Biographies & Memoirs

After the death from cancer of his husband, Antony Sher, Greg Doran stepped down from his role as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, and inspired by the surprising history of the company's own copy, he set out to see how many of these important volumes he could find. The journey took him to Japan, where Doran met the emperor, and to New Zealand and South Africa where the legacy of Shakespeare has become entwined with the story of colonialism.

At just four years old, Reza Farahan left Iran for what was supposed to be a quick family trip to Los Angeles. But while he was soaking up the California sun, revolution erupted back home, and Reza's short stay turned into permanent exile. Caught between cultures, identities, and expectations, Reza was an outsider in every sense of the word. He was a half-Muslim, half-Jewish, gay Persian kid just trying to survive 1980s America―a place that saw him as a threat, even when all he wanted was to belong. But with an unapologetic spirit and bold personality, Reza was never destined to simply fit in.

A trans essayist with a checkered past takes on the big questions of human existence Move over Michel de Montaigne, there's a new girl in town An ABA Indie Next Pick A San Francisco Chronicle Women's History Month Book Pick An Allstora Queer History 101 Book Club Pick Set against a...

A best-selling novelist turns to memoir in this compelling story of a son’s love, a mother’s obsession, and the malevolent grip of the past. Indian-American author Manil Suri grew up in a large, crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai), which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three...

“Hiraeth” [heer-eyeth] is a Welsh word that evokes a deep, often indescribable yearning for home, or the very essence of what home represents. In this poignant, sharp, and at times heart-wrenching memoir, Dan Morgan, a Welsh American from Pittsburgh, PA, opens up about the throes of addiction, struggling with sexual identity, and searching for a place to fit without abandoning himself. He shares the highs and lows of his life, touching on his conflicts with family and faith, as well as his adventures in stand-up comedy, Roller Derby, and his role as a Sociology professor.

In May 2023, author Thibault THIBAULT– then Sarah– began a weekly newsletter called Art Date to write about burn-out, art-making, and finding more creative agency and connection in the sprawling isolation of Los Angeles. What resulted was a wild year filled with rejections, wins, media attention, a digital detox, and the beginning of a multi-year process of coming out as trans.

In this call for a “renewal” within the Latter-day Saint tradition that is as fervent as it is sincere, Nathan Kitchen has offered us a gift. This memoir provides a compelling glimpse not only into Kitchen’s own moving experience, but into the world of paradoxes, pain, and progress inhabited by those who aim to balance both queer and Mormon identities.

The Woman Inside: From Outer Space to Inner Peace will take you on a journey of self-discovery. Throughout a 34-year career at NASA, launching rockets or leading teams, while literally traveling around the world, the book takes you on a journey of discovery and transformation. This is one woman’s experience of transitioning from presenting as male to presenting as female. You will join me as I overcome the societal expectations that are assigned at birth and learn to, understand the difference between sexual hardware and gender software.

Exile of the Heart is a deeply moving and lyrical memoir by journalist Rasheed Abou-Elsamh, chronicling a lifelong search for belonging across borders, languages, and faiths. Born into a diplomatic family, Rasheed grew up in Geneva and Brasília, suspended between cultures, cosmopolitan yet rootless, privileged yet unsure of where home truly was. His story unfolds through vivid, intimate vignettes that reveal the beauty and ache of living between worlds.

Most Orthodox Jewish boys at the turn of the 20th century did not run away from home. Did not join the circus. Did not find fame. And did not find herself. Flo did. From the shtetl to the Big Top, Flo’s true story inspires. Despite all odds, through sheer grit and the power of art, Flo’s escape from a father’s violence, a world of anti-Semitism and rampant Queer intolerance takes listeners on a remarkable journey; and one that illuminates a path out for those who similarly struggle.