that experience with him. His son wasn’t interested until he was 19 and had just broken off a bad long-term relationship. McCarthy jumped at the chance, and they were off. They walked the northern route – the Camino Frances (or at least that’s what I’m guessing from what he writes) through the Pyrenees and the Meseta, into Santiago. I’m not exactly sure how long it took them – the chapters were labeled with miles until Santiago. But McCarthy is strikingly honest about their walk. The ups and downs, both physically and emotionally, the stresses and joys of their relationship, and yes, you can see the growth in both McCarthy and Sam and between them.

Like the first travel book of his I read, I loved that he gave you a sense of walking the Camino with its own joys and hardships and dull moments, while being introspective. He both compared this walk to the one he took 25 years prior, and reflected on the nature of both his relationship with his son as well as the one he had with his own father. It’s engaging and interesting, as well as being introspective and thoughtful.

I found it an absolute delight to read.

The Longest Way Home

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by Andrew McCarthy
First sentence: “‘Are you awake?'”
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Content: There’s some mild swearing, maybe one or two f-bombs, and mention of past alcoholism. It’s in the Biography section of the bookstore.

First: yes it’s that Andrew McCarthy. I knew he’d written a couple of books – I had put in a proposal for him to come to Wichita when he released his YA novel – but I thought it was more along the lines of “he’s got a vanity project” rather than “he’s a real writer.” Well, color me wrong: he’s an actual, real writer. And this book was quite good.

Seven years into his relationship with his now-wife, D, and four years after they first got engaged, she decided that they really Ought to get married, and started planning their wedding. McCarthy, reacting the only way he thought he could, immediately took off on writing assignments. The book follows his path through Patagonia, Costa Rica, the Amazon, Venice, Baltimore, up Kilimanjaro and ultimately to Ireland, where he and D do, actually get married (not a spoiler; the book opens with their honeymoon). It’s an introspective book, one where McCarthy examines his past relationships – including with his first wife and their son – and history as he tries to reconcile why he doesn’t, actually, want to get married. But it’s also a good travel book: McCarthy is a generous traveler, one that doesn’t mind being adventurous or solitary but also will interact and participate in a group (though he complains about it). I found myself captivated by his writing, and enjoying the time I spent in his reflections. It’s a good thing he’s got a few other works of non-fiction (including his new one, about walking the Camino) that I just might get around to reading. (Bonus: he’s coming to Wichita as part of the tour for the Camino book. I just might have to go!)

Audiobook: B. F. F.

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A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found
by Christie Tate
Read by the Author
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is talk of eating disorders, alcoholism, and swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the biography section of the bookstore.

In this memoir, Tate deconstructs her friendships with women, from the way she abandoned her high school friends for a (alcoholic, abusive) boyfriend, to the way she compared and sabotaged friendships as an adult. The throughline for all of this was, yes, her group therapy and recovery sessions, but also a woman she calls Merideth. A woman 20 years Tate’s senior with problems of her own that she is recovering from, Meredith became not just Tate’s rock to lean on, but her conscious and guiding hand. 

So what does one do when Meredith is diagnosed with an incurable and advanced form of cancer? How can she deal with being present for Meredith and with her own grief? How can she learn to be better?

I do have to say up front that, assuming all this is true, Tate is remarkably brave for putting it all out there. She is not likable for a good half of the book when she’s talking about how she abandoned friends due to jealousy and anger. She comes across as petulant and insecure, and yes I was judging her until I started really listening and figuring out where I’m like her. She has much to say about friendship, not just her friendships, and I think that part is worthwhile. The second part is Meredith’s decline and death, and I think Tate has a lot of good things to say about supporting people through that – not just the person who is ill, but the people around them as well – and about grief. But, the final section, after Meredith has passed on, where Tate writes letters about her healing and rekindling friendships she had thought she had permanently destroyed – that was the best section. I think it all had to be there, though. You had to get through petulant Tate to truly understand the healing process. 

While I think it’s kind of uneven in spots, it’s worth it for what Tate has to say about friendship, overall.

Audiobook: Lost & Found

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by Kathryn Schulz
Read by the author
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Or listen at Libro. fm
Content: There’s some mild swearing and frank talk of dying. It’s in the Biography section of the bookstore.

The subtitle of this one is “Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness” and I think that sums the book up really well. Schulz divides the book up into three parts: Lost, in which she reflects on the death of her father, and the process of grieving him; Found, in which she recounts the story about how she met and came to marry her wife; and And, in which she talks about coming together, and the importance of community. It’s a simple premise, but Schulz pulls it off beautifully.

I first heard about this when one of our Random House reps, Bridget, spoke highly about how this book about grief and loss wasn’t sad but filled her with gratitude for living. And she’s right: yes, it’s a book about loss and grief, but it’s also a book about learning to live with loss and grief, and gratitude for the simple act of living. It’s reflective and poignant and sometimes quite funny. And Schulz is a good narrator; she reads well and is captivating to listen to.

In short: the RH rep was right: it’s one of the best books about loss that I’ve read in a long time.

Audiobook: Spare

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by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Read by the author
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs, as well as talk of drinking and drug use. It’s in the biography section of the bookstore.

Okay, I recognize that by reading this book I’m caving to peer pressure – everyone is reading this to find out the gossip. But, in my defense: I love celebrity memoirs (especially on audio), and Prince Harry is probably more of a relevant celebrity than, say, Bono. So, it was probably inevitable that I was going to listen to it.

Is this the point where I mention that while I’m not ignorant of the royals, I’m also not a super royal watcher. They’re interesting because, well, they’re the Royal family, but I’m not super invested in what Kate’s wearing right now.

That said, I was floored by the life Prince Harry has led. He had some smart observations on the nature of celebrity, musing at one point that the only thing he ever did to deserve having paparazzi chase him was be born. He’s not talented, he’s not a musician or an actor. Why is he a “celebrity”? Because he was born into this particular family. It’s a smartly written memoir (I’m assuming he had a ghostwriter help him), and he reads it well. And, well, if the purpose of the book was to work through the trauma surrounding his mother’s death and to explain why, ultimately, he and Meghan had to leave the family, then he did his job. It starts with his mom’s death, and moves forward through to the present day, and let’s just say that he has a deep resentment of both the paparazzi (who more than once just made up lies about him, his girlfriends, and now his wife) and the monarchy as an institution. He loves his family, and wishes he didn’t need to fight with them, but the monarchy? It’s not that great. It messes with people’s lives, it’s complicit in the bad press, and it desperately needs to be updated. And maybe Harry’s the person to do it.

It really was an interesting and engaging book, and surprised me with how engrossing it was. I definitly don’t regret reading it at all. And I wish Harry and Meghan all the happiness in the world. They deserve it.