Quench your curiosity: Read a biography or memoir

Biography is a perennial favorite – people in general are just a little curious, and sometimes obsessed, about the lives of others. Reading biographies and memoirs may make us feel a little wistful, maybe even jealous, at the experiences and opportunities others have had. Other times, we close the book with a sense of overwhelming relief that it happened to them and not us. Take advantage of the library’s new biography titles to expand your own horizons vicariously!

Final Salute, by Jim Sheeler, is an unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead; a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them. They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. “The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know,” said Major Steve Beck.

The Pixar Touch, by David A. Price, relates the roller-coaster rags-to-riches story behind the phenomenal success of Pixar Animation Studios: the first in-depth look at the company that forever changed the film industry and the “fraternity of geeks” who shaped it. Technical innovation revolutionized animation, transforming hand-drawn cell animation to computer-generated 3-D graphics. It’s a triumphant business story of a company that began with a dream, remained true to the ideals of its founders, anti-bureaucratic and artist-driven, and ended up a multibillion-dollar success.

Life Beyond Measure: Letters to my Great-Granddaughter, by Sidney Poitier, is a touching work in which Poitier draws upon the perspective and wisdom gained from his memories as a poor boy in the Bahamas, his experience of racism coming to the United States, falling in love and raising a family, breaking the race barrier in theater and film during the Civil Rights Era, achieving stardom and success in Hollywood, and being a diplomat and humanitarian.

Change in the Weather:  Life after Stroke, by Mark McEwen, with Daniel Paisner, is a candid and moving memoir.  America’s beloved morning-show weatherman recalls his harrowing journey of rehabilitation from a massive stroke. Mark McEwen was at the top of his game and enjoying life when he suffered a stroke. After fifteen years on The Early Show, he had moved to Orlando to anchor the local news and spend more time with his family. While traveling, he experienced symptoms that led him to a hospital, where he was misdiagnosed with the flu. Two days later, on an airplane flight just hours before he finally collapsed, flight attendants and airport staff discounted his slurred speech and heavy sweating.

Change in the Weather traces his recovery in the aftermath of temporarily losing some of his greatest gifts – his talent as a public speaker, and his warm, witty exuberance.  All the while, his wife worked valiantly to care for their children as well as her seriously ill husband. Telling an ultimately triumphant story, McEwen also offers extensive insights into the warning signs of stroke as well as prevention and treatment options.

My Stroke of Insight:  a Brain Scientists’s Personal Journey, by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, describes the aftermath of stroke from another point of view. A brain scientist’s journey from a debilitating stroke to full recovery becomes an inspiring exploration of human consciousness and its possibilities. On the morning of December 10, 1996 Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. A neuroanatomist by profession, she observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four brief hours.

Today Taylor is convinced that the stroke was the best thing that could have happened to her. It has taught her that the feeling of nirvana is never more than a mere thought away. By “stepping to the right of our left brains,” we can all uncover the feelings of well-being and peace that are so often sidelined by our own brain chatter. This fascinating journey into the mechanics of the human mind is both a valuable recovery guide for anyone touched by a brain injury, and an emotionally stirring testimony that deep internal peace truly is accessible to anyone, at any time.