#34 [2026/CBR18] Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

I saw Raising Hare (2025) on so many different lists at the end of the year, but I was a little resistant. All I knew was that a woman raised a baby hare and wrote a book about it. I love animals, so you'd think I'd jump at a chance to read more about them. However, I'm not a big fan of turning wild animals into pets, and I feared that Raising Hare would be some kind of Disney-fied rendition of nature.

Fortunately, I was wrong. I listened to Raising Hare as an Audiobook, and I loved it. As soon as I finished, my inclination was to immediately get the hardcover, so I could read it again myself. (I haven't done that yet, but I think it's only a matter of time).

In February 2021, Chloe Dalton has returned to her country home in the English countryside while everything is shut down by Covid. Her home is a converted barn that sits in the middle of a field and family members live close by. One day she stumbles on a newborn hare lying flat in the middle of the lane. She hopes that its mother will come for it and leaves it be. But when she walks by again, many hours later, the hare is in the same place. Worried that it will get run over or that dogs will get it, Dalton picks up the hare and brings it home.

I learned a lot about hares in this book--primarily, that hares are different from rabbits. Rabbits burrow underground and are born furless and with their eyes closed. Hares do not burrow, but have their babies above ground. Hares are born with fur and with their eyes open. They are able to move very shortly after birth but rely on hiding until they are a little older and faster. When hares are a year or younger, they are called leverets.

Dalton quickly learned that it is very difficult to keep a leveret alive in captivity. It is rarely, if ever, done and there is very little information about it. But she was informed that it was too late to bring the leveret back, now that it had her smell on it. After trying to pawn the leveret off on her sister, Dalton focused on keeping the little thing alive. 

Dalton fed the leveret three times a day, but otherwise handled it only when necessary. She pulled some grasses from the field near where she found the leveret and set up a little home in a shoebox. Critically, Dalton made a hole in the shoe box, so the leveret was not trapped. In fact, the one time Dalton followed "hare-raising" advice from the internet and put the leveret in a cage, was the one time that the leveret did not do well and seemed close to dying. It seems that the stress of captivity is not good for them.

I loved Dalton's approach to keeping the leveret. She used a mix of common sense and a respect for its autonomy as an independent creature. She did not think of it as her pet. She tried not to interfere or control it, and she was always opening up doors in her house so that it had free rein. Dalton wanted the leveret to grow up and live a normal life outside.

It was clear the leveret felt safe with Dalton and the two had a relationship. But this book isn't just about the leveret, but also about how much the leveret changed Dalton. She became so much more aware of the other animals in the fields and the dangers they faced. She started doing research on a large number of new topics as the natural world became more important to her. She learned a number of small things she could do around her house to improve wildlife habitat. The leveret even changed her perspective on success and what she wanted out of life. This small animal that is often overlooked or dismissed as a pest became so interesting and so important as soon as Dalton took the time to observe it with its best interests at heart.

It was inevitable that the leveret raised by Dalton would eventually take off into the fields. Sometimes it would come back in the morning, and sometimes she wouldn't see it for weeks. But one day, Dalton found the young hare's new babies in her garden. And so, she got to learn even more about hares as she watched the hare that she had raised, raise others. 

I loved this book. It seemed like both a small, personal story, and also a meaningful glimpse into a larger world. I'm still thinking about this book many days later. I'm not sure if everyone will find this book as emotional and as powerful as me, but I would highly recommend it.

#32 [2026/CBR18] Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About by Isabel Klee

I stumbled on Isabel Klee on one of my Instagram-reeling marathons (@Simonsits). She seemed like a nice, young woman who fosters dogs and documents their stories on Instagram. She lives in Brooklyn, which I recognized from my visits to my brother and enjoyed seeing again. I've liked her Instagram stories for awhile now. The publicity she brings to her rescue dogs and the rescue organizations she works with bring in a fair bit of money and many potential adopters. Every time she works with partners to advertise things on Instagram, she donates some of that money.

So, when I saw Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About (2026) by Klee, I figured it might be fun to read. I'd heard that she had worked for The Dogist (another NYC-based, social media, dog person), and I was curious about the details. I was also curious how she came to have her dog, Simon, and how he changed her life. In addition, I'd seen Isabel's fiancé on Instagram, and I was curious about their story. I used Audible to listen to the Audiobook, which is read by Klee.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in this book because it wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted to like this book because I liked Klee from Instagram, but there wasn't enough detail for me. If I'm going to read a memoir, then I want to really understand what makes them tick and how they became who they are. Although I superficially learned about some of Klee's previous relationships, I didn't really get a sense of who she was. Many of the dogs that she discusses in her book, I'd seen on Instagram, so she'd taken care of them relatively recently. But she has them interspersed throughout the book with mini lessons of what we can learn from them. I found I enjoyed seeing their stories in person more than reading about them.

Klee writes that she dropped out of college and moved to New York City, something she's always wanted since growing up in New Jersey. She lives in a number of not great apartments with various roommates and dates men who are not great for her--at least two of them cheated on her. I was interested to hear how she adopted Simon, and when she found out that he had a seizure disorder. It was also interesting to see what she thought about her now-fiancé when she first met him. 

It's hard for me to describe what put me off this book. First, I do wish I could have understood her trajectory better. Although she mentions working for Elias for many years (the dogist), there was very little detail about what she did for him besides a couple short stories here and there. I had assumed that it was her work with Elias that led her to developing her own social media platforms, but she never talks about it. Second, I wish Klee had been more specific when discussing her relationships. She would mention an ex-boyfriend and that they had problems, but there were never enough details for me to really see what was happening. Even when she has problems with her current fiancé, she says that she pushed him away because he wasn't crazy about her, then she went to therapy and it was better. It is certainly her right to only divulge what she is comfortable divulging, but I found it frustrating and difficult to relate to. Instead, she used generic descriptions about love and friendship and lessons learned that were hard to hear from someone younger than me without the details to back it up.

I enjoy Klee's content, and I wanted to enjoy this book, but it just wasn't for me.

#29 [2026/CBR18] Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll

I had heard of E. Jean Carroll, her accusations of sexual assault against Donald Trump, and her subsequent lawsuit against him, but I did not pay much attention to the specifics. This was clearly a he said/she said situation, and I believed her. On the one hand you have a woman who told a believable story. On the other hand you have a creepy misogynist, a friend of Epstein, a man who brags about sexual assault on tape, and someone who lies constantly and loudly. Now having read the book, I'm even more sure about Trump's guilt.

I have read a couple other memoirs involving rape, and I think they are important in shedding light on how damaging rape is and how difficult the legal system is for rape victims. It's after reading some of these that I wonder how any victims manage to get through this process. I read Know My Name by Chanel Miller back in 2023, and it was very eye-opening--even though I already knew the basic facts. Miller did a phenomenal job describing the long-lasting physical and emotional impacts of Brock's assault and the subsequent court proceedings.

Not My Type (2025), although it covers similar ground, has a very different feel. E Jean Carroll was 81 when Not My Type was published. She is from a different generation, and she is a very unique woman. She is funny and opinionated and optimistic. She'd prefer to focus on the positive in her life rather than dwelling in painful memories. She is not here to psychoanalyze her feelings. Thus, Not My Type does not go into the same detail describing the emotional toll of the assault that I've seen in other memoirs. Instead, Carroll begins the book by recounting her deposition with Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba as they discuss every man she's ever had sex with. For Carroll, her sex life began after college with her then boyfriend, an Olympic swimmer, and continued to stay [shall we say] impressive throughout most of her life. But after Trump attacked her in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, she never had sex again. 

Because Carroll focuses more on clothing, random asides, and specifics of the trial, her true emotional state mostly comes through with inference. We hear that Trump destroyed her sex life, we hear that she can't even talk about the hundreds of thousands of ugly threats she received after Trump publicly denounced her. Occasionally, Carroll becomes emotional on the Audiotape when talking about her legal team, and you can see how hard this all is on her.

Carroll describes many parts of the trials in great detail, and I learned a lot about what led up to the assault, as well as specific testimony in each of the trials. In fact, I didn't even know there were two trials when I started the book. I loved Carroll's descriptions of all of the attorneys involved, and the testimony was really interesting. It almost made me want to read an entire transcript of the trial. What really stood out, though, was how aggressively Joe Tacopina, Trump's attorney, went after Carroll on cross examination. I can only imagine the optics of a giant, muscle bound man deriding an 80-year-old woman for not screaming when she was sexually assaulted.

I was not looking to read this book until I saw it was available when I was looking for a new Audiobook to read. Now I'm glad I listened to it. Carroll deserves a chance to share her story in a way that is unfettered by Trump's attorneys throwing judgment and blame at her. I'm glad that I now know what she went through and how brave she is to stand up to Trump (well, really, his attorneys). I hope she gets all the money that's owed her.

#27 [2026/CBR18] Burn Book by Kara Swisher

My book club chose Burn Book: A Tech Love Story (2024) by Kara Swisher as our latest book. We'd already read another tech memoir, Careless People, which I enjoyed. I was hoping I would like Burn Book as well. In the end, I didn't love it. Although there were parts that were engaging, I did not have enough interest in or knowledge about the subject matter for me to appreciate it. 

Kara Swisher has been a tech reporter for three decades, covering tech from the very beginning back in the 1990's. She knows all the players, has scooped a good number of stories, and seems to be important in her field. I might have found this book more interesting if I'd heard of her or knew anything about her. But even though I begrudgingly and eventually accept technological progress, I am usually one of the last ones on the bandwagon. My phone does so much for me now, and I really do appreciate it. However, I also feel relief when I go backpacking, and I'm completely disconnected from all of it.

Swisher discusses her relationships with various tech moguls over the years. She mentions conversations she's had with them, articles she's written about them, and interviews she's done with them. Some of these people I'd heard of, including: Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandberg. Many of them I had not heard of, but sometimes I'd heard of their companies. Most of this I didn't find particularly interesting. I understand that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates did some pretty cool things, but I just don't care if they were interviewed together. 

In a similar vein, I appreciate that Apple was at one time a pioneer in products and design, but I'm not a fan. I don't like how you have to have everything Apple to use anything else from Apple. I don't like that I can't see my brother's photo albums because I don't have an iphone. Everyone says Apple is intuitive, but that's only if you've been using Apple products all your life. Sometimes Apple users feel like a cult that I have no interest in joining. Swisher, on the other hand, seems to love Apple and Steve Jobs and she talks about them a lot.

Swisher seems to be smart and funny, and some of her takes were interesting and/or amusing. (She calls Rupert Murdoch, technically her boss at one time, Uncle Satan). I think I would have been more drawn into the book if she had made it more in depth or personal. She would give a little anecdote about a famous tech dude, and then move onto the next one. But because I don't follow that world at all, I did not have the context for it to be meaningful, I often didn't know anything about the person she was talking about, and I didn't feel like I was learning anything.

My favorite parts of the book were when Swisher wrote about where tech was going (AI) and how it could change all of our lives for better or for worse. She warned us a number of times that having a small, homogeneous group of rich, white, men who care more about money and power than the greater good is not who we want making all these decisions. Many of these tech moguls started out wanting to do good in the world, but they've proven that they do not care about harmful side effects and collateral damage (Mark Zuckerberg). Whether spreading misinformation that potentially sways elections or foments violence around the world, or targeting young teens with predatory advertising, they've shown that new technology needs a legal and ethical framework to be safe.

I can imagine the right person loving this book, but I am not that person.

#22 [2026/CBR18] Unshrunk by Laura Delano

Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance (2025) by Laura Delano is another book I discovered on NPR's List of Favorite Books. I have an older brother who fell into some major mental health problems when he was in college. He has had a very hard life since then. He is often difficult, nonsensical and hard to be around, but I also know what he was like before he got sick. In an effort to understand him better or maybe find something to help him, I find myself reading a fair number of books about Schizophrenia and mental health. When I saw Unshrunk, I was intrigued and was able to get the Audiobook from the library.

Laura Delano is the author and narrator of Unshrunk. She grew up very well off, an outstanding student, and a competitive squash player. But at 14 years old, she began having mental health problems--struggling with her feelings and anger towards her family. She saw her first psychiatrist who labeled her as bipolar and started her on a mood stabilizer and antidepressant. And so for the next thirteen years, Delano's life was a parade of more psychiatrists, more prescribed drugs, more symptoms, repeated stays in hospitals, thoughts of suicide, and one serious suicide attempt.

Delano's family was able to give her access to some very good psychiatric resources. She also managed to graduate from Harvard and go to a debutante ball in the middle of all of this. But her mental, and then physical health was such a struggle, that Delano did not want to live anymore. Doctors told her she had "treatment resistant" bipolar, which meant the drugs weren't helping  her, and she needed more.

After being put in a Borderline Personality Group Therapy class, Delano met another woman who convinced her to go to AA meetings. These meetings helped Delano get sober, and she started taking a more active part in her care. She read all of the information she could get about the drugs she'd been prescribed. Most of them were FDA approved because the drug's efficacy had been shown through six-week trials. (And sometimes this efficacy was only marginally better than the placebo effect). There were no long-term trials, and they had never been tested on children, including the ones she had been prescribed as a child. She also read about some of the debilitating side effects, many of which can cause new mental or physical issues.

Delano decided to get off of her meds, but there was also very little information about safely getting off psychiatric medications. These meds can affect every system in the body, and she'd been taking them for years. Lithium is the go-to drug for bipolar, but there is a very fine line between the amount of drug that is therapeutic and the amount that is toxic. In addition, getting off bipolar medication too fast can trigger a larger manic episode than never taking it in the first place. Delano found her best information on various online forums from other patients who had used trial and error to very slowly wean themselves off.

In the end, Delano was able to wean herself off all of her medications, stay sober, be a part of a healthy relationship, run a business, and raise her children. She says that her brain is certainly not always healthy, but she is better now at dealing with negative thoughts and emotions. Delano is not against all psychiatric drugs for all people, but she thinks they are pushed too quickly without adequately informing the patients of the real risks and other options.

I appreciated that Delano telling her own story really showed how difficult dealing with mental health problems can be. Some people are under the illusion that psychiatric drugs are some kind of panacea. If anyone has mental health issues, they just need to get on their meds. But it's not that simple. Delano was compliant with her meds and trying everything, desperate to get better. Instead, she kept spiraling down. I could see why she was hopeless.

In the end, though, like most psychiatric books I read, I found it kind of depressing. I'm glad that Delano was able to figure out what worked for her. But she is very smart, determined, and has a large amount of support and resources. Also, what worked for her, isn't necessarily going to work for someone else. There are plenty of people whose psych meds are incredibly helpful to them. What it comes down to in the end, is we don't really understand mental health very well.

#19 [2026/CBR18] Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

I saw Memorial Days (2025) by Geraldine Brooks on a number of year-end lists. I wasn't sure I wanted to read a book about grief, but there was something about the description that made me want to give it a try. This was my first book by Brooks, but I really enjoyed her writing. I thought she was honest, vulnerable, and insightful.

On May 27, 2019, Brook's husband and partner of over thirty years, Tony Horwitz, collapsed and died on a sidewalk in DC, where he was promoting his new book. He was sixty years old and seemingly fit and healthy. Brooks was at their home on Martha's Vineyard when she got a phone call informing her that her husband was dead. The caller hung up and she was left by herself, blindsided, and hundreds of miles away from him. She wanted to fall apart, but instead she held everything inside--forced to deal with the logistics of death first.

Three years later, Brooks is flying to Flinders Island, a beautiful, sparsely populated, and isolated location off the coast of Australia. Brooks is Australian, and thinks if she hadn't met Tony, she may have ended up there instead of living in the United States. Tony was one of those diverging paths in her life that took her in a different direction. In going to Flinders, she is getting a glimpse of something she gave up in order to be with him. And she is finally taking the time to properly grieve her husband.

Brooks jumps back and forth between her time grieving on the island; what exactly happened to her husband back in 2019; and more information about the lives she and her husband created together. I found all parts of this book interesting.

When Brooks describes finding out her husband is dead, having to tell their children the news, and not being able to see his body, I couldn't stop crying. It was very emotional. But she also points out a number of practical things. Tony died at a busy, urban DC hospital, but Brooks found them lacking in empathy and patience. Red tape kept her from seeing his body, and also kept him from donating his organs. Later, Brooks struggled taking over the financial tasks that Tony had taken care of for most of their marriage. She gives practical advice to couples in order to make these logistical things easier when you're already dealing with so much.

While on the island, Brooks thinks back to how she and Tony met, their work throughout the years, as well as their children. She also looks into different forms of formal grieving across cultures--all while using the isolation for her own grieving.

I was surprised by how much this book affected me. Her descriptions felt so real and relatable, and it made me think about my own life and relationships. I listened to this book on Audiobook, but I'm tempted to get a hardcover copy. I also might try some other books by Brooks.

#18 [2026/CBR18] The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

I'm not sure if it was because I was getting older or my interests just shifted, but back in 2019 I suddenly became fascinated with birding. It felt like a whole new world opened up simply because I started paying attention. Now that I have a dog, I spend more time walking her than going out with my camera looking for birds. However, I still look out for them, and I still find birds (all animals, really) fascinating. I'm officially hooked.

Recently I stumbled on bird drawing classes from John Muir Laws. He has a ton of great resources and is an encouraging teacher (johnmuirlaws.com). He teaches nature journaling as a way for people to pay more attention to the natural world around them and thus want to protect it. This is relevant because my brother gifted me a copy of The Backyard Bird Chronicles (2024) by Amy Tan for Christmas. She took drawing and journaling classes from John Muir Laws, but she can't drive, so she started nature journaling in her backyard in Sausalito, California. The Backyard Bird Chronicles is Amy Tan's chronological drawings, descriptions, and stories about a whole different world happening right under her nose.

This book seemed designed specifically for me. I feel like I have so much in common with Tan. She started out knowing only three kinds of birds in her backyard. I began knowing only three birds in Colorado: robins, mallards, and crows. Tan did not take a drawing class until she was 64. I only just started drawing. I related wholly to Tan's excitement and wonder as she learned and observed. The birds' lives played out in front of her as chicks learned to fend for themselves, dominance patterns emerged, and life or death drama occurred daily.

Now, even with my love of birds, I went into this book wondering if a description of backyard feeders would hold my attention. It did. Tan is observant and empathetic, and she is a natural storyteller. She notices interesting aspects of her birds, and asks intriguing questions as she wonders about their behavior. All of the drawings of birds in her book are done by her, and they are great. I've found myself looking carefully at them as I try to figure out how to draw my own birds.

Occasionally the outside world intrudes into Tan's backyard. Raging wildfires led to unusual visitors as birds struggled to get away from the stifling smoke. Covid affected the world, but Tan's backyard remained a calm oasis, full of feeders and bird baths.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been inspired to try my own hand at nature journaling. I love the idea of learning to draw, and paying more attention to the natural world around me--wherever it can be found. I'm not sure if some admiration/appreciation of birds is required to enjoy this book or if Tan could win over even those who are still apathetic about our flying, feathered neighbors.

"I don't feel indifferent to any creature struggling to survive. I think my distress over theirs is a good thing." (168)

"I rationalize the cost of mealworms by calculating the amount of money I have saved by not having children." (178)

#15 [2026/CBR18] Smile, or You're Doing it Wrong by Andy Glaze

As I write this, Andy Glaze is almost 100 miles into the Arizona Monster 300 Trail Race. It's over 300 miles of mostly trail running with a cut off of seven days. It's really beyond my comprehension. I've backpacked about 250 miles, but it took me three weeks. Ten to fifteen miles of hiking per day with plenty of sleep is nothing like what's happening in Arizona right now. I stumbled upon Andy on Instagram. He is a fire battalion chief in California and an ultrarunner. I have the yearning to become an ultrarunner, but my body breaks down every time I try to jog for more than ten minutes per week: ankles, Achilles, hips, IT band, TFL. I keep doing physical therapy and I keep trying, but it seems that I am most successful living vicariously through those that can.

Glaze first caught my attention for his positive attitude and his running "jorts" (running shorts that look like jean cut-offs). And then I learned that he has run 100 miles per week for over 300 weeks--which is now close to six years! Is this a good idea? Absolutely not--which Glaze himself admits. But is it impressive? Indubitably. I've had so many weeks where I was traveling, I was sick, I was hurt, or I just wasn't feeling it and barely exercised. 100 miles a week is averaging 14.3 miles per day--for years! And if you can't run for a day, then you have six days to make up the mileage. I'm afraid this streak would start feeling like an albatross around my neck, but it's still very impressive!

When I saw that Glaze had a memoir out: Smile, or You're Doing it Wrong: A Journey From Rock Bottom to Redemption (2026), I wasn't sure I wanted to read an influencer book. I like to lurk in the shadows and not get too involved with people I see on social media. But I was curious about Glaze, and I had a credit on Audible waiting for me. 

Glaze reads the Audiobook himself, and he talks about his life, the obstacles he overcame, and how he got into running. I've discovered that many people involved in punishing endurance sports have survived major difficulties in their lives. Whether it is an alcoholic or abusive parent, neglect, or addiction, it seems to pop up more often in these athletes than you might expect. I am guessing that sometimes they feel the need to keep accomplishing something, that endurance sports might be a helpful emotional balm on their past trauma, and/or the physical pain of a race is nothing compared to the physical or psychological pain that they've already been through. So, I was only a little bit surprised to hear that Glaze was a drug addict as a teenager. His parents tracked him down on the street and sent him off to one of those youth camps in Utah that have since been determined to be inhumane and abusive.

Even after getting off drugs and graduating from college, Glaze struggled to find himself. He was a sedentary, unmotivated chain smoker. When he ran 1.5 miles as part of a class and struggled mightily to finish, he decided to turn things around. To get all the details, you need to read his story, but he now runs much more than that mile and a half.

On the whole, I liked this book. Glaze seemed to be honest and open about his struggles, and he has an optimistic outlook that encourages people to try hard things. I found his book inspiring--even if my goals are simply to walk 10,000 steps a day and run when I'm not too hurt. 

My only nitpick is that Glaze tells the story more by subject, and this sometimes led to my confusion. Sometimes more details would have been helpful. For instance, in high school, Glaze's father was dying of cancer. So, for much of the book when he talked about his father, I was assuming he meant his step father--even though we didn't get very much information on him until later in the book. And it wasn't until near the end of the book that I learned that Glaze's father actually survived a terminal diagnosis for thirty years and had been around the whole time. In addition, when Glaze mentioned that his first wife asked him for a divorce, I wasn't even aware that he had gotten married. He said the divorce was very hard on him, but it was difficult for me to understand the emotional implications when the woman and the relationship had not even been mentioned before.

This book was interesting, easy to read, and inspiring. Recommended for those that find this kind of thing intriguing. 

#10 [2026/CBR18] The Look by Michelle Obama

I am a big fan of Michelle Obama, and I find news about either Obama kind of nostalgic and reassuring these days. So, I picked up The Look (2025) by Michelle Obama from my library as soon as I heard about it. It is probably relevant that I do not have a strong interest in fashion. Although I like to sometimes browse through movie stars' dresses from award shows or look at wedding dresses, I personally dress only for comfort. My job and my lifestyle do not require anything special, so I live most of my life in workout clothes. 

The Look is a coffee-table-sized book that dives into Michelle Obama's style from before, during, and after her time in the White House. The primary focus of this book is her time as First Lady, and there are many beautiful pictures throughout. Looking back at their time in the White House, I always thought Michelle Obama looked nice, but I never thought much about all the work that went into it.

You might think that an entire book filled with pictures of outfits is just a fluffy lifestyle read, but I found it to be a very interesting book. In a country and a world where women are judged more directly for their appearance, Michelle Obama was the first Black First Lady in the United States--ramping up the pressure she felt exponentially. There were political rivals ready to pounce on her if she did anything that did not "live up to" the high office that she and her husband held. 

Under all of this pressure, Michelle Obama used her sway as first lady to highlight new designers that might otherwise be overlooked. She also chose to wear clothes that were comfortable and practical, looking professional and appropriate, but also approachable. Obama's stylist, Meredith Koop wrote a section of the book, describing how she became Obama's stylist, how she picked clothes out for Michelle, and how much work went into every outfit. In addition, Obama had someone who did her makeup and someone else who did her hair. They all worked together to create a seamless image.

Probably the most eye-opening part of this book was how much work went into all of this. Multiple, specially designed outfits, were chosen for each part of every day. They took into account the location, the time of day, the nature of the event, the weather, and other cultural aspects. Meredith would often find an American designer with ties to whatever country Michelle was visiting to show respect to that country. I am impressed by what Michelle Obama was able to do, and how much time and effort went into it. 

The State Dinners were a huge affair, and for every one Michelle had the perfect dress, hair, and makeup. All of it was incredibly thoughtful, strategic, and flattering. The pictures in the book do a great job showing these dresses off. But what really hit me was that Barack Obama wore the same black tuxedo for every state dinner. I'm not sure what, if anything, he did as far as hair and makeup, but it's safe to say that Michelle Obama's look took a lot more effort. Now, I don't want to get rid of style and dressing up; the world would certainly be less interesting. However, think of what else women could get done if they didn't have to spend such a disparate amount of time, money, and energy worrying about all of this. Or if there were an acceptable equivalent of a black tuxedo for women, something they could throw on for a special occasion, pulling out of their closet over and over again for any fancy occasion without judgment or expectation.

Michelle Obama also talks about her hair in this book. Being a white girl who grew up in a pretty white neighborhood, my first experience learning about Black hair was through Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair. Michelle Obama talks about how the first time she got braids when she was young, she felt freedom. However, she knew the country expected a certain look from its first lady, and she did not want the political conversation to turn into a discussion about her hair. So, she kept it straight and more conservative. Now that Barack is out of politics, Michelle is able to be more free with her hair, and she has been showing the myriad hairstyles she can have with braids.

Although it is true that I cannot even imagine putting that much effort into my appearance, I found myself wondering what it would be like to have such talented people finding my clothes, and doing my hair and makeup. Would I feel like a different person, or would I still feel like myself? How much of a difference would it make? I wouldn't want the pressure Michelle Obama was under for even one second, but it would be such a fun experience to have a styling team like hers for a day. Or two. 

#7 [2026/CBR18] Awake by Jen Hatmaker

I think I may have first seen Awake (2025) by Jen Hatmaker on NYT's Best Books of the Year List. I'm a fan of memoirs, and the blurb caught my attention. So, I borrowed the Audiobook from my library and gave it a listen.

Jen Hatmaker woke up in the middle of the night in July 2020. Her husband was in bed next to her, declaring into his phone that he loved another woman. At this point, they had five children and had been married for twenty-six years. They got married when she was only nineteen years old. I cannot begin to imagine how she felt in this moment as well as the ensuing days, weeks, and months.

So, Jen Hatmaker is a bestselling author of fourteen books, a podcaster, and has her own book club. However, I had not heard of her until picking up this book. Hatmaker grew up very religious, and it seems that more of her earlier work was done in the religious field. I am very far from religious and generally do not have much to do with those circles.

Hatmaker jumps around a little in telling her story. She starts with a story about how the religious dress codes of her church made her feel as a young girl growing up--and even as an adult woman. She also recounted such a sad but relatable story from her tweens. Her friends ditched her and ran away from her when the boys didn't like her. And she described how she and her husband got married so young. Spoiler alert: they were very religious and they wanted to have sex.

Hatmaker describes how her husband left their family home immediately after she found out about his affair, and how difficult this was for her. She really leaned on her friends and family, and also used therapy and anti-depressants. I think for the sake of her kids (and probably even her husband), Hatmaker is pretty discreet when talking about her children as well as her relationship with her husband. She mentions that there were problems that she ignored or tried to cover up and they had been in an unhealthy, codependent relationship. She also mentions that after her husband left their home, she was virtually a single parent. I am not sure why he was MIA or how much interaction he has with his kids now. 

Because Hatmaker started out in religious circles, she got quite a bit of flak when she used her own mind to come to conclusions that the religious right doesn't approve of. There were shame-y articles written when her divorce became public. And there was a lot more censure when she stopped going to church and denounced Trump. Hatmaker also discussed how she became aware of Black Lives Matter and was disappointed that her white congregants could so easily turn away from the struggles and injustices she was trying to show them.

This book captured my attention and was easy to listen to. I found Hatmaker to be a good, persuasive writer and an engaging, if very animated, reader. 

#1 [2026/CBR18] Say Everything by Ione Skye

I was probably about twelve years old when I first watched Say Anything with John Cusack and Ione Skye, and it made a deep impression on me. In fact, it shaped my goals for most of my teenage years. I still have a very clear memory of Ione Skye's character, Diane, marking every word that she looked up in her giant dictionary. I thought she was beautiful and smart, and I wanted to be just like her. In fact, because of Diane, I was intent on becoming my high school valedictorian and going to Harvard (neither of which actually happened).

So, when I saw Say Everything (2025), a memoir by Ione Skye, I knew I wanted to read it. Despite my obsession with Diane as a child, I knew virtually nothing about the woman who played her. I had never noticed her in any other movies, and I knew nothing of her career or her personal life.

Ione Skye was born in 1970, making her about nine years older than me. We are close enough in age that I am familiar with many of her contemporaries. In fact, I had a crush on many of her friends and boyfriends as she grew up. Skye has had a fascinating, challenging life, and I admire how openly she discusses aspects of her young-adult life in this book. With that said, Skye does not go into much detail about her life with her current husband and daughters. I imagine it's easier to talk about things farther in the past than current events. I also assume her life has stabilized some since her teens and twenties.

The simplest way for me to finish this review is just touch on some parts of the book that I found especially interesting.

    -Ione Skye's father was famous Scottish folk singer, Donovan Leitch, who left her mother before she was born and had no interest or contact with her for most of her life. This definitely influenced some of Skye's actions later in life. For instance, Skye dated primarily musicians and had some very unhealthy relationships.

    -When Ione Skye was hired for her first movie at fifteen, she was told she had to become emancipated so the studio would not have to comply with child labor laws on the set. This was apparently commonplace for teenagers in Hollywood.

    -Ione Skye made out with Keanu Reeves when she did a movie with him. She was young at the time, and Keanu very nicely rejected her advances for more. (I am so glad he wasn't a creep with her, but I would expect nothing less).

    -Ione Skye was friends with River Phoenix.

    -Ione Skye dated Antony Kiedis from The Red Hot Chili Peppers for years, beginning when she was sixteen and he was twenty four. He was also a heroin addict and cheated on her relentlessly. This relationship was not healthy, to say the least.

    -After Kiedis, Ione Skye married Adam Horowitz from the Beastie Boys. She talks about how she truly loved him, but she was pretty messed up and cheated on him constantly--often with Madonna's ex-lovers.

-This was fascinating because I also listened to Brooke Shields memoir, but Ione Skye was only six years or so younger than Brooke Shields. Skye watched Shields' controversial film, Pretty Baby, and was entranced by Brooke Shields. 

I found this book very interesting. I had no idea how entrenched in Hollywood and famous musicians Ione Skye was--even as a kid. I did find it somewhat difficult to read her story when she was still young and obviously struggling. She was lucky that she didn't end up with AIDS or other STD's after being with Kiedis. And her constant cheating despite her love for her husband was like watching a deliberate car crash. The inside look into what it was like filming Say Anything as well as some of her other projects was also absorbing. Finally, it was interesting to see how directly her father's rejection and indifference affected her, and I was happy to see that she was able to move past that and create what sounds like a good life for herself.

Recommended.

#42 [2025/CBR17] There Was a Little Girl by Brooke Shields

CBR17Bingo: "School" - because Brooke Shields talks a lot about the process of getting into Princeton and how much that school changed her life.

I'd recently seen some media of Brooke Shields talking about her childhood, so she was in the back of my mind when I was hunting for another audiobook to listen to on my commute. Memoirs read by the author are some of my favorite audiobooks, so I was happy to pick up There Was a Little Girl (2015) by Brooke Shields and get to listening. In addition, halfway through this book, my husband and I watched Pretty Baby, a Netflix documentary about Brooke Shields.

In There Was a Little Girl, Shields writes about her childhood, her acting gigs as she grew up, her marriage to Andre Agassi, her second marriage, and how her career has changed and matured over the years. But the focus of this book is on Shield's relationship with her mother--something I knew nothing about before reading this book.

Shield's parents were divorced when she was very young, and although Shields still saw her father, she had a much closer relationship with her mother. It was her mother who got her into modeling and acting, and the two were inseparable. In fact, the two were enmeshed. Shields' mother was an alcoholic. Shields spent most of her life, including her childhood, navigating around her mother's drunkenness. Yet, Shields deeply loved her mother and also didn't want her simply dismissed as a bad, alcoholic mother.

I thought this book was very interesting and informative. I knew some of the films and shows Shields has been in, and I knew she had been married to Andre Agassi, but other than that I knew nothing about her. It was interesting to get her perspective, and her book felt very honest and readable.

One thing I found interesting was how Shields defended some of the choices her mom made for her when she was a child. Pretty Baby was a movie made in 1978, a very different time. But I remember stumbling upon it when I wasn't much older than Shields was when she filmed it. And I was disturbed. She was a child who was being sold. She kissed a man and she was nude. But Shields defends it--although she did say she would never want her daughters in a similar movie. It is probably the most artistic film she's been in and she's proud of it. She also said that she was too young to even understand how she was being sexualized. It wasn't sexual to her. She also defended the Calvin Klein ads saying that she had to memorize a lot of lines and the worst of it was taken out of context. I don't buy either explanation although I can believe that Shields didn't find it sexual.

College was the first time that Shields was able to separate, even a little, from her mother. Shields devoted herself into getting into Princeton, and she gained admission after an interview that went very well. Shields did say that she got in despite being a favorite star, which I don't buy completely. It sounds like she had a good interview that helped her, but she wouldn't have even gotten that late interview if she wasn't a star. Anyway, college allowed Shields to start thinking for herself, and her fellow students were very good about not telling the press about her.

Shields was only able to separate from her mother with the help of Andre Agassi. It was something of a sneak attack where his team came in and emptied out the building Shields and her mother shared. But it turned out that Agassi was controlling in his own way, with his own demons. They were not right for each other and split up. FYI, I may be interested in reading Agassi's book just to see the other side of this relationship.

Shields book continues through the death of her mother, and how it affected Shields. I thought the book was an honest, interesting glimpse into the unusual life of a child star.

#39 [2025/CBR17] Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

CBR17Bingo: "Citizen" - Using my "Free" square for the Citizen square

I had no knowledge of Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism (2025) by Sarah Wynn-Williams when my book club decided it would be our next book. I'm usually a fan of listening to memoirs on audiobook, especially when they're read by the author, so I downloaded the audiobook.

Sarah Wynn-Williams (Williams) is a New Zealander who had idealistic aspirations of changing the world. She began at the United Nations and then saw an opportunity at Facebook as Facebook became more international. Williams aggressively went after a job at Facebook that was not even a position at the time. In her time at Facebook, Williams worked closely with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, some of the best-known names of the company. 

However, the longer Williams stayed at Facebook, the more she struggled. Her entire life was dedicated to the job, her immediate supervisor sexually harassed her, and she became disillusioned with the work Facebook was doing. Eventually, Williams was fired, and she left and wrote this book.

I should say that I didn't have too much interest in Facebook or in their day-to-day dealings before I read this book. I probably would not have read this one if left to my own devices, but I'm glad my book club chose it. I do understand that Williams left as a very unhappy employee, and I'm only hearing one side of the story. But Williams tells a good story. She includes a lot of details and it comes across as believable.

There's a lot going on in this book, and there's no way I can possibly summarize it all. But I will try to highlight some of the parts I found most interesting.

-In the beginning of the book Williams describes how she was bit by a shark in New Zealand. After going to the doctor, she began internally bleeding but her parents didn't believe how sick she was until she almost died.

-Williams was given a bad performance review for while she was on maternity leave because she was not "responsive" enough while she was on leave.

-Facebook did not have any moral standards when it came to spreading their app across the world. If dictatorships wanted information or control over what was posted, Facebook gave it to them.

-Facebook targeted the insecurity of teens and used insider knowledge to prey on them with targeted ads.

-Williams has a number of stories with Mark Zuckerberg, but the one I remember best is that everyone lets Zuckerberg win when they play board games. 

-I found the parts of the book about Sheryl Sandberg to be some of the most interesting because back in 2013 I had read and really liked Lean In by Sandberg. It was disappointing to hear that Sandberg was not a helpful, feminist advocate in the workplace after all. In fact, she made William's job harder because Williams was always required to accompany her to book events. There was also a very uncomfortable scene where Sandberg wanted Willams to go back in the bedroom on the private jet to sleep with her and took it personally when Williams refused. (Literally sleeping, but definitely weird and creepy).

Again, I do realize this is only one side of the story, but it was a very interesting read. Recommended.

#51 [2024/CBR16] Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

Once again, I was looking for an audiobook to read when I found Sociopath: A Memoir (2024) by Patric Gagne. It sounded unique and interesting, so I put it on hold at my library. 

Patric Gagne knew she was different from a very young age. She says that no matter how hard she tried to fit in, her classmates could sense that there was something "off" about her. Patric's mother also sometimes found her difficult to figure out. When Patric's beloved pet ferret died, her mom was confused and disturbed that Patric didn't cry. It wasn't until Patric went to visit a jail where her uncle worked that she heard the word "sociopath" and found that the definition fit her disturbingly well.

Patric describes herself as having muted feelings when it comes to connection with other people, remorse, fear, and sadness. She sees sociopathy and psychopathy as a spectrum, and she is on the moderate sociopathy side. When she was young, she felt a deep apathy and emptiness that she could alleviate by doing something "bad." The worst of what she did was stab another little girl with a pencil in the head, and choke a cat (for a short time--it lived). But even then she knew these impulses were bad and strove to control them. She found that if she let out a little steam by following people and/or breaking into empty houses, she could avoid any urges of violence.

As Patric grew up she continued using these coping mechanisms. But it was in her Psychology class in college where she really started looking into her condition. She was frustrated that sociopaths were depicted solely in news and media as monsters who deserved no pity or consideration. This frustration continued with the field of Psychology. There was nothing to help her: no recommended treatments or research that would help her or other people in her position. She saw herself as having a learning disability when it came to feelings like empathy and remorse, and she needed help to get better.

After college, Patric joined her father, working in the music industry. Eventually, she moves on to get her Ph.D. in Psychology so she could really dig into her condition and help other people like her. This was the part of the book where I started to lose interest. It began to feel repetitive. First, Patric feels like she's figured herself out and knows how to handle her symptoms, but then she relapses and breaks into another house, stalks a woman who is harassing her family, or salts a woman's lawn who inadvertently insults Patric by not understanding sociopathy. A large part of the book felt like a run-of-the-mill love triangle, and I wasn't super impressed by the random name dropping of her good friend, Hugh Hefner. I often wanted more information about Sociopathy and Psychopathy in general. Are Patric's hypotheses born out by any research? Do other sociopaths feel like her, and are there hundreds and thousands of people struggling like her? What percentage are violent or are actually in jail? 

The most enlightening part of this book was seeing how Patric struggled as she grew up and didn't know what was going on with herself. She does force a change in how you view Sociopathy from something to be afraid of, to showing that Sociopaths are suffering and need help just like anyone who is slow to learn important life skills. I just wish a little more of the research was included in the book.

#47 [2024/CBR16] A Very Private School by Charles Spencer

An article popped up on my phone about a memoir by "Princess Diana's brother" about his abusive boarding school days, and I was intrigued. Almost immediately, I put a hold on the Audiobook of A Very Private School (2024) by Charles Spencer. 

Spencer reads his memoir on the Audiobook, and at first I was a little distracted by his super posh accent. I couldn't help but imagine what a snob he was. And later in the book when he mentions being the Queen's godson and having his dinner delivered to him every night at home, I really felt the vast differences between our lives.

However, no matter how privileged he was and is, at some point in his life, Charles was only an eight-year-old boy who desperately missed his recently divorced mother. He was a young boy who had never slept away from his home, and felt like he was being abandoned when his father dropped him off at Maidwell Boarding School in Northamptonshire. Charles Spencer attended Maidwell from 8-13 years of age, 1972-1977.

Spencer has a way with words, and his descriptions of the dread he felt at Maidwell was visceral. I can see now why so many books and movies take place in boarding schools. They were not exaggerating the meanness of the teachers. During Spencer's time, Maidwell was rotting from the top with a sadistic, pervy headmaster who got sexual pleasure from beating young boys until they bled. There were a couple of other teachers who were shockingly violent and/or sexually inappropriate as well.

You might ask why parents would subject their children to such a thing. Or why the kids never told their parents about all the abuse they suffered. The fact is that there was a strong tradition in the upper classes of sending children to boarding school. It was believed it would make good citizens of them that could continue governing the empire of Great Britain. Even if parents personally balked at sending such young kids away from home, there was considerable peer pressure to conform.

In addition, the parent/child relationship in the upper classes was practically nonexistent. Physical affection was often rare and emotional intimacies probably even more so. Finally, because the parents picked these schools and paid considerable amounts of money to send their children to them, the children felt obligated to put up a good front. Complaining about the school would be like complaining about their parents.

In addition to extreme homesickness, bullying from teachers and students, and disturbing physical abuse, Charles Spencer was also sexually abused by a young woman that worked there. He was only eleven at the time. I was impressed by how Spencer was able to describe how much those interactions messed with his head at the time, as well as his normal sexual development later. 

So, this book can be a very challenging read. The content is dark, and it's no fun delving into all that pain and hurt. It's hard to understand how an adult could be so callous and cruel to children. But this is a very interesting, well-written book. Spencer has a way with words. I was impressed with both the writing and the insight Spencer brought to the topic. Recommended if you can stand it.

*One random, extra tidbit that I thought was insane, was that all of the women that worked at the school--from teacher to housekeeper--were addressed as, "Please." Their identities were basically stripped from them inside the school, and often the boys would end up saying, "Please, Please," to get their attention.

#45 [2024/CBR16] The Push by Tommy Caldwell

I love climbing, and I already follow Tommy Caldwell on Instagram, so it's a little odd that I wasn't more excited when my book club chose The Push (2018) by Caldwell for our next book. My lack of enthusiasm stemmed wholly from the fact that I already knew a lot about him. He lives in nearby Estes Park, and I've seen a number of documentaries that detail him climbing the Fitzroy Traverse in Patagonia, the harrowing hostage situation in Kyrgyzstan, and his conquering of the Dawn Wall with a missing finger. I wasn't sure what more I was going to get out of a book, that I hadn't already learned from other sources. 

I decided to listen to the Audiobook because I especially like memoirs as Audiobooks. Caldwell did not read his book, but the narrator did a very good job. And I really enjoyed this book. There was a lot of information that wasn't included in the various documentaries I'd seen. Caldwell felt open and honest about the good and bad things in his history. 

Besides being a remarkable climber, Tommy Caldwell has had a pretty interesting life. His father was very intense and forceful when it came to encouraging his children towards physical achievement. He paid them for athletic feats, and took Tommy on some pretty wild outdoors adventures as he was growing up. Tommy was definitely influenced by his father, but he also seems to have an unusual focus and drive that may be more innate. 

Having made a name for himself by winning climbing competitions around the country, Caldwell was only twenty-one when he, his girlfriend, Beth Rodden, and two other companions were kidnapped and held hostage by armed forces in Kyrgyzstan. It was an incredibly harrowing ordeal that lasted many days. All four were starving and freezing for much of that time. There were firefights all around them, and they saw many people killed. Caldwell pushed one of their captors off of a cliff, thinking he killed him, in order for them to get away and get to help. 

Caldwell went on to marry Beth Rodden, although the marriage did not last. Caldwell goes into a lot of detail about their struggles, what broke them up, and how bad he felt after his divorce. It was an eye-opening amount of detail that I was not expecting. The documentaries usually just mention that they were both very young and found happiness with other partners later.

Another unique aspect of Caldwell's life is that he's a professional climber but missing a big chunk of his index finger. He accidentally cut it off while doing some construction work at his home. The doctor told him he wouldn't be able to climb like he used to. But he did. Caldwell even improved after cutting off his finger.

There were two big climbing achievements that Caldwell spent a fair bit of time describing. His first was the Fitz Roy Traverse with Alex Honnold. There is a short Reel Rock documentary on this accomplishment that is definitely worth watching. I enjoyed reading about it as well. The second was climbing the Dawn Wall in Yosemite. It is one of the sheerest routes up El Capitan and had never been done before. Caldwell spent seven years figuring out the route and working on it. It was a tremendous achievement. 

I like to climb, so I assumed this book would be relatable and inspiring. However, the things Caldwell does is so beyond my skill and comfort level that--although I was impressed, I could not relate. However, this book was consistently interesting, and I enjoyed reading it. I appreciate Caldwell's honesty in opening up about his life and climbing.

#40 [2024/CBR16] Impossible People: A Complete Average Recovery Story by Julia Wertz

I like to read at least one graphic novel a year, just for something a little different. This year I found Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story (2023) by Julia Wertz on NPR's Favorite Books List. I have not read anything by Julia Wertz before, so I came into this story knowing almost nothing about her. She is a cartoonist and writer who has written a number of comic books, graphic novels and created comics for The New Yorker. She was based in New York City for many years (and where this book takes place), but has since relocated to California.

I am lucky enough to not struggle with any kind of major addictions in my life. I sometimes see judgment passed on addicts from people who do not understand the demons they are facing. It is easy for me not to drink because I do not like it. I'm also not facing any emotional struggles where drinking would be a release. So, even though it is difficult to see people making decisions that can literally ruin their lives and deeply impact friends and family, I don't really understand what they're going through. It's easy to say, "just stop drinking," but it's usually more complicated than that.

In Impossible People Wertz describes her relationship with alcohol, how she slowly realized it was a problem, and how she took steps to work on it. There was growth and setbacks, but there was also a slow trajectory towards more healthy behavior. Wertz went to a number of AA meetings, which gave her support, and helped her from being so isolated.

In between Wertz's struggle with alcohol was her living her usual life in New York City. Wertz lived in an illegal basement apartment, she was an accomplished cartoonist who shared an office with other successful women, and she liked to go exploring in abandoned buildings throughout the city. Wertz also discusses a little of her dating life: the wrong man, as well as the one who got away.

I always like seeing a glimpse into a unique person's life, and this book was no different. I enjoyed Wertz's drawings and storytelling. I felt like I got to understand her, and her story felt like a real person trying to figure herself out. Nothing monumental is happening here, and there isn't much of a grand story arc, but I thought it was well done.

#23 [2024/CBR16] The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen

I remember reading in my Intro to Psychology college text book that Schizophrenia is the "cancer of mental illnesses." Because Schizophrenia has reared its ugly head in my family, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. Dealing with it is tragic and life altering. I feel like I'm always trying to figure out more about it, so I find myself reading books on the subject. A couple of years ago, I read Hidden Valley Road, a non-fiction book about a large family where over half the kids struggled with the disease. When I saw that Barack Obama had recommended The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions (2023) by Jonathan Rosen, I knew I was going to read it.

Jonathan Rosen moved to New Rochelle, New York as a kid. It was in New Rochelle where Rosen met Michael Laudor, who lived around the corner. Both kids were smart and ambitious, and the two were often competitive with each other. They both did well in high school and went off to separate colleges. Michael Laudor went to Yale, where he graduated in only three years with all kinds of merits and awards. From there, Laudor got himself a prestigious consulting position and seemed to be winning at life. 

But it was during this time where Laudor began to get paranoid and delusional. Laudor ended up spending eight months at a New York-Presbyterian mental hospital where he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. It was Laudor's father who talked Laudor into voluntarily committing himself, and Laudor seemed to improve under supervision and after trying a variety of medications.

When Laudor left the hospital, they recommended he get a low-stress job that he could fit into a routine that would help him stay well. Laudor had no interest in doing anything so menial, and he enrolled instead at Yale Law School. 

For awhile the story of Michael Laudor was one of triumph over tragedy. Laudor graduated from Yale (with help from friends and a very lenient school). He wrote an article about mental illness in the New York Times that garnered a lot of attention and prompted a book deal for Laudor. Ron Howard even bought the rights of Laudor's story to make into a movie. Michael Laudor was in a serious relationship with Caroline Costello, who went by Carrie. She was smart, dedicated, and very loyal to Michael. It seemed like he had everything.

However, the stress of the book deal and the movie weighed on Landor, and his mental health deteriorated. Without the supervision of the hospital he likely stopped taking his medication. Poor Carrie was standing by him, but it sounded like it could be very difficult--especially when his paranoid delusions made him not trust her. Finally, Michael Laudor stabbed and killed Carrie, before taking off to Cornell where the police found him. He didn't really understand that Carrie was dead. He thought he'd attacked a robot that was impersonating her. Laudor was found incapable of standing trial because of his mental illness, and he remains institutionalized to this day. The story of Laudor, what he could have been, the damage he did, and what became of him is a pretty harrowing and intense read.

Rosen also discusses some of the history, legalities, and perspectives of mental illness and how that's changed through the years. JFK closed down many mental hospitals in the 1960's in favor of "community medicine." The impetus for these closures is understandable because there was a lot of abuse and really bad conditions for the mentally ill. The problem is that there wasn't anything to take its place. Many people who really couldn't take care of themselves were basically thrown out on the street. The other problem is that many people with mental illness--especially Schizophrenia--actively avoid medication and other help from experts. It is a part of their illness that they do not trust them. But they cannot be forced to get help unless they are an imminent danger to themselves or others. People can be in horrible shape, but we can't do anything until they are actively suicidal or homicidal. There needs to be more of a safety net for the many people who need help but may not want it or don't know how to get it.

On the whole, I thought this book was well done. Whenever Rosen talked about Laudor, I couldn't put it down. I also thought knowing some of the history was necessary in order to understand why Laudor was able to go for so long without anyone stepping in. However, it did feel like Rosen went off on a number of tangents that were not really relevant and sometimes difficult to get through. I thought Rosen could have made some of his points much more succinctly. I wondered a number of times why he was writing about certain topics, and I often wished he would just get back to Laudor. Still recommended if you're interested in the subject because the good outweighs the bad.

#10 [2024/CBR16] Lucky Me by Rich Paul

Lucky Me (2023) by Rich Paul was recommended to me by a friend--and as I do with many biographies--I listened to it on audiobook. Now, I have only recently been learning a little bit about basketball through my husband, but it is not a sport I have followed. That information is relevant because Rich Paul is a basketball agent. He represents LeBron James and a number of other very famous players. He is also in a serious relationship with Adele (maybe married?).

Rich Paul grew up in a particularly dangerous area of Cleveland. His mother was a drug addict. She was not abusive, but she was often absent. His father was a married man who owned the corner store in the neighborhood. He had an affair with Paul's mother when she moved to town. Even though Paul's father was still married to another woman, he played a large role in Paul's upbringing. Paul worked in his father's store and was expected to go to school everyday. In fact, his father would give him $20 every day for food.

One interesting aspect of this book for me was that I was half expecting poverty to be a major issue in Paul's life, but in this case Paul almost always had some kind of money. His father was a successful businessman, and from an early age, Paul was very good at earning money himself.

This started with gambling when he was only a kid, which eventually evolved into drug dealing. Although Rich had some feelings about dealing drugs when his mother was suffering so much from her addiction, he continued to do it for some time. Later, Paul began selling sports jerseys. 

Wearing the best clothes (or whatever was in style at the time) and blinging out his bike and/or car was always very important to Paul. It was the only thing he could really control, so he would spend hundreds and thousands of dollars for this purpose. When he ran into LeBron James at the airport, it was his outfit that first caught LeBron's attention. 

It is clear that Rich Paul is smart, hardworking, and focused on success. I am impressed by what he's accomplished. However, I didn't love this book. First, it didn't help that I know so little about basketball. Paul would mention a basketball player and what they were doing or describe a basketball game, and I didn't know who he was talking about or why it mattered. Second, I got really tired of him talking about his clothes. I understand why they were important to him, but I am very uninterested in clothing brands and trends. I am not familiar with the shoes he was talking about and I couldn't bring myself to care. I kept wishing that he would describe his feelings more.

On the whole this was not a bad book, but I think people who know more about basketball (especially the last twenty or so years of basketball and not just a couple famous stars today) might get more out of it.

#6 [2024/CBR16] Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

Some of my favorite audiobooks are memoirs that are read by the author, so I tend to look for memoirs when I need a new audiobook for my commute. I had heard of Matthew Perry's book: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (2022), but hadn't gotten around to it. Then Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023 with Ketamine in his system. Although I never followed his life very closely, I was a fan of Friends when I was younger, and I felt I owed it to him to hear his story. 

I knew Matthew Perry was on Friends, and I knew that he'd had a drug addiction. (I actually thought that he'd gotten over the addiction and that's why he'd gained weight at some point during the run of Friends). When Perry's book came out, I heard about the light controversy of him being mean to Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves was not mentioned in my audiobook, but I went back to Google to find out what Perry had written. It was stupid, it was mean, and it was not funny. I'm pretty sure Keanu Reeves has had to live with some tragic early deaths of his loved ones, and I can't imagine him attacking anyone like that. I'm glad Perry took that out.

Anyway, I learned a lot about Matthew Perry in this book. I had no idea how long and difficult his struggle with addiction was or what an incredible toll it took on his body, health, and life. The rehab stints and relapses were so frequent that it was hard to keep track of them while listening to the book. However, in an interview in 2022, Perry "estimated that he had spent $9 million on his addiction, including 14 stomach surgeries, 15 stays in rehab, therapy twice a week for 30 years and 6,000 AA meetings."

I also didn't know anything about Perry's childhood and family. There is plenty of potential trauma to mine for what might have contributed to his life suffering from addiction. His father walked out on them when he was very young. Eventually, Perry would fly alone on a plane from Canada to California to go visit him. When he was a baby, his doctor told his parents to give him benzos to help him sleep. I also didn't know that Justin Perry's mother was the press secretary for Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister and Justin Trudeau's father.

Matthew Perry had all the money and resources in the world to fight his disease but could never beat it. It left me with something of a hopeless feeling. I also wondered while reading the book if Perry had already gone back to using at some point, but he still had to finish the book with a satisfying ending. He mentioned that he thought fame and fortune was the answer to happiness that everyone wants, and it wasn't until he had it that he realized it didn't help. I disagree with him there. I have zero interest in fame and quite like my anonymity. Would I take more money if it was being handed out? Gladly. But I know it's not my path to happiness.

Perry often talked about how he was lonely and alone. It sounded like he understood his problems and what was causing him to push people away. Yet he still constantly sabotaged his relationships. I guess when you can't take care of yourself, you have a hard time taking care of other people's feelings as well. In the end, I learned a lot about how much Perry went through as he dealt with addictions throughout his life. It was eye opening.