Recommendations based on "Some of me"

The powerful, true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter—a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.As Mira is nearing the end of her life, her daughter Rachelle wants to find out how her mother had lived through four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March. There was a mystery to her survival, it seemed—which perhaps had something to do with the strange things that always happened around her. And, incredibly, when giving testimony later in life, she says that it was during this time—despite witnessing the depths of man’s cruelty—that she learned about “the goodness of people.”Born in Czechoslovakia, Mira was only 12 years old when World War II broke out. At 88, living in Australia, she is diagnosed with cancer, and her journalist daughter decides to interview her to distract her from her illness. What Rachelle discovers about her mother helps her fit together the jigsaw pieces of her own life. A Brilliant Life portrays not only how remote a prospect it was to live through the Holocaust, but what it is like to be the child of a survivor.A story of love, loss, wonder and the deepest kind of faith, A Brilliant Life questions the role that fate, chance and destiny play in one's life. It is a tribute to family, a story of incredible resilience and a chronicle of the deep connection between mother and child that not even death can destroy.

The riveting, powerful memoir of the woman whose statement to Brock Turner gave voice to millions of survivorsShe was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral--viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways--there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the shocking and deeply moving true story of a young girl with severe behavioural problems.This is the first of several stories about ‘difficult’ children Casey helped during her time as a behaviour manager at her local comprehensive.Casey has been in the post for six months when thirteen-year-old Imogen joins her class. One of six children Casey is teaching, Imogen has selective mutism. She’s a bright girl, but her speech problems have been making mainstream lessons difficult.Life at home is also hard for Imogen. Her mum walked out on her a few years earlier and she’s never got on with her dad’s new girlfriend. She’s now living with her grandparents. There’s no physical explanation for Imogen’s condition, and her family insist she’s never had troubles like this before.Everyone thinks Imogen is just playing up – except the member of staff closest to her, her teacher Casey Watson. It is the deadpan expression she constantly has on her face that is most disturbing to Casey. Determined there must be more to it, Casey starts digging and it’s not long before she starts to discover a very different side to Imogen’s character.A visit to her grandparents’ reveals that Imogen is anything but silent at home. In fact she’s prone to violent outbursts; her elderly grandparents are terrified of her.Eventually Casey’s hard work starts to pay off. After months of silence, Imogen utters her first, terrified, words to Casey: ‘I thought she was going to burn me.’Dark, shocking and deeply disturbing, Casey begins to uncover the reality of what Imogen has been subjected to for years.Casey Watson's book 'Little Girl Lost' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-03-25.

A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most. Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she longed for more stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary, uncomfortable and fine, painful and fulfilling. Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life. Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. Sitting Pretty challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story.

Georgia Harrison's story as you've never heard it before. Explosive and inspiring, Georgia reveals the truth behind the headlines: the shocking truth of how she suffered revenge porn at the hands of her ex - and how she fought to get her life back. In 2020, Georgia Harrison's ex-boyfriend shared intimate footage of her online without her consent. With the click of a button, Georgia's world was ripped apart. But now she's taking her power back. In court, Georgia finally told her side of the story; and her ex was found guilty in what became the most talked-about case in the British media. Although Georgia was a victim, she turned her pain into power - she succeeded in changing the laws around image-based abuse and became a voice for women. Unfiltered and unflinching, Georgia pulls back the curtain on the nightmare that could have crushed her, but that made her who she is today. Holding nothing back, she shines a light on how to navigate traumatic times - the importance of hope, building resilience and a positive mindset. Taking Back My Power is more than just a memoir; it's an entire movement. 'One woman's campaign for justice for herself and for all victims of image-based sexual abuse. Georgia writes with unflinching honesty and, perhaps most powerfully, with hope' ELIZABETH DAY 'Georgia has been so brave. A total inspiration. Everyone should read this book' EM CLARKSON 'Rousing and important ... A much-needed manifesto on consent' Stylist 'Inspiring. Powerful. Spiritual. What a woman' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Strong and powerful! Following Georgia's story has made me so so proud of what she is standing for' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Truly such an inspiration. This book is honestly amazing' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • The highly anticipated biography of Sylvia Plath that focuses on her remarkable literary and intellectual achievements, while restoring the woman behind the long-held myths about her life and art.“One of the most beautiful biographies I've ever read." —Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller, UntamedWith a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark brings to life the brilliant Sylvia Plath, who had precocious poetic ambition and was an accomplished published writer even before she became a star at Smith College. Refusing to read Plath’s work as if her every act was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark considers the sociopolitical context as she thoroughly explores Plath’s world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her troubles with an unenlightened mental health industry; her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes; and much more.Clark’s clear-eyed portraits of Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath’s suicide promote a deeper understanding of her final days. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark’s meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is Alison Arngrim’s comic celebrity memoir of growing up as one of television’s most memorable characters—the devious Nellie Oleson on the hit television show Little House on the Prairie. With revealing behind-the-scenes stories from the set, as well as tales from her bohemian upbringing in West Hollywood and her headline-making advocacy work on behalf of HIV awareness and abused children, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is a must for fans of everything Little House: the classic 1970s television series and its many stars like Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert; Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Prairie Tale… and, of course, the beloved series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that started it all. But what was life really like for the girl everyone loved to hate? Hollywood Memoir: Go behind the scenes of Little House on the Prairie with scandalous, funny stories about Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, and the rest of the cast. Dysfunctional Family: Read about her bohemian upbringing in 1960s Hollywood with her gay, theatrical father, her voice-actress mother (the voice of Gumby!), and the dark family secrets she survived. Child Actor Survival: Follow her journey from a shy, abused child to an outspoken advocate who learned to embrace her inner ‘prairie bitch’ and use her fame for good. Celebrity Tell-All: Discover her bizarre friendships with icons like Liberace and Christine Jorgensen, the world’s first publicly acknowledged transsexual.

The New Black is Darian Leader's compassionate and illuminating exploration of melancholy What happens when we lose someone we love? A death, a separation or the break-up of a relationship are some of the hardest times we have to live through. We may fall into a nightmare of depression, lose the will to live and see no hope for the future. What matters at this crucial point is whether or not we are able to mourn. In this important and groundbreaking book, acclaimed psychoanalyst and writer Darian Leader urges us to look beyond the catch-all concept of depression to explore the deeper, unconscious ways in which we respond to the experience of loss. In so doing, we can loosen the grip it may have upon our lives. 'His orthodox, psychoanalytical approach, produces an unpredictable, occasionally brilliant book. The New Black is a mixture of Freudian text, clinical assessments and Leader's own brand of gentle wisdom'Herald 'Compelling and important . . . an engrossing and wise book'Hanif Kureishi 'There are many self-help books on the market . . . The New Black is a book that might actually help'Independent Darian Leader is a psychoanalyst practising in London and a member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research and of the College of Psychoanalysts - UK. He is the author of The New Black, Strictly Bipolar, Why do women write more letters than they post?, Promises lovers make when it gets late, Freud's Footnotes and Stealing the Mona Lisa, and co-author, with David Corfield, of Why Do People Get Ill? He is Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Human and Life Sciences, Roehampton University.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER 'Typically exposing, brilliantly written' VOGUE 'Its quick hits of wit are like sniffs from an oxygen mask' NEW YORK TIMES 'Few people are willing to be as human as Lena Dunham' OBSERVER 'A generational voice' FINANCIAL TIMES In this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl asks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain. For the last decade, as she's spent countless hours in doctor's waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham's body has felt, as she puts it, 'like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.' It's not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you - as a twenty-five-year-old - are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist's office to discuss the latest internet disaster. But Dunham does it - even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she's meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her - because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again - if only she could remember who that self was. As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame - from selling the pilot of Girls to the present - in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can't protect you from pain - and begins to control your every move - being famous doesn't stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience. In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can't change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves.

On a spring day in 1993, Nancy Abrams helped her daughter dress for day care, packed her lunch, and said good-bye. Next she drove to court, where she learned that in the eyes of the law she was nothing more than “a biological stranger” to the child she helped bring into the world and raise. That was the last time she would see her daughter or hear her voice for five years. The Other Mother begins as Abrams and her female lover decide to start a family together. With giddy anticipation, they search for a sperm donor, shop for baby clothes and crib, and attend childbirth classes. But despite their high hopes, the relationship begins to fall apart, and they separate when their daughter is a toddler. Problems between the two intensify until, shortly before her daughter’s fifth birthday, Abrams loses custody. In unprecedented depth, Abrams’s compelling narrative examines the social, legal, and political implications of gay and lesbian parenting. Her haunting memoir asks the question, “What makes a mother?” It is a question that biological parents, co-parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, and divorced parents must each answer in their own way. In telling one woman’s story, The Other Mother makes a solid case for legal protections, including marriage, for lesbian and gay families.