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Wait softly brother : a novel / by Kuitenbrouwer, Kathryn,1965-author.;
"From lost siblings to the horrors of war to tales of selkie wives, Wait Softly Brother is filled with questions about memory, reality and the truths hidden in family lore. After twenty years of looping frustrations Kathryn walks out of her marriage and washes up in her childhood home determined to write her way to a new life. There she is put to work by her aging parents sorting generations of memories and mementos as biblical rains fall steadily and the house is slowly cut off from the rest of the world. Lured away from the story she is determined to write - that of her stillborn brother, Wulf - by her mother's gift of crumbling letters, Kathryn instead begins to piece together the strange tale of an earlier ancestor, Russell Boyt, who fought as a substitute soldier in the American Civil War. As the water rises, and more truths come to the surface, the two stories begin to mingle in unexpected and beautiful ways. In this elegantly written novel Kuitenbrouwer deftly unravels the stories we are told to believe by society and shows the reader how to weave new tales of hope and possibility."--
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Archives; Brothers; Families; Genealogy; Women authors;

Ballet brown : dancing with heart / by Woodard, Bellen.; Liem, Fanny,1983-;
An inspiring and profoundly moving story about speaking up for yourself and creating healthy spaces from acclaimed CEO, author, and activist Bellen Woodard, creator of the More than Peach project. Bellen Woodard adores ballet and always looks forward to reaching new heights. Though as she moves through dance, she begins to notice that pink leotards, pink shoes, and pink or white tights -- often referred to as ballet pink -- are synonymous with ballet. But what about brown tights and shoes? When her dance studio doesn't act, Bellen takes matters into her own hands and creates a way for all of us to see the "many beautiful colors of dance" -- and she names it ballet brown. This second inspirational picture book from Bellen Woodard is all about standing up for what you know is right, even if the right decision is a difficult one.
Subjects: Picture books.; Autobiographical fiction.; Woodard, Bellen; Ballerinas; Ballet; Human skin color; Individual differences;

Live fast : a novel / by Giraud, Brigitte,1960-author.; Stockwell, Cory,translator.; translation of:Giraud, Brigitte,1960-Vivre vite.English.;
Paced and structured with the inevitable suspense of a countdown, Brigitte Giraud's tense and haunting novel follows one woman's quest to comprehend the motorcycle accident that took the life of her partner Claude at age 41. The narrator of Live Fast recounts the chain of events that led up to the fateful accident, tracing the tiny, madden twists of fate that might have prevented its tragic outcome. Each chapter asks the rhetorical question, "what if," departing from an image or memory from early years meeting in Algeria during the war, to moving to the suburbs of Lyon, buying and renovating a home where they could "put down their suitcase for a whole life." A sensitive elegy to her husband and a subtle, precise vision of a lasting love, Live Fast is a moving and electrifying portrait of two people caught up in the mundane activities of life, forgetting that living itself can be dangerous.
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Giraud, Brigitte, 1960-; Bereavement; Bereavement; Fate and fatalism; Motorcycling accidents;

Every cloak rolled in blood / by Burke, James Lee,1936-author.;
"In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic Holland family saga with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling earthly and supernatural outlaws. Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron's only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next. Drawn from James Lee Burke's own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family."--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Novels.; Criminals; Daughters; Families; Fathers and daughters; Ghosts; Grief; Life change events; Man-woman relationships; Novelists;

Every cloak rolled in blood [sound recording] / by Burke, James Lee,1936-author.; Patton, Will,narrator.; Simon & Schuster Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Will Patton."In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic Holland family saga with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling earthly and supernatural outlaws. Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron's only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next. Drawn from James Lee Burke's own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family."--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Audiobooks.; Novels.; Criminals; Daughters; Families; Fathers and daughters; Ghosts; Grief; Life change events; Man-woman relationships; Novelists;

Starry starry night / by Mootoo, Shani,author.;
"Out of the frayed filaments of the yarn of memory, a cohesive tale is spun. In Starry Starry Night, Shani Mootoo gives us the singular voice of Anju Goshal, a young girl living in 1960s Trinidad. Spanning her life between the ages of four and twelve, we experience the world just as Anju does, coming to understand she has evolved into a keen observer because her safety depends on it. Through her clear-eyed perspective, the reader is fully transported and becomes both a witness to and participant in Anju's negotiations of an unexpectedly new and complex life. Starry Starry Night illuminates the experiences of a well-off and socially advancing family during the turn of a country's fortunes. Thoughtfully articulated via the innocent commentary of a child, the book tackles larger issues of family, loss, and trauma. It relays the story of a British colony just before and after its independence and touches on the racial and class problems faced as a result of colonialism. Beautifully crafted and rich with sumptuous detail, this unique narrative coalesces into a portrait of a child who, despite privileged appearances, must become independent and fend for herself. It also depicts adults who, while so wrapped up in their own dramas, fail to see the needs of the children who depend on them. Starry Starry Night is an innovative and revelatory work of autofiction from a celebrated voice in contemporary fiction."--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Bildungsromans.; Autobiographical fiction.; Novels.; Families; Girls; Nineteen sixties;

Skull water / by Fenkl, Heinz Insu,1960-author.;
"Growing up outside a US military base in South Korea in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Insu--the son of a Korean mother and a German father enlisted in the US Army--spends his days with his "half and half" friends skipping school, selling scavenged Western goods on the black market, watching Hollywood movies, and testing the boundaries between childhood and adulthood. When he hears a legend that water collected in a human skull will cure any sickness, he vows to find some in order to heal his ailing Big Uncle, a geomancer who has been exiled by the family to a mountain cave to die. Insu's quest takes him and his friends on a sprawling, wild journey into some of South Korea's darkest corners, opening them up to a world beyond their grasp. Meanwhile, Big Uncle has embraced his solitude and fate, and as he recalls his wartime experiences of betrayal and lost love, he attempts to teach his nephew that life is not limited to what we can see--or think we know. Largely autobiographical and deeply rooted in time and place, Skull Water is the story of a boy coming into his own--and the ways the past continues to haunt the present in a country struggling to confront its troubled history as it moves into modernity."--
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Bildungsromans.; Novels.; Folklore; Racially mixed people; Traditional medicine; Uncles; Vietnam War, 1961-1975;

Bad bad girl : a novel / by Jen, Gish,author.;
"Gish's mother--Loo Shu-hsin--is born in 1925 to a wealthy Shanghai family where girls are expected to behave and be quiet. Every act of disobedience prompts the same reprimand: "Bad bad girl! You don't know how to talk!" She gets sent to Catholic school, where she is baptized, re-named for St. Agnes, and, unusually for a girl, given an internationally-minded education. Still, her father would say, "Too bad. If you were a boy, you could accomplish a lot." Agnes finds solace in books, reading every night with a flashlight and an English-Chinese dictionary, before announcing her intention to pursue a Ph.D in America. It is 1947, and with the forces of Communist revolution on the horizon, she leaves--never to return. Lonely and adrift in Manhattan, Agnes begins dating Chao-Pei, an engineering student also from Shanghai. While news of their country and their families grows increasingly dire, they set out to make a new life together: marriage, a number one son, a small house in the suburbs. By the time Gish is born, her parents' marriage is unraveling, and her mother, struggling to understand her strong-willed American daughter, is repeating the refrain that punctuated her own childhood: "Bad bad girl! You don't know how to talk!" Bad Bad Girl is a novel about a mother and a daughter forced to reckon with one another across decades of curiosity and ambition, elation and disappointment, intense intimacy and misunderstanding. Spanning continents and generations, this is a rich, heartbreaking portrait of two fierce women locked in a complicated life-long embrace"--
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Chinese American families; Chinese Americans; Chinese diaspora; Emigration and immigration; Intergenerational relations; Interpersonal relations; Mothers and daughters;

Inseparable : a never-before-published novel / by Beauvoir, Simone de,1908-1986,author.; Atwood, Margaret,1939-writer of introduction.; Smith, Sandra,1949-translator.; translation of:Beauvoir, Simone de,1908-1986.Inséparables.English.;
"From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next ten years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War One France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril. Sylvie, insightful and observant, sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy--and at an early age is determined to form her own opinions. Andrée, a tempestuous dreamer, is inclined to melodrama and romance. Despite their different natures they rely on each other to safeguard their secrets while entering adulthood in a world that did not pay much attention to the wills and desires of young women. Deemed too intimate to publish during Simone de Beauvoir's life, Inseparable offers fresh insight into the groundbreaking feminist's own coming-of-age; her transformative, tragic friendship with her childhood friend Zaza Lacoin; and how her youthful relationships shaped her philosophy. Sandra Smith's vibrant translation of the novel will be long cherished by de Beauvoir devotees and first-time readers alike."--
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Bildungsromans.; Feminist fiction.; Historical fiction.; Female friendship;

Scars & stars : poems / by Thistle, Jesse,author.;
"Fans of Jesse Thistle's extraordinary debut From the Ashes have already had the pleasure of reading his poetry, which is sprinkled throughout this bestselling memoir. In Scars and Stars, he digs deeper into the poetic form, which is especially close to his heart. Charting his own history, the stories of people from his past, the burning intensity of new and unexpected love, the complex legacies of family and community, and the beauty of parenthood, this collection is a profound mediation that expands his engagement with the ideas and experiences that have shaped his body of work thus far. Throughout the collection, prose pieces complement the poems, and to bring readers into Jesse's life with greater intimacy than ever before. The result is an unforgettable furthering of his singular story, one that is sure to delight his many readers, but also serve as a perfect entry point for those new to the work of one of our most thrilling and honest writers."--
Subjects: Autobiographical fiction.; Poetry.;