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Books for a Fresh Start: Inspirational Biographies
By Emily Hoang
New year, new you. I make New Year resolutions every year, but it never gets easier trying to maintain any new habits or staying motivated. What’s been most helpful is building community and hearing about other people’s stories. Here are a couple biographies that talk about overcoming adversity and reinventing yourself, the perfect way to kick off the new year. It’s in no way an extensive list, but it may help you stay on track for your goals in the beginning of the year!
Everything Tyler Merritt thought was important in life changed after his cancer diagnosis. After a highly invasive surgery, he thought he was in the clear, but the cancer had other plans. It was only a matter of when the tumor would come back. This Changes Everything is an optimistic love letter of how each of us can make the most of the time we have left.
Read our Open Book interview with Tyler Merritt here.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around January 14, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
In this frank, witty memoir, Connie Chung recounts how she became the first Asian woman to break into an overwhelmingly white, male-dominated television news industry. As the youngest of ten children, she was the only one born in the U.S. after her parents escaped war-torn China. From her close relationship with her husband, Maury Povich, to the horrific memory of being molested by the doctor who had delivered her, she talks about the good, bad, and ugly of her personal and professional life.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around September 17, 2024. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Nikkya Hargrove spent a good portion of her childhood vising her mother in prison. Addicted to cocaine and just out of prison, her mother had a son and died shortly after. At the time, Nikkya freshly graduated from high school and decided to fight for custody of her half-brother, Jonathan.
She gives an honest portrayal of her family’s reaction to her coming out as a Black queer young woman and her determination to give Jonathan an easier upbringing, whether that be through clashes with Jonathan’s biological father or battling for Jonathan’s education rights. This memoir will give you the strength to never give up and find help within your community.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 15, 2024. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Award-winning hoops journalist Mirin Fader explores Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon’s life as the first international player to win the MVP. Fader provides a definitive biography, from Olajuwon’s commitment to Islam on his approach to life and basketball to his ongoing work with NBA Africa. His impact has changed the game, influencing NBA and collegiate teams to have international players dotting their rosters.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 15, 2024. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin brings us into his world in this part memoir, part invitation: how Chung’s Cantonese cuisine plays a huge role in his life, where he learned to embrace his identity as a gay ABC, and where he realized just how much he had to offer the world, his family, and himself. Readers will feel like they’ve got a glimpse of what it’d be like to grow up with him and maybe even share something off the secret menu.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 17, 2023. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.