Elissa Walls was a star witness who bought down a notorious cult leader. Warren Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), routinely placing himself above the law. By his divine revelations, he regularly ordered plural marriages, among his devotees. At age fourteen, despite her repeated protests, Elissa was ordered by Jeffs to marry her nineteen year old first cousin. That relationship was abusive and loveless. Elissa suffered through years of repeated miscarriages and estrangement from family members, including her mother, until she gathered the resources to free herself. Follow her memoir in Stolen Innocence, for a fascinating inside look into this fringe culture from the eyes of a child.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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For contemporary icons, both Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe reluctantly embraced their signature mediums. In the late 1960s, they came together by chance in New York with surging creativity, but lacking resources. Smith’s Just Kids, recounts the support they gave each other as artists, keeping themselves afloat through money problems, identity, and health crises. Smith gently details Mapplethorpe’s all-consuming meticulousness, a trait he ultimately leveraged through his portraits and floral images. Fundamentally a poet, Smith also evolved into a visual artist and performer. She still writes and tours as she nears her seventh decade. Just Kids, is another gift of unconditional love to Robert, from Patti.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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Not only is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a world-class knitter and author of many pattern and instructional guides, but she is also a storyteller. Fresh and funny, Pearl-McPhee’s essays are both for fiber addicts, as well as their friends and family who struggle to understand them. (Why knit your socks when you could just buy them?!) In Free Range Knitter: the Yarn Harlot Writes Again are grouped by politics, perseverance, families, belonging, and more. This native of Canada can turn a simple episode concerning a middle-aged mom trying to reclaim her childhood love of winter sports into a full-colored laugh fest. Everywhere knitting and the human condition collide, Pearl-McPhee is there with witty, thoughtful commentary.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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“You make sure Day takes care of them children.” These were Henrietta Lacks’s last words when she died of cervical cancer in 1951 at age 31. Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer, thought her five children would be her legacy. Little did she know, doctors cultured cells from her cervix without her consent. They became known as HeLa cells. However, no one knew anything about her. Skloot took a decade to interview the Lacks family and scientists to document the history of Henrietta Lacks and her cells. She uses layman’s terms and alternates chapters discussing Lacks and the history of her cells. She includes a cast of characters, a time line, and a detailed index. Skloot combines history, suspense, and great storytelling to create a page-turner.

Reviewed by Megan M., Main Library

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British writer Frances Osborne brings to life an irrepressible woman, her great grandmother Idina Sackville, with help from diaries and stories from family members. During the Edwardian period, life was lived on a grand scale (for some!) and Ms Osborne shows us the lifestyle of the rich and famous. The `Bolter` in the title refers to Idina`s scandalous behavior in abandoning her husband and children and marrying and divorcing 5 times. After the end of World War I, Idina went to Africa where her out of bounds behavior created more scandal for British society. This is a fascinating book about a time in Edwardian history that everyone will enjoy, especially fans of Downton Abbey.

Reviewed by Karen K., Myers Park Branch

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Estelle Gross experienced “death by a thousand cuts” according to her daughter, New York Times columnist, Jane Gross, who started the newspaper’s New Old Age Blog. Estelle Gross had several small strokes. Her mom, a widow, was not close to her son and daughter until she got sick. Jane Gross takes us on her caregiving journey from her mother’s initial decline to finding a facility to the end of her life. She investigates all aspects of care-giving from finding a doctor to care facilities to navigating Medicare and Medicaid laws. Gross did a detailed index and an annotated list of online resources organized by topic. She shares her research using personal anecdotes, filled with advice, empathy and humor, on how to care for the our parents and ourselves.

Reviewed by Megan M., Main Library

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Becker`s Bridal Shop is located in a small rural Michigan town and has been run by Becker women since 1934. Jeffrey Zaslow gives a charming account of the shop’s history and the secrets and emotions that brides have brought to this shop for the past seven decades. He describes the delicate and complex relationships between the brides and their mothers and how those relationships have changed with time. The brides that enter the shop never know how their lives will unfold. Some will encounter car accidents, alcholic husbands, illness and divorce. However, the moment they put on their wedding gown and step into the Magic Room at the shop with the soft music and lighting their future is promising and the world is right.

Reviewed by Lynne H., South County Regional

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Having an eccentric Texan taxidermist as a loving dad is bound to leave an indelible imprint on a girl. When that child grows from a child wearing sandwich bags on her feet, with photos to prove it, to a zany Internet sensation, The Bloggess (www.bloggess.com), the reader is guaranteed a gut-busting wild ride through her memoir, “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.” Jenny Lawson’s random, stream-of-consciousness stories of her childhood, her marriage, family, and beyond, often complimented with snazzy snapshots, somehow wind their way around to a coherent narrative…sometimes. It’s like watching Comedy Central, only reading…sort of. What is it is entertaining, delightfully self-effacing, and downright sardonic…Jenny’s book, that is.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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Intimacy is a multi-faceted balance, both with one’s self or others, physically or emotionally. When pain becomes an element in that mix, balance is turned on its ear. In “The Camera My Mother Gave Me,” Susanna Kaysen, author of “Girl, Interrupted,” shares her journey through the mainstream and alternative medical establishments to find a diagnosis and solution to her persistent, private pain. Kaysen allows the reader to be nagged by the possibility that the problem is all in her head, but undertones of abuse demand that she be taken seriously, in any case. Her telling is entertaining and darkly humorous, despite the nature of her malaise.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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Have you ever been perplexed as to why this guy who you think is interested in you stops calling after a couple of dates? Ever wonder why you can’t get your guy to show his love for you the way you show how much you love him? Do you want to know why you keep coming across men who cheat? Through his vast experience and the many relationship questions he has been asked on his highly successful radio talk show, Steve Harvey brings you answers and insights to your most burning questions about men and relationships. In his debut book the comedian lets you in on the male mindset and what their thinking before, during, and after a relationship. This is a must read.

Reviewed by Jessica W., University City Regional

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