Biography and Memoir
Enjoy this list of recently published biographies and memoirs highlighting a range of lived experiences, selected by librarians at The Seattle Public Library. (May 2023)
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Red Paint
Indigenous poet and musician LaPointe reflects on home, inheritance, art, and love in this powerful memoir.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Agent Josephine
Lewis covers the lesser-known sides of a fascinating and influential performer whose clandestine activities supported the Allies during World War II .
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Galileo and the Science Deniers
This fresh biography reveals vital lessons from Galileo’s resilience in the face of religious persecution and science denial encountered in reaction to his radical discoveries about astronomy and the natural world.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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I'm Glad My Mom Died
Former child actor and 2000s-era teen star McCurdy unflinchingly recounts the exploitation and abuse she experienced in the entertainment industry and at the hand of the mother she loved.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Like Water
Maeda’s biography of Lee focuses on the Western and Eastern influences on this global martial arts icon whose early life was split between California and Hong Kong.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Path Lit by Lightning
Maraniss tells the story of Thorpe, a remarkable Indigenous athlete who excelled in a wide range of sports from his school days to the Olympics to a professional league, and the racism, discrimination, and ensuing trauma he endured.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Dead Are Arising
This Pulitzer Prize winning biography relies on hundreds of hours of interviews with Malcolm X and the people who knew him best to shed new light on his life and legacy.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Last Folk Hero
Pearlman conducted over 700 interviews to tell the story of baseball and football player Bo Jackson, one of the greatest athletes of all time, and his physical feats of nearly mythological proportions.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Unprotected
Thanks to his immense talent and courage, Porter survived a childhood of bullying and abuse to become the celebrated performer and activist he is today.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Ma and Me
Seattle author and journalist Reang shares her experiences as a gay Cambodian woman living and working across continents and healing from inherited trauma, alongside efforts to understand her mother’s previously opaque personal history.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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