Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer by Dylan Mulvaney

 Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer by Dylan Mulvaney-266 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Actress and content creator Dylan Mulvaney’s honest account of her journey through girlhood

When Dylan Mulvaney came out as a woman online, she was a viral sensation almost overnight, emerging as a trailblazing voice on social media. Dylan’s personal coming-out story blossomed into a platform for advocacy and empowerment for trans people all over the world. Through her “Days of Girlhood” series, she connected with followers by exploring what it means to be a girl, from experimenting with makeup to story times to spilling the tea about laser hair removal, while never shying away from discussing the transphobia she faced online. Nevertheless, she was determined to be a beacon of positivity.

But shortly after she celebrated day 365 of being a girl, it all came screeching to a halt when an innocuous post sparked a media firestorm and right-wing backlash she couldn’t have expected. Despite the vitriolic press and relentless paparazzi, Dylan was determined to remain loud and proud.

In Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer, Dylan pulls back the curtain of her “It Girl” lifestyle with a witty and intimate reflection of her life pre- and post-transition. She covers everything from her first big break in theater to the first time her dad recognized her as a girl to how she handled scandals, cancellations, and . . . tucking. It’s both laugh-out-loud funny and powerfully honest—and is a love letter to everyone who stands up for queer joy.

Thoughts: I picked this up not realizing Mulvaney was the one in the Bud Light commercial/ad that conservative media (and Kid Rock among others) went berserk over. This is an insightful look into one person's experience as a transgender woman and coming out to her family. She documented her experience for a year on Tiktok and became pretty famous. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed Mulvaney's humor. I like to read books from people's perspectives/experiences that are different from mine. I am an LGBTQ+ ally, but not a member of the community and I am still learning. 

 

The Tainted Legacy of Bertha Gifford: A Memoir by S. Kay Murphy (161 pages)

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

From Goodreads:

On August 25, 1928, the sheriff of St. Louis County took into custody a fifty-year-old Missouri farmwife. Authorities sought to question her in a mystery which had been building for twenty years: Was she a selfless saint who voluntarily cared for the acutely ill in order to nurse them back to health and restore them to their families? Or a minister of death whose crimes would qualify her as one of America’s few female serial killers? In this riveting nonfiction memoir, journalist S. Kay Murphy searches for the truth about her own great-grandmother—accused murderer Bertha Gifford.

My Thoughts:

I knew of Bertha Gifford before I read this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by all of the new information I gleaned. This book captured my interest from the dedication page. It was touching, deep, and complex, and I left with a different opinion of Bertha Gifford than I did when I started reading the book.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

 Yes Please by Amy Poehler - 329 pages

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

Opinion: I like reading memoirs and thought this one was decent. Amy Poehler is funny and had good bits of wisdom scattered throughout, too. I listened to the audiobook of this, instead of reading it, and I'm glad I did. I'm not big into audiobooks but I think I'd rather have listened to this than read it, because she invited other people to read portions that were relevant to them, like her parents or Seth Meyers, which was cool. Obviously with her being a comedian, it added to the humor when she did voices or changed her tone and stuff.

HOW TO SHARE AN EGG: A TRUE STORY OF HUNGER, LOVE, AND PLENTY by BONNY REICHERT

 HOW TO SHARE AN EGG: A TRUE STORY OF HUNGER, LOVE, AND PLENTY by BONNY REICHERT  (Pgs 304) 

A moving culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family—sustenance and survival—from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor. When you’re raised by someone who once survived on potato peels and coffee grounds, you develop a pretty healthy respect for food. Bonny Reichert avoided everything to do with the Holocaust until she found herself, in midlife, suddenly typing those words into an article she was writing. The journalist had grown up hearing stories about her father’s near-starvation and ultimate survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau, but she never imagined she would be able to face this epic legacy head on. Then a chance encounter with a perfect bowl of borscht in Warsaw set Bonny on a journey to unearth her culinary lineage, and she began to dig for the roots of her food obsession, dish by dish. Tracing the defining moments of her life, from her colorful childhood in the restaurant business to the crumbling of her first marriage and the intensity of young motherhood, her decision to become a chef and that life-altering visit to Poland, the author recounts a tale of scarcity and plenty, stepping into the kitchen to connect her past to her future. Whether it's the flaky potato knishes and molasses porridge bread she learned to bake at her Baba Sarah’s elbow, the creamy vichyssoise she taught herself to cook in her tiny student apartment, or the brown butter eggs her father, now 93, still scrambles for her whenever she needs comfort, cuisine is both an anchor and an identity; a source of joy and a signifier of survival. How to Share an Egg is a journey of deep flavors and surprising contrasts. By turns sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, this is one woman's search to find her voice as a writer, chef, mother and daughter. Do the tiny dramas of her own life matter in comparison to everything her father has seen and done? This moving exploration of heritage, inheritance, and self-discovery sets out to find the answer.

HOW TO SHARE AN EGG: A TRUE STORY OF HUNGER, LOVE, AND PLENTY by BONNY REICHERT

HOW TO SHARE AN EGG: A TRUE STORY OF HUNGER, LOVE, AND PLENTY by BONNY REICHERT  (Pages 304)

 A moving culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family—sustenance and survival—from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor.When you’re raised by someone who once survived on potato peels and coffee grounds, you develop a pretty healthy respect for food.Bonny Reichert avoided everything to do with the Holocaust until she found herself, in midlife, suddenly typing those words into an article she was writing. The journalist had grown up hearing stories about her father’s near-starvation and ultimate survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau, but she never imagined she would be able to face this epic legacy head on. Then a chance encounter with a perfect bowl of borscht in Warsaw set Bonny on a journey to unearth her culinary lineage, and she began to dig for the roots of her food obsession, dish by dish. Tracing the defining moments of her life, from her colorful childhood in the restaurant business to the crumbling of her first marriage and the intensity of young motherhood, her decision to become a chef and that life-altering visit to Poland, the author recounts a tale of scarcity and plenty, stepping into the kitchen to connect her past to her future. Whether it's the flaky potato knishes and molasses porridge bread she learned to bake at her Baba Sarah’s elbow, the creamy vichyssoise she taught herself to cook in her tiny student apartment, or the brown butter eggs her father, now 93, still scrambles for her whenever she needs comfort, cuisine is both an anchor and an identity; a source of joy and a signifier of survival.How to Share an Egg is a journey of deep flavors and surprising contrasts. By turns sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, this is one woman's search to find her voice as a writer, chef, mother and daughter. Do the tiny dramas of her own life matter in comparison to everything her father has seen and done? This moving exploration of heritage, inheritance, and self-discovery sets out to find the answer.

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

 Madly, Deeply: The diaries of Alan Rickman Forward by Emma Thompson 480 Pages

Summary: From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today.

But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn't confined to just his performances. As you'll find, Rickman's diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward's Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.

Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon.
Madly, Deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by Emma Thompson, and an afterword by Rima Horton.

My Thoughts: Not going to lie, this was a struggle to get through. I enjoyed learning more about his life from the view of his diaries, but I wish he had actually written a memoir before he died, or had a biography written about him with information from his diaries, but not just his diary entries.  I had to look at the footnotes constantly and the diaries, while in order, it was all over the place with different information and things each day, like a diary should be. It was hard for me to follow though at times. 

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry 250 Pages

Summary: “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

My Thoughts: Oh my goodness you guys... I was not ready for the first 3 sentences. I cried right at the beginning with those three sentences. This was the hardest book EVER for me to get through. I have been a Friends fan all my life and I adored the character Chandler Bing. The amount of times Matthew Perry struggled with his sobriety and the amount of times he consistently failed. The other thing that made it so difficult was I also listened to the audiobook version and he narrates the entire memoir. 

My Time to Stand: A Memior

My Time to Stand: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Blanchard and etal. 264 Pages 

Summary: A victim of her mother’s Munchausen by proxy and child abuse survivor, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s unique and controversial case made headlines across the world.

Now, she’s finally free to start living her life on her terms—and to tell her own story as only she can.

Forced to use a wheelchair in public and endure a lifetime of faux illness, fraud, and exploitation, Gypsy was subjected not only to her mother’s medical, physical, and emotional abuse, but deprived of childhood milestones. Prevented from attending school or socializing, Gypsy’s formative years were defined by pain and isolation.

After serving 8 years in prison for the role she played in her mother Dee Dee’s murder, Gypsy is embracing her fresh start—and reminding all of us that it’s never too late.

In this revelatory, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful memoir, Gypsy shares the painful realities she grew up with and the details of her life that only she knows, including:
The abusive cycle that began with Dee Dee’s abuse by her father
Gypsy’s fear that continued unnecessary surgery would leave her truly disabled
How she coped with guilt and accepted responsibility for her mother’s death
Memories of her final days in prison
What she learned upon reviewing her own medical records for the first time
How it felt to finally see her family again as her authentic self

Featuring Blanchard family photos and new facts about Gypsy’s life that she previously kept private, My Time to Stand offers an unprecedented look at the real Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, proudly embarking on her ongoing journey to recovery and self-discovery.

My Thoughts: I actually really enjoy reading about Gypsy Rose. I hate that this all happened to her and don't necessarily agree with how she handled it, but also I get why she did what she did. I truly am enjoying learning about her more now that she's out of jail and is actually taking the steps to become a better human and embracing finding out who she wants to be. It was a good book to read if you've ever had any curiosity about her life as we get a glimpse of her now in her 30's and reflecting back on her past. 

LIFE IN THE GARDEN by PENELOPE LIVELY

 LIFE IN THE GARDEN by PENELOPE LIVELY (Pages 199)

The two central activities in my life - alongside writing - have been reading and gardening.

Penelope Lively has always been a keen gardener. This book is partly a memoir of her own life in gardens: the large garden at home in Cairo where she spent most of her childhood, her grandmother's garden in a sloping Somerset field, then two successive Oxfordshire gardens of her own, and the smaller urban garden in the North London home she lives in today.
It is also a wise, engaging and far-ranging exploration of gardens in literature, from Paradise Lost to Alice in Wonderland, and of writers and their gardens, from Virginia Woolf to Philip Larkin.

I also enjoy gardening and reading, and felt a kinship with the author. It was lovely reading about her gardens in places that I will never be able to visit, which is why I especially take pleasure in reading her story.

It Gets Better... Except When It Gets Worse: And Other Unsolicited Truths I Wish Someone Had Told Me by Nicole Maines

It Gets Better... Except When It Gets Worse: And Other Unsolicited Truths I Wish Someone Had Told Me by Nicole Maines-214 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nicole Maines played Dreamer on The CW's Supergirl TV series. Here, she writes about her journey as a transgender person growing up in Maine. She endured bullying and ridicule as a child. A male classmate went into the girl's bathroom to stalk her because he felt she was using the wrong bathroom. After that incident, the school Nicole was attending at the time forced her to use a separate bathroom and did nothing when she was bullied. Nicole and her family would later sue that school district and win, but that did little since it was years later and she was attending a different school that accepted her. Nicole also discusses her years on Supergirl, moving to Los Angeles, and her political views (briefly) among other things. This is a really good read, especially in regards to her perspective as a trans woman. 
 

THE YEAR OF LESS: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away All My Belongings, and Discovered That Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by CAIT FLANDERS

THE YEAR OF LESS: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away All My Belongings, and Discovered That Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by CAIT FLANDERS (pgs 187)

In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy--only keeping her from meeting her goals--she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.
The Year of Less documents Cait's life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.
The challenge became a lifeline when, in the course of the year, Cait found herself in situations that turned her life upside down. In the face of hardship, she realized why she had always turned to shopping, alcohol, and food--and what it had cost her. Unable to reach for any of her usual vices, she changed habits she'd spent years perfecting and discovered what truly mattered to her.
Blending Cait's compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you're holding on to in your own life--and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.

THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING by ELISABETH TOVA BAILEY

 THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING by ELISABETH TOVA BAILEY (PGS 208)

In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a Neohelix albolabris —a common woodland snail.

While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own confined place in the world.

Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, providing a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small animal. 

Told with wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own human existence and provides an appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.

I found this to be a clear-cut and interesting read.

Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir by Dolly Alderton

Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir by Dolly Alderton (368 pages)

Summary: When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming an adult, journalist and former Sunday Times columnist Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, realizing that Ivan from the corner shop might just be the only reliable man in her life, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else— realizing that you are enough.

Opinion: I'm not normally a memoir or autobiography reader. However, I'm very glad that I picked this book up because it was such a fun, relatable read. The book is comprised of short stories, letters, recipes, etc. to paint a picture of Dolly's life from late teens to early 30s. There were so many heartfelt and sad moments that had me near tears and so many funny moments that had me laughing. While reading this book, I felt like I had a connection or understanding with the author as I watched her face big life events and grow up. I'll definitely be recommending this book to friends.

CLASS: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by STEPHANIE LAND

 CLASS: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by STEPHANIE LAND (Pgs 285)

When Stephanie Land set out to write her memoir Maid, she never could have imagined what was to come. Handpicked by President Barack Obama as one of the best books of 2019, it was called “an eye-opening journey into the lives of the working poor” (People). Later it was adapted into the hit Netflix series Maid, which was viewed by 67 million households and was Netflix’s fourth most-watched show in 2021, garnering three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Stephanie’s escape out of poverty and abuse in search of a better life inspired millions.

Maid was a story about a housecleaner, but it was also a story about a woman with a dream. In Class, Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn including a byzantine loan system, not having enough money for food, navigating the judgments of professors and fellow students who didn’t understand the demands of attending college while under the poverty line—Land finds a way to survive once again, finally graduating in her mid-thirties.

Class paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture? In clear, candid, and moving prose, Class grapples with these questions, offering a searing indictment of America’s educational system and an inspiring testimony of a mother’s triumph against all odds.

THE BOOK OF STILLMEADOW by GLADYS TABER

 THE BOOK OF STILLMEADOW by GLADYS TABER Pgs 273

"The ancient house speaks to us. Footfalls sound on the steep stairs, doors open softly, floorboards creak, echoing lives lived here long, long ago. And I think echoes of the lives of our family will be here, too."

When Gladys Taber and her friend Jill bought the shabby seventeenth-century Connecticut farmhouse, they saw it as a weekend escape from the city for their husbands and children.

But eventually they lived there year round, in the old country house they worked hard to restore. This is a book about them and their beloved Stillmeadow: the flow of the seasons, the garden produce, the neighbors who came to visit, and the children who loved Stillmeadow. It all comes to life in this round-the-calendar record of the changing seasons of the land and of the heart. 

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya, 275 p.

 "Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were "thunder." It was 1994, and in 100 days more than 800,000 people would be murdered in Rwanda and millions more displaced. Clemantine and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, ran and spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries searching for safety--hiding under beds, foraging for food, surviving and fleeing refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing unimaginable cruelty. They did not know whether their parents were alive.
At age twelve, Clemantine, along with Claire, was granted asylum in the United States--a chance to build a new life. Chicago was disorienting, filled with neon lights, antiseptic smells, endless concrete. Clemantine spoke five languages but almost no English, and had barely gone to school. Many people wanted to help--a family in the North Shore suburbs invited Clemantine to live with them as their daughter. Others saw her only as broken. They thought she needed, and wanted, to be saved. Meanwhile Claire, who had for so long protected and provided for Clemantine, found herself on a very different path, cleaning hotel rooms to support her three children.

Raw, urgent, yet disarmingly beautiful, The Girl Who Smiled Beads captures the true costs and aftershocks of war: what is forever lost, what can be repaired, the fragility and importance of memory, the faith that one can learn, again, to love oneself, even with deep scars."--Goodreads blurb

Following Clemantine through her trek from Rwanda to the U.S. was heart-wrenching, but the writing and story were very immersive. She didn't shy away from running from the genocide, but maybe even as important, she didn't shy away from the imperfect time she had once "settling" into America. It wasn't a fairytale story as much as we would have liked it to be. 

NOWHERE FOR VERY LONG by BRIANNA MADIA

 NOWHERE FOR VERY LONG by BRIANNA MADIA  PGS 257

A woman defined by motion, Brianna Madia bought a beat-up bright orange van, filled it with her two dogs Bucket and Dagwood, and headed into the canyons of Utah with her husband on a journey of discovery. Nowhere for Very Long is her story of exploration--of the world outside and the spirit within. From the backroads to the breakdowns, married to solo, lost to found, it is the chronicle of a woman in the wild, learning and unlearning.

Brianna knew her road would be the one less traveled from an early age. Rejecting the competitive and capitalistic path set out before her, she chose to seek a truer version of happiness, a road scary, uncertain, and entirely her own. But pursing a life of intention isn't always what it seems. In fact, at times it was downright boring, exhausting, lonely, and even desperate----when the van overheated and she was forced to pull over on a lonely stretch of Wyoming highway; when the weather was bitterly cold and the water jugs froze beneath her we she slept in the parking lot of her office; when she faced tough choices, hard truths, and inevitable regrets; when she worried about money, her marriage, and the looming question mark of her future. But this life was a life of her choosing and that made all the difference.

Nowhere for Very Long isn't about extreme minimalism or tiny house living or #VanLife. It's about cherishing the moment and being a woman living a life true to herself, come what may.