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The house of hidden meanings : a memoir / by RuPaul,1960-author.;
"Central to RuPaul's success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world's largest television franchises, RuPaul's ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul. Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known. In The House of Hidden Meanings, RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history. Here in RuPaul's singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living-a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly. A[n] ... introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; RuPaul, 1960-; African American businesspeople; African American television personalities; Cross-dressers; Drag queens; Gay men; Sexual minorities;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Written in the Waters A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging [electronic resource] : by Roberts, Tara.aut; CloudLibrary;
This searing memoir by a National Geographic explorer recounts one woman's epic journey to trace the global slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean—and find her place in the world. For fans of adventurous women’s memoirs like Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, Cheryl Strayed's Wild, and Jesmyn Ward's Men We Reaped. When Tara Roberts first caught sight of a photograph at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History depicting the underwater archaeology group Diving With a Purpose, it called out to her. Here were Black women and men strapping on masks, fins, and tanks to explore Atlantic Ocean waters along the coastlines of Africa, North America, and Central America, seeking the wrecks of slave ships long lost in time. Inspired, Roberts joined them—and started on a path of discovery more challenging and personal than she could ever have imagined. In this lush and lyrical memoir, she tells a story of exploration and reckoning that takes her from her home in Washington, D.C., to an exotic array of locales: Thailand and Sri Lanka, Mozambique, South Africa, Senegal, Benin, Costa Rica, and St. Croix. The journey connects her with other divers, scholars, and archaeologists, offering a unique way of understanding the 12.5 million souls carried away from their African homeland to enslavement on other continents. But for Roberts, the journey is also intensely personal. Inspired by the descendants of those who lost their lives during the Middle Passage, she decides to plumb her own family history and life as a Black woman to help make sense of her own identity. Complex and unflinchingly authentic, this deeply moving narrative heralds an important new voice in literature that will open minds and hearts everywhere.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Adventurers & Explorers; African American Studies; Personal Memoirs; Women;
© 2025., National Geographic,
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While we were burning / by Koffi, Sara,author.;
"After her best friend's mysterious death, Elizabeth Smith's picture-perfect life in the Memphis suburbs has spiraled out of control-so much so that she hires a personal assistant to keep her on track. Composed and elegant, Brianna is exactly who she needs and slides so neatly into Elizabeth's life, almost like she belonged there from the start. Soon, the assistant Elizabeth hired to distract her from her obsession with her friend's death is the same person working with her to uncover the truth behind it. Because Brianna has questions too. She wants to know why the police killed her young Black son. Why someone in Elizabeth's neighborhood called the cops on him that day. Who took that first step that stole her child away from her. And the only way she's ever going to be able to find out is to entwine herself deep into Elizabeth's life, where the answers to her questions lie. As the two women hurtle towards an electrifying final showdown, and the lines between employer and friend blur, it becomes clear that neither of them is what they first appear"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Psychological fiction.; Novels.; African American mothers; Best friends; Sons; Suburban life;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Price of Water in Finistère [electronic resource] : by Malmsten, Bodil.aut; CloudLibrary;
'In the same way as there's a partner for every person, there's a place. All you have to do is find the one that's yours among the billions that belong to someone else, you have to be awake, you have to choose.' With this conviction in mind, acclaimed Swedish writer Bodil Malmsten abandons her native country at the age of fifty-five and settles in Brittany. At the heart of this memoir is the conviction that the happiness to be found in Finistère will not allow itself to be, cannot be, expressed in writing. Embroidered around this seeming paradox are poignant, outraged and thought-provoking observations on the widest range of subjects: how not to buy plants, the elicit pleasures of bargain-hunting, the misery of writer's block, social democracy, racism, tulipomania, the stubbornness of bank managers, the controlling of moles and slugs, death, political hypocrisy, the delights of wild weather. Malmsten's passion and humour shine through every episode she describes, however minor, offering the reader a window onto a solitary life at once touching, thought-provoking and, occasionally, hilarious.College/higher education.Professional and scholarly.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; France; Essays & Narratives; Personal Memoirs; Emigration & Immigration; Essays & Travelogues;
© 2012., Random House,
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Restaurant kid : a memoir of family and belonging / by Phan, Rachel,author.;
"A warm and poignant narrative about finding one's self amidst the grind of restaurant life, the cross-generational immigrant experience, and a daughter's attempts to connect with parents who have always been just out of reach. When she was three years old, Rachel Phan met her replacement. Instead of a new sibling, her mother and father's time and attention were suddenly devoted entirely to their new family restaurant. For her parents--whose own families fled China during Japanese occupation and then survived bombs and starvation during the war in Vietnam--it was a dream come true. For Phan, it was something quite different. Overnight, she became a restaurant kid, living on the periphery of her own family and trying her best to stay out of the way. As Phan grew up, the restaurant was the most stalwart and suffocating member of her family. For decades, it's been both their crowning achievement and the origin of so much of their pain and suffering: screaming matches complete with smashed dishes; bodies worn down by long hours and repetitive strain; and tenuous relationships where the family loved one another deeply without ever really knowing each other. In Restaurant Kid, Phan seeks to examine the way her life has been shaped by the rigid boxes placed around her. She had to be a "good daughter," never asking questions, always being grateful. She had to be a "real Canadian," watching hockey and speaking English so flawlessly that her tongue has since forgotten how to contort around Cantonese tones. As the only Chinese girl at school, she had to alternate between being the sidekick, geek, or Asian fetish, depending on whose gaze was on her. Now, three decades after their restaurant first opened, Phan's parents are cautiously talking about retirement. As an adult, Phan's "good daughter" role demands something new of her--and a chance to get to know her parents away from the restaurant. In Restaurant Kid, Phan deftly combines candour, wit and insight to craft a vibrant and important narrative on the strength and foibles of family, and how we come to understand ourselves."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Phan, Rachel.; Phan, Rachel; Children of immigrants; Restaurateurs; Restaurateurs; Chinese Canadian women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Stranger care : a memoir of loving what isn't ours / by Sentilles, Sarah,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."May you always feel at home. After their decision not to have a biological child, Sarah Sentilles and her husband, Eric, decided to adopt via the foster care system. Knowing that the goal is reunification with the birth family, Sarah opens their home to a flurry of social workers who question, evaluate, and ultimately prepare them to welcome a child into their family--even if it most likely means giving them up. After years of starts and stops, a phone call finally comes: a three-day old baby girl, in immediate need of a foster family. Sarah and Eric bring this newborn stranger home. "You were never ours," Sarah writes, "yet we belong to each other." A fierce story about love and belonging, Stranger Care shares Sarah's discovery of what it means to take care of the Other--in this case, not just a vulnerable infant, but the birth mother who loves her too. With her trademark "fearless, stirring, rhythmic" (Nick Flynn) prose, the acclaimed author of Draw Your Weapons brings her creative energies to an intimate story, with universal concerns: What does it mean to mother? How can we care for and protect each other? How do we ensure a better future for life on this planet? And if we're all related--tree, bird, star, person--how might we better live?"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Sentilles, Sarah.; Sentilles, Sarah; Adoptive parents; Adopted children;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Chasing lakes : love, science, and the secrets of the Arctic / by Anthony, Katey Walter,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A memoir from permafrost scientist Katey Walter Anthony on her pioneering research studying methane emissions in Arctic lakes-which has made significant contributions to the climate change dialogue-as well as her search for family, faith, and belonging, on her journey to becoming a scientist"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Anthony, Katey Walter.; Climatic changes; Ecologists; Methane;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Being Chinese in Canada : the struggle for identity, redress and belonging / by Dere, William Ging Wee,1949-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."After the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885-construction of the western stretch was largely built by Chinese workers-the Canadian government imposed a punitive head tax to deter Chinese citizens from coming to Canada. The exorbitant tax strongly discouraged those who had already emigrated from sending for wives and children left in China-effectively splintering families. After raising the tax twice, the Canadian government eventually brought in legislation to stop Chinese immigration altogether. The ban was not repealed until 1947. It was not until June 22, 2006, that Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized to the Chinese Canadian community for the Government of Canada's racist legacy. Until now, little had been written about the events leading up to the apology. William Dere's Being Chinese in Canada is the first book to explore the work of the head tax redress movement and to give voice to the generations of Chinese Canadians involved. Dere explores the many obstacles in the Chinese Canadian community's fight for justice, the lasting effects of state-legislated racism and the unique struggle of being Chinese in Quebec. But Being Chinese in Canada is also a personal story. Dere dedicated himself to the head tax redress campaign for over two decades. His grandfather and father each paid the five-hundred-dollar head tax, and the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act separated his family for thirty years. Dere tells of his family members' experiences; his own political awakenings; the federal government's offer of partial redress and what it means to move forward-for himself, his children and the community as a whole. Many in multicultural Canada feel the issues of cultural identity and the struggle for belonging. Although Being Chinese in Canada is a personal recollection and an exploration of the history and culture of Chinese Canadians, the themes of inclusion and kinship are timely and will resonate with Canadians of all backgrounds."--
Subjects: Dere, William Ging Wee, 1949-; Chinese; Chinese; Chinese; Chinese; Chinese Canadians; Chinese Canadians; Chinese Canadians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The midnight children / by Gemeinhart, Dan,author.;
"In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed. But Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window. Timid and lonely, Ravani is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors: What secrets are they hiding? And most mysterious of all...where are the adults? Yet amid this shadowy group of children, Ravani finds an unexpected friend in the warm and gutsy Virginia. But with this friendship comes secrets revealed—and danger. When Ravani learns of a threat to his new friends, he must fight to keep them safe, or lose the only person who has ever understood him."
Subjects: Novels.; Fantasy fiction.; Detective and mystery fiction; Orphans; Runaway children; Friendship; Neighbors; Belonging (Social psychology); JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Orphans & Foster Homes.; JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Children like us : a Métis woman's memoir of family, identity and walking herself home / by Penner, Brittany,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A Métis girl is adopted by a Mennonite family in this breathtaking memoir about family lost and found -- for those who loved From the Ashes, Educated and Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. "Such a lucky child, so many remind me. To be unwanted and then adopted, how lucky. To be raised by someone who doesn't have to love you but chooses to love you -- how special." By the time Brittany Penner is seven years old, she has loved and lost twenty-one foster siblings who have come into her family and left -- all of them Indigenous like her. "When will it be my turn?" she asks her mother time and time again. "When will I be taken away?" You won't be, she is told. You're adopted. You're here to stay. You're the lucky one. Brittany was relinquished into care on the day of her birth in 1989 and adopted by a white Mennonite family in a small prairie town. Her name and where she came from are hidden from her; all she is told is that she is part-Métis. Her childhood is shaped by church, family, service and silence. Her family is continuously shapeshifting as siblings enter and leave, one by one. She knows, to stay, she has to force herself into the mould created for her. She must be obedient. Quiet. Good. No matter what. Whenever she looks in the mirror, she searches her features, wondering if they've been passed down to her by her biological mother. She thinks, if she can ever find her mother, she'll find all the answers she's looking for. As Brittany moves into adolescence and then adulthood, she will uncover answers about her roots and her identity -- but they will be more tangled than she could have imagined. Children Like Us asks difficult questions about family, identity, belonging and cultural continuity. What happens when you find what you are looking for, but it can't offer you everything you need? How do you reckon with the truth of your own story when you've always been told you're one of the "lucky ones"? What does it mean to belong when you feel torn between cultures? And how does a person learn to hold the pain and the grief, as well as the triumphs, the joys and the beauty, allowing none to eclipse the other?"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Penner, Brittany.; Penner, Brittany; Adoptees; Adoptees; Interracial adoption; Métis women; Métis;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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