Dry (2003)

Beautiful Boy

David Sheff

2007 · 344 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3 A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? The police? The hospital?), the rehabs. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll, but as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on him. Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional roller coaster of loving a child who seems beyond help

Binge

Tyler Oakley

2015 · 307 pages · 2 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

"Pop culture phenomenon, social rights advocate, and the most prominent LGBTQ voice on YouTube, Tyler Oakley brings you his first collection of witty, personal, and hilarious essays written in the voice that's earned him more than twenty-one million followers across social media. For someone who made a career out of over-sharing on the Internet, Tyler Oakley has a shocking number of personal mishaps and shenanigans to reveal in his first book: he experienced a legitimate rage blackout in a Cheesecake Factory; he had a fashion stand-off with the White House Secret Service; he crashed a car in front of his entire high school in an Arby's uniform; he projectile vomited while bartering with a grandmother. With millions of fans clamoring for more Tyler Oakley, he delivers his best untold, hilariously side-splitting moments with trademark flair in Binge"--

Late Migrations

Margaret Renkl

2019 · 248 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

Kitchen Confidential

Anthony Bourdain

2000 · 320 pages · 2 reviews

Others: Positive

A celebrity chef shares anecdotes of his experience in the restaurant industry, and of his journey from dishwasher to a position of fame in the food industry.

Rapture practice

Aaron Hartzler

2013 · 403 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

In this funny and heartfelt coming-of-age memoir, the author recalls his teenage journey to find the person he is without losing the family who loves him. The plot contains sexual situations.

How to Be Black

Baratunde R. Thurston

2011 · 254 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

Have you ever been called "too black" or "not black enough"? Have you ever befriended or worked with a black person? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you. Raised by a pro-black, Pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has over thirty years' experience being black. Now, through stories of his politically inspired Nigerian name, the heroics of his hippie mother, the murder of his drug-abusing father, and other revelatory black details, he shares with readers of all colors his wisdom and expertise in how to be black. Beyond memoir, this guidebook offers practical advice on everything from "How to Be The Black Friend" to "How to Be The (Next) Black President" to "How to Celebrate Black History Month." To provide additional perspective, Baratunde assembled an award-winning Black Panel--three black women, three black men, and one white man (Christian Lander of Stuff White People Like)--and asked them such revealing questions as: "When Did You First Realize You Were Black?" ""How Black Are You?" "Can You Swim?" The result is a humorous, intelligent, and audacious guide that challenges and satirizes the so-called experts, purists, and racists who purport to speak for all black people. With honest storytelling and biting wit, Baratunde plots a path not just to blackness, but one open to anyone interested in simply "how to be."