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Fearless and Free A Memoir [electronic resource] : by Baker, Josephine.aut; Oluo, Ijeoma.; Zafar, Anam.; Lewis, Sophie.; cloudLibrary;
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: The TODAY Show, Vanity Fair, W Magazine, Oprah Daily, LibraryReads Praised as “funny and witty” by Kwame Alexander on the TODAY show, now published in the US for the first time, Fearless and Free is the memoir of the “trailblazing” (People), rule-breaking, one-of-a-kind Josephine Baker, the iconic dancer, singer, spy, and Civil Rights activist. “A gorgeous, captivating gem of a memoir… Josephine Baker’s as enthralling on the page as she was on the stage.” —Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author of Eden Undone and Sin in the Second City After stealing the spotlight as a teenaged Broadway performer during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Josephine then took Paris by storm, dazzling audiences across the Roaring Twenties. In her famous banana skirt, she enraptured royalty and countless fans—Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso among them. She strolled the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah wearing a diamond collar. With her signature flapper bob and enthralling dance moves, she was one of the most recognizable women in the world. When World War II broke out, Josephine became a decorated spy for the French Résistance. Her celebrity worked as her cover, as she hid spies in her entourage and secret messages in her costumes as she traveled. She later joined the Civil Rights movement in the US, boycotting segregated concert venues, and speaking at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King Jr. First published in France in 1949, her memoir will now finally be published in English. At last we can hear Josephine in her own voice: charming, passionate, and brave. Her words are thrilling and intimate, like she’s talking with her friends over after-show drinks in her dressing room. Through her own telling, we come to know a woman who danced to the top of the world and left her unforgettable mark on it.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Entertainment & Performing Arts;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,
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Sonny Boy A Memoir [electronic resource] : by Pacino, Al.aut; cloudLibrary;
From one of the most iconic actors in the history of film, an astonishingly revelatory account of a creative life in full To the wider world, Al Pacino exploded onto the scene like a supernova. He landed his first leading role, in The Panic in Needle Park, in 1971, and by 1975, he had starred in four movies—The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon—that were not just successes but landmarks in the history of film. Those performances became legendary and changed his life forever. Not since Marlon Brando and James Dean in the late 1950s had an actor landed in the culture with such force. But Pacino was in his midthirties by then, and had already lived several lives. A fixture of avant-garde theater in New York, he had led a bohemian existence, working odd jobs to support his craft. He was raised by a fiercely loving but mentally unwell mother and her parents after his father left them when he was young, but in a real sense he was raised by the streets of the South Bronx, and by the troop of buccaneering young friends he ran with, whose spirits never left him. After a teacher recognized his acting promise and pushed him toward New York’s fabled High School of Performing Arts, the die was cast. In good times and bad, in poverty and in wealth and in poverty again, through pain and joy, acting was his lifeline, its community his tribe.  Sonny Boy is the memoir of a man who has nothing left to fear and nothing left to hide. All the great roles, the essential collaborations, and the important relationships are given their full due, as is the vexed marriage between creativity and commerce at the highest levels. The book’s golden thread, however, is the spirit of love and purpose. Love can fail you, and you can be defeated in your ambitions—the same lights that shine bright can also dim. But Al Pacino was lucky enough to fall deeply in love with a craft before he had the foggiest idea of any of its earthly rewards, and he never fell out of love. That has made all the difference.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Entertainment & Performing Arts;
© 2024., Penguin Publishing Group,
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Sonny Boy A Memoir [electronic resource] : by Pacino, Al.aut; Pacino, Al.nrt; cloudLibrary;
From one of the most iconic actors in the history of film, an astonishingly revelatory account of a creative life in full To the wider world, Al Pacino exploded onto the scene like a supernova. He landed his first leading role, in The Panic in Needle Park, in 1971, and by 1975, he had starred in four movies—The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon—that were not just successes but landmarks in the history of film. Those performances became legendary and changed his life forever. Not since Marlon Brando and James Dean in the late 1950s had an actor landed in the culture with such force. But Pacino was in his midthirties by then, and had already lived several lives. A fixture of avant-garde theater in New York, he had led a bohemian existence, working odd jobs to support his craft. He was raised by a fiercely loving but mentally unwell mother and her parents after his father left them when he was young, but in a real sense he was raised by the streets of the South Bronx, and by the troop of buccaneering young friends he ran with, whose spirits never left him. After a teacher recognized his acting promise and pushed him toward New York’s fabled High School of Performing Arts, the die was cast. In good times and bad, in poverty and in wealth and in poverty again, through pain and joy, acting was his lifeline, its community his tribe.  Sonny Boy is the memoir of a man who has nothing left to fear and nothing left to hide. All the great roles, the essential collaborations, and the important relationships are given their full due, as is the vexed marriage between creativity and commerce at the highest levels. The book’s golden thread, however, is the spirit of love and purpose. Love can fail you, and you can be defeated in your ambitions—the same lights that shine bright can also dim. But Al Pacino was lucky enough to fall deeply in love with a craft before he had the foggiest idea of any of its earthly rewards, and he never fell out of love. That has made all the difference.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Personal Memoirs; Entertainment & Performing Arts;
© 2024., Penguin Random House,
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We Used to Dream of Freedom A Memoir of Family, the Holocaust, and the Stories We Don't Tell [electronic resource] : by Chaiton, Sam.aut; cloudLibrary;
“Chaiton's fearless and moving memoir is a precious gift to anyone who yearns for a better understanding of intergenerational trauma and the path to true liberation.” — JEANNE BEKER, author, fashion editor, and television personality A child of Holocaust survivors grapples with his parents’ untold stories and their profound effect on the course of his extraordinary life. Growing up in Toronto, Sam Chaiton and his brothers knew their parents had been prisoners in Bergen-Belsen. But what their parents wouldn’t share about their history — including the fact they had also been in Auschwitz — ended up shaping their children’s lives. We Used to Dream of Freedom explores what a family is or could be; the psychology of survivors and the impact of survivor silence on their family; and the responsibility of second generations from traumatized communities to share knowledge from their own histories to help alleviate the suffering of others. Irreverent, moving, and tragic, often all at once, at its heart it is a story of a man who disappeared on his family, his quest to understand why he had to leave, and the long-overdue discovery about his parents that brought him back.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Holocaust;
© 2024., Dundurn Press,
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Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)? Adventures in Boyhood [electronic resource] : by Ellis, Jay.aut; cloudLibrary;
Jay Ellis, star of HBO’s Insecure, tells the story of growing up with an imaginary best friend you will never forget—part Dwayne Wayne from A Different World, part Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air—in this hilarious, vulnerable memoir. “So funny, poignant, and personal. I loved this and you will, too.”—Mindy Kaling, author of Why Not Me? and Nothing Like I Imagined What to do when you’re the perpetual new kid, only child, and military brat hustling school to school each year and everyone’s looking to you for answers? Make some shit up, of course! And a young Jay Ellis does just that, with help from his imaginary friend, Mikey. A testament to the importance of invention, trusting oneself, and making space for creativity, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)? is a memoir of a kid who confided in his imaginary sidekick to navigate parallel pop culture universes (like watching Fresh Prince alongside John Hughes movies or listening to Ja Rule and Dave Matthews) to a lifetime of birthday disappointment (being a Christmas-season Capricorn will do that to you) and hoop dreams gone bad. Mikey also guides Ellis through tragedies, like losing his teenage cousin in a mistaken-target drive-by and the shame and fear of being pulled over by cops almost a dozen times the year he got his driver’s license. As his imaginary friend morphs into adult consciousness, Ellis charts an unforgettable story of looking inward to solve to some of life’s biggest (and smallest) challenges, told in the roast-you-with-love voice of your closest homey.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Essays; Personal Memoirs;
© 2024., Random House Publishing Group,
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The Beautiful Dream A Memoir [electronic resource] : by Hutchinson, Atiba.aut; Robson, Dan.; cloudLibrary;
“A captivating read from one of our country’s greatest athletes.” ―Christine Sinclair, former captain of the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team and National Bestselling Author of Playing the Long Game Out of the Toronto suburb of Brampton comes an irresistible story of trials, perseverance, the limelight of international soccer, and—above all—heart. Despite debuting on Canada’s senior national soccer team 20 years ago, scarce is known of Atiba Hutchinson. We’ve watched him win Canadian Men’s Player of the Year six times; celebrated his club team championships; and mourned his injuries. We’ve lamented the state of Canadian soccer and cursed the lost potential—and years. Yet, we know little about Atiba’s personal life, or how he rose from suburban Brampton to becoming Canada’s most-capped national men’s team player, often described as the country’s greatest athlete you haven’t heard about. For the first time, Atiba is ready to share the extraordinary story of his ascent to the heights of professional soccer, nationally and internationally, and what he believes makes a true champion. The Beautiful Dream is an intimate account of Atiba’s awe-inspiring career, from his humble beginnings to playing across Europe; the crushing disappointment of failing national team competitions in the 2010s that nearly led to his resignation from the national program; all the way to his triumphant arrival in Qatar to face off against 31 other nations at the world’s most pre-eminent soccer competition. He has strived to better not only his own game but the landscape of Canadian soccer for over two decades, culminating in Canada’s first trip to the FIFA World Cup since 1986. Yet, as the reflective midfielder shows, this isn’t just his story: The Beautiful Dream is the story of countless Canadians, who strive and scrape for a seemingly unreachable dream—until their fingertips finally graze the surface. It’s a lesson about the unyielding belief required when taking the long road to success. Atiba's journey mirrors the progression of Canadian soccer, and the story of Canada itself: goals that may begin as outsized but as we work towards them, our world changes with us.  Atiba’s journey of hope, belief, and resilience connects the country’s modest soccer past to a bold, exciting future in the game. It’s a story that transcends the pitch, exploring what it means to be a kid who dares to dream of achieving the impossible, and the man who perseveres to get there.  
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Sports; Soccer;
© 2024., Penguin Canada,
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Be Useful Seven Tools for Life [electronic resource] : by Schwarzenegger, Arnold.aut; Schwarzenegger, Arnold.nrt; cloudLibrary;
The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life—distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, and available for absolutely anyone The world’s greatest bodybuilder. The world’s highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world’s sixth-largest economy. That these are the same person sounds like the setup to a joke, but this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this did not happen by accident.   Arnold’s stratospheric success happened as part of a process. As the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold’s father hammered into him above all: be useful. As Arnold conquered every realm he entered, he kept his father’s adage close to his heart.   Written with his uniquely earnest, blunt, powerful voice, Be Useful takes readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold’s tool kit for a meaningful life. He shows us how to put those tools to work, in service of whatever fulfilling future we can dream up for ourselves. He brings his insights to vivid life with compelling personal stories, life-changing successes and life-threatening failures alike—some of them famous; some told here for the first time ever.   Too many of us struggle to disconnect from our self-pity and connect to our purpose. At an early age, Arnold forged the mental tools to build the ladder out of the poverty and narrow-mindedness of his rural Austrian hometown, tools he used to add rung after rung from there. Now he shares that wisdom with all of us. As he puts it, no one is going to come rescue you—you only have yourself. The good news, it turns out, is that you are all you need.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Personal Memoirs; Inspiration & Personal Growth; Success;
© 2023., Penguin Random House,
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I Am Maria My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home [electronic resource] : by Shriver, Maria.aut; CloudLibrary;
A book like no other, I Am Maria weaves Shriver’s hard-earned wisdom with her own deeply personal poetry. I Am Maria reminds readers there is strength and love on the other side of all of our hardest days. I Am Maria is a powerful collection of Maria Shriver’s own poems that grapple with identity, grief, love, loss, longing, heartbreak and healing. Her deeply personal poems address life’s transitions, challenges, successes and failures. Vulnerable and deeply moving, Shriver’s words are a collection of her life experiences woven into poetry to inspire everyone on their own journey. It is also an invitation for readers to write their own personal poetry, reclaiming the art as accessible to everyone and a tool to look within. I Am Maria is a roadmap for anyone trying to shed the labels, layers, and armor that holds us back from creating a wildly authentic and meaningful life. “I never imagined writing poetry would help me embark On a journey deep into myself I never imagined that everything I sought or thought I needed Was within me all along” —from I Am Maria
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Personal Growth; Women Authors;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,
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I Am Maria My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home [electronic resource] : by Shriver, Maria.aut; Shriver, Maria.nrt; CloudLibrary;
A book like no other, I Am Maria weaves Shriver’s hard-earned wisdom with her own deeply personal poetry. I Am Maria reminds readers there is strength and love on the other side of all of our hardest days. I Am Maria is a powerful collection of Maria Shriver’s own poems that grapple with identity, grief, love, loss, longing, heartbreak and healing. Her deeply personal poems address life’s transitions, challenges, successes and failures. Vulnerable and deeply moving, Shriver’s words are a collection of her life experiences woven into poetry to inspire everyone on their own journey. It is also an invitation for readers to write their own personal poetry, reclaiming the art as accessible to everyone and a tool to look within. I Am Maria is a roadmap for anyone trying to shed the labels, layers, and armor that holds us back from creating a wildly authentic and meaningful life. “I never imagined writing poetry would help me embark On a journey deep into myself I never imagined that everything I sought or thought I needed Was within me all along” —from I Am Maria
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Personal Memoirs; Personal Growth; Women Authors;
© 2025., Penguin Random House,
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Notes to John [electronic resource] : by Didion, Joan.aut; CloudLibrary;
An extraordinary work from the author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights In November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had “a rough few years.” She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. For several months, Didion recorded conversations with the psychiatrist in meticulous detail. The initial sessions focused on alcoholism, adoption, depression, anxiety, guilt, and the heartbreaking complexities of her relationship with her daughter, Quintana. The subjects evolved to include her work, which she was finding difficult to maintain for sustained periods. There were discussions about her own childhood—misunderstandings and lack of communication with her mother and father, her early tendency to anticipate catastrophe—and the question of legacy, or, as she put it, “what it’s been worth.” The analysis would continue for more than a decade. Didion’s journal was crafted with the singular intelligence, precision, and elegance that characterize all of her writing. It is an unprecedently intimate account that reveals sides of her that were unknown, but the voice is unmistakably hers—questioning, courageous, and clear in the face of a wrenchingly painful journey.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Literary; Essays;
© 2025., Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,
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