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Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life
By Sarah Edmondson. 2019
As seen in the HBO docuseries THE VOW: The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true…
story of abuse, escape, and redemption."'Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor.' From the second I climb onto the table, acutely aware that I am lying in the sweat of my sisters, I will have blocked that out. Lying there completely naked, I am at my most vulnerable but determined to prove my strength. I try to keep my legs closed as my body wills itself to protect my most private area. . . . I tell myself: I am a warrior. I birthed a human. I can handle pain. But nothing could have ever prepared me for the feel of this fire on my skin."Scarred is Sarah Edmondson's compelling memoir of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, the 12 years she spent within the organization (during which she enrolled over 2,000 members and entered DOS—NXIVM's "secret sisterhood"), her breaking point, and her harrowing fight to get out, to expose Keith Raniere and the leadership, to help others, and to heal. Complete with personal photographs, Scarred is also an eye-opening story about abuses of power, female trust and friendship, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else.• In the tradition of Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman, Escape by Carolyn Jessop, and Troublemaker by Leah Remini• This tell-all follows Sarah from the moment she takes her first NXIVM seminar, to the invitation she accepts from her best friend, Lauren Salzman, into DOS, to her journey toward become a key witness in the federal case against its founders• Evokes questions about friendship, ethics, good and evil, making it a brilliant selection for book clubsAudio edition read by the author.The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life
By Katy Butler. 2019
This &“comforting…thoughtful&” (The Washington Post) guide to maintaining a high quality of life—from resilient old age to the first inklings…
of a serious illness to the final breath—by the New York Times bestselling author of Knocking on Heaven&’s Door is a &“roadmap to the end that combines medical, practical, and spiritual guidance&” (The Boston Globe).&“A common sense path to define what a &‘good&’ death looks like&” (USA TODAY), The Art of Dying Well is about living as well as possible for as long as possible and adapting successfully to change. Packed with extraordinarily helpful insights and inspiring true stories, award-winning journalist Katy Butler shows how to thrive in later life (even when coping with a chronic medical condition), how to get the best from our health system, and how to make your own &“good death&” more likely. Butler explains how to successfully age in place, why to pick a younger doctor and how to have an honest conversation with them, when not to call 911, and how to make your death a sacred rite of passage rather than a medical event. This handbook of preparations—practical, communal, physical, and spiritual—will help you make the most of your remaining time, be it decades, years, or months. Based on Butler&’s experience caring for aging parents, and hundreds of interviews with people who have successfully navigated our fragmented health system and helped their loved ones have good deaths, The Art of Dying Well also draws on the expertise of national leaders in family medicine, palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, and hospice. This &“empowering guide clearly outlines the steps necessary to prepare for a beautiful death without fear&” (Shelf Awareness).Apparently There Were Complaints: A Memoir
By Sharon Gless. 2021
Emmy Award–winning actress Sharon Gless tells all in this laugh-out-loud, juicy, &“unforgettably memorable&” (Lily Tomlin) memoir about her five decades…
in Hollywood, where she took on some of the most groundbreaking roles of her time.Anyone who has seen Sharon Gless act in Cagney & Lacey, Queer as Folk, Burn Notice, and countless other shows and movies, knows that she&’s someone who gives every role her all. She holds nothing back in Apparently There Were Complaints, a hilarious, deeply personal memoir that spills all about Gless&’s five decades in Hollywood. A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon Gless knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress. After some rocky teenage years that included Sharon&’s parents&’ divorce and some minor (and not-so-minor) rebellion, Gless landed a coveted spot as an exclusive contract player for Universal Studios. In 1982, she stepped into the role of New York Police Detective Christine Cagney for the series Cagney & Lacey, which eventually reached an audience of 30 million weekly viewers and garnered Gless with two Emmy Awards. The show made history as the first hour-long drama to feature two women in the leading roles. Gless continued to make history long after Cagney & Lacey was over. In 2000, she took on the role of outrageous Debbie Novotny in Queer as Folk. Her portrayal of a devoted mother to a gay son and confidant to his gay friends touched countless hearts and changed the definition of family for millions of viewers. Apparently There Were Complaints delves into Gless&’s remarkable career and explores Gless&’s complicated family, her struggles with alcoholism, and her fear of romantic commitment as well as her encounters with some of Hollywood&’s biggest names. Brutally honest and incredibly relatable, Gless puts it all out on the page in the same way she has lived—never with moderation.Variable Valve Timings: Memoirs of a car tragic
By Chris Harris. 2023
'What defines the car-saddo condition is not being able to recall a time when the toy-car-era of your life actually…
ended. Because for us sufferers, it never does.' Nobody knows cars like Chris Harris does. He calls it 'unhinged geekery', but the rest of the world call it infectious enthusiasm, adrenaline fuelled escapism and rigorous journalistic integrity.And then there are his famous skills at the wheel, from city cars to rally cars, not forgetting the Guinness World Record 3.4km sideways in an electric car.And now for the first time, Harris takes us down the road of his life-long obsession with the automobile - along surprising diversions, around hazards and obstructions, down the fast lane collecting Gs and back to the lock-up to prep the stock.From the six-year-old who could recite the stats from What Car? magazine to the YouTube car guru whose honest reviews got him banned by Ferrari. From the Scalextric track of his childhood, to podiums as a racing driver out in the world. From behind his garage doors to the floodlit Top Gear studio.Variable Valve Timings brings you an incredibly engaging story of adventure and petrolhead joy, told with wit, warmth and disarming honesty. This book is a true one-off, just like Chris.A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
By Molly Wizenberg. 2009
From acclaimed food writer, restaurant owner, and author of The Fixed Stars, an elegant memoir of life and food featuring…
with recipes throughout.When Molly Wizenberg's father died of cancer, everyone told her to go easy on herself, to hold off on making any major decisions for a while. But when she tried going back to her apartment in Seattle and returning to graduate school, she knew it wasn't possible to resume life as though nothing had happened. So she went to Paris, a city that held vivid memories of a childhood trip with her father, of early morning walks on the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter and the taste of her first pain au chocolat. She was supposed to be doing research for her dissertation, but more often, she found herself peering through the windows of chocolate shops, trekking across town to try a new pâtisserie, or tasting cheeses at outdoor markets, until one evening when she sat in the Luxembourg Gardens reading cookbooks until it was too dark to see, she realized that her heart was not in her studies but in the kitchen. At first, it wasn't clear where this epiphany might lead. Like her long letters home describing the details of every meal and market, Molly's blog Orangette started out merely as a pleasant pastime. But it wasn't long before her writing and recipes developed an international following. Every week, devoted readers logged on to find out what Molly was cooking, eating, reading, and thinking, and it seemed she had finally found her passion. But the story wasn't over: one reader in particular, a curly-haired, food-loving composer from New York, found himself enchanted by the redhead in Seattle, and their email correspondence blossomed into a long-distance romance. In A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother's pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won't be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story or to head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.The Vixen Diaries
By Karrine Steffans. 2009
Karrine Steffans continues to share the much-sought-after details of her star-studded life in this juicy tell-all—and dishes on the celebrity…
men that helped her get where she needed to be.This titillating expose chronicles the personal and professional adventures of this tabloid-laden socialite, dispelling some rumors, while confirming others.Diaries unveils the heavily shrouded Hollywood backrooms and its coveted secrets. Offering her ardent fans answers to burning questions and presenting lessons learned, this book will surely not disappoint.Karrine draws you in to get an up-close and personal look at the Hollywood life of fast money and sex; all the things that make for a great movie. She discusses her interactions with people after the release of Confessions of a Video Vixen and how she copes with it all.Twelve Words for Moss: Love, Loss And Moss
By Elizabeth-Jane Burnett. 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2024Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2023 for Nature Writing'Exquisite, luminous and quietly radical . .…
. utterly unique and refreshing' Lucy JonesWhere nothing grows, moss is the spark that triggers new life. Embarking on a journey though landscape, memory and recovery, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett explores this mysterious, ancient marvel of the plant world, meditating on and renaming her favourite mosses – from Glowflake to Little Loss – and drawing inspiration from place, people and language itself. 'Fascinating, subtle and risk-taking . . . Poetry, descriptive-evocative prose, memory, memoir, natural history and more all drift and mingle in strikingly new ways' Robert MacfarlaneAn &“unfiltered and unafraid&” (Marie Forleo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything is Figureoutable) guide to building the…
kind of confidence it really takes to live the life of your dreams, from Impact Theory cofounder and growth mindset guru Lisa Bilyeu.Author Lisa Bilyeu grew up in London, where she was always told her dreams of Hollywood were a little too big for a girl. Despite her first love of movie-making, Lisa moved to Los Angeles and became a housewife—for eight frikin&’ years! How the heck did that happen? Radical Confidence is the &“empowering, transformative, and practical&” (Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Like A Monk) story of how Lisa unpaused her life to cofound a company that went from zero to a billion dollars in just five years and became the leader in the world of personal development. Transforming herself with a growth mindset, Lisa learned to face her insecurities and inadequacies, embrace new challenges, solve her own problems, tell her negative voice to shut the eff up, and become the hero of her own life by life-hacking her way to feeling confident. Part deeply personal memoir, part guide to life, Radical Confidence &“challenges the deep-rooted beliefs that prevent so many of us from knowing or reaching for our dreams&” (Dr. Nicole Lepera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work). Lisa teaches you how to: -Dream big -Boost your confidence -Toughen the F up -And learn how to save yourself Full of insight and practical tools for honest self-assessment, mastering emotions, and staying motivated, Radical Confidence teaches you how to be driven by your insecurities to create the life of your dreams.Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle
By Myrna Kostash. 2022
In Ghosts in a Photograph, award-winning nonfiction writer Myrna Kostash delves into the lives of her grandparents, all of whom…
moved from Galicia, now present-day Ukraine, to Alberta at the turn of the twentieth century. Discovering a packet of family mementos, Kostash begins questioning what she knows about her extended families’ pasts and whose narrative is allowed to prevail in Canada.This memoir, however, is not just a personal story, but a public one of immigration, partisan allegiance, and the stark differences in how two sets of families survive in a new country: one as homesteaders, the other as working-class Edmontonians. Working within the gaps in history—including the unsolved murder in Ukraine of her great uncle—Kostash uses her remarkable acumen as a writer and researcher to craft a probable narrative to interrogate the idea of straightforward and singular-voiced pasts and the stories we tell ourselves about where we come from.Rich in detail and propelled by vital curiosity, Ghosts in a Photograph is a determined, compelling, and multifaceted family chronicle.Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke
By David Talbot. 2020
Acclaimed writer, bestselling author, and founder of Salon magazine, David Talbot has brought us masterful and explosive headline-breaking stories for…
over 25 years with books like the New York Times bestsellers Brothers, The Devil's Chessboard, and nationally recognized Season of the Witch. Now for the first time, journalist and historian David Talbot turns inward in this intimate journey through the life-changing year following his stroke, a year that turned his life upside down, and ultimately, saved him. • A portrait of how a health crisis can truly shift one's perspective on life and purpose• Includes insider stories on the wild early days of Internet journalism, tech culture, and Hollywood• Powerful storytelling of the physical, emotional, and psychological impact a stroke has had on the author's identityFans of My Stroke of Insight, The Devil's Chessboard and Season of the Witch will love this book. This book is perfect for:• Fans of David Talbot• Anyone dealing with or recovering from health issues (particularly stroke or brain injury) and looking for insight and inspiration• Gen Xers and baby boomers who understand their risk for stroke• Entrepreneurs scared of burnoutComing Home
By Brittney Griner, Michelle Burford. 2024
From the nine-time women&’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist—a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia…
and her journey home.On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to spend the WNBA offseason playing for the Russian women&’s basketball team where she had been the centerpiece of previous championship seasons. Instead, a security checkpoint became her gateway to hell when she was arrested for mistakenly carrying under one gram of medically prescribed hash oil. Brittney&’s world was violently upended in a crisis she has never spoken in detail about publicly—until now.In Coming Home, Brittney finally shares the harrowing details of her sudden arrest days before Russia invaded Ukraine; her bewilderment and isolation while navigating a foreign legal system amid her trial and sentencing; her emotional and physical anguish as the first American woman ever to endure a Russian penal colony while the #WeAreBG movement rallied for her release; the chilling prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout; and her remarkable rise from hostage to global spokesperson on behalf of America&’s forgotten. In haunting and vivid detail, Brittney takes readers inside the horrors of a geopolitical nightmare spanning ten months. And yet Coming Home is more than Brittney&’s journey from captivity to freedom. In an account as gripping as it is poignant, she shares how her deep love for Cherelle, her college sweetheart and wife of six years, anchored her during their greatest storm; how her family&’s support pulled her back from the brink; and how hundreds of letters from friends and neighbors lent her resolve to keep fighting. Coming Home is both a story of survival and a testament to love—the bonds that brought Brittney home to her family, and at last, to herself.Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer's Life
By Paul Hendrickson. 2024
From the acclaimed and best-selling author of Hemingway&’s Boat, the profoundly moving story of his father&’s wartime service as a…
night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their acts of selfless, patriotic sacrificeIn the fall of 1944, Joe Paul Hendrickson, the author&’s father, kissed his twenty-one-year-old wife and two baby children goodbye. The twenty-five-year-old first lieutenant, pilot of a famed P-61 Black Widow, was leaving for the war. He and his night fighter squadron were sent to Iwo Jima, where, for the last five and a half months of World War II, he flew approximately seventy-five missions, largely in pitch-black conditions. His wife would wait out the war at the home of her small-town Ohio parents, one of the countless numbers of American family members shouldering the burden of being left behind.Joe Paul, the son of a Depression-poor Kentucky sharecropper, was fresh out of high school in 1937 when he enlisted in mechanic school in the peacetime Army Air Corps. Eventually, he was able to qualify for flight school. After marriage, and with the war on, the young officer and his bride crisscrossed the country, airfield to airfield, base to base: Santa Ana, Yuma, Kissimmee, Bakersfield, Orlando, La Junta, Fresno. He volunteered for night fighters and the newly arrived and almost mythic Black Widow. A world away, the carnage continued. As Paul Hendrickson tracks his parents&’ journey, together and separate, both stateside and overseas, he creates a vivid portrait of a hard-to-know father whose time in the war, he comes to understand, was something truly heroic, but never without its hidden and unhidden psychic costs.Bringing to life an iconic moment of American history, and the tragedy of all wars, Fighting the Night is an intense and powerful story of violence and love, forgiveness and loss. And it is a tribute to those who got plunged into service, in the best years of their lives, and the sacrifices they and their loved ones made, then and thereafter.Marriage on the Rocks: Learning to Live with Yourself and an Alcoholic
By Dr Janet Woititz. 1971
How do you live with an alcoholic? Dr. Woititz in her first, break through book addresses the spouses of alcoholics…
who feel overwhelmed and desperate in their marriages. Her focus is to show that the boundaries of isolationism and depression that living with an alcoholic brings does not necessarily mean one cannot eventually find piece of mind. Whether or not the alcoholic continues drinking. Marriage on the Rocks can show you the coping skills you deserve to have when Alcoholism impacts your life.The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically chronicles his hilarious adventures in attempting to follow…
the original meaning of the Constitution, as he searches for answers to one of the most pressing issues of our time: How should we interpret America&’s foundational document?&“I didn&’t know how I learned so much while laughing so hard.&”—Andy BorowitzA.J. Jacobs learned the hard way that donning a tricorne hat and marching around Manhattan with a 1700s musket will earn you a lot of strange looks. In the wake of several controversial rulings by the Supreme Court and the on-going debate about how the Constitution should be interpreted, Jacobs set out to understand what it means to live by the Constitution.In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution. He asserts his right to free speech by writing his opinions on parchment with a quill and handing them out to strangers in Times Square. He consents to quartering a soldier, as is his Third Amendment right. He turns his home into a traditional 1790s household by lighting candles instead of using electricity, boiling mutton, and—because women were not allowed to sign contracts— feebly attempting to take over his wife&’s day job, which involves a lot of contract negotiations.The book blends unforgettable adventures—delivering a handwritten petition to Congress, applying for a Letter of Marque to become a legal pirate for the government, and battling redcoats as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment group—with dozens of interviews from constitutional experts from both sides. Jacobs dives deep into originalism and living constitutionalism, the two rival ways of interpreting the document.Much like he did with the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically, Jacobs provides a crash course on our Constitution as he experiences the benefits and perils of living like it&’s the 1790s. He relishes, for instance, the slow thinking of the era, free from social media alerts. But also discovers the progress we&’ve made since 1789 when married women couldn&’t own property.Now more than ever, Americans need to understand the meaning and value of the Constitution. As politicians and Supreme Court Justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret the Constitution, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how this storied document fits into our democracy today.Too Close to the Flame: With the Condemned inside the Southern Killing Machine
By Joseph B. Ingle. 2024
Joe Ingle&’s Too Close to the Flame is a heartbreakingly beautiful account of over four decades serving as a spiritual…
counselor, guide, and friend to the men and women on Death Row. &“I had been working with the condemned since 1975—but never before had an execution affected me with this much power and confusion.&” Throughout his forty-five years visiting death rows across the American South, Joe Ingle has learned, loved, and suffered intensely. In Too Close to the Flame, Ingle describes how the events of 2018–2020 finally exposed the deep wounds inflicted on his psyche by nearly half a century of enduring the state-sanctioned murder of friend after friend. As an advocate for the men and women condemned to death by an unjust legal system that routinely victimizes the marginalized, Ingle has often found himself waiting through the darkest hours as the spiritual advisor and sole companion of those on deathwatch—the brief period of isolation that precedes an execution. In vivid detail and startling candor, Ingle describes every moment with the expertise of a scholar and the affection of a brother. Through Ingle&’s eyes, we are invited into the inner sanctum during desperate attempts at clemency, intimate final hours, and the mourning that follows a night on deathwatch. Part psychological memoir, part history of Southern state killing since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, Too Close to the Flame is above all a catalogue of love—a gallery of relationships that could only be forged between people staring death in the face together. It is an account of the price of radical Christian love, a record of service to the least among us, and a testament to the full humanity of those whom the powers that be would seek to dehumanize and exterminate.Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms that Once Held Me
By Janet Sherlund. 2024
In Abandoned at Birth, Janet Sherlund explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the…
pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity.Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act—a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime. Adoption can lead to feelings of loss and grief not just for the adoptee, but for the biological and adoptive parents as well. This startling fact comes vividly to life in Janet Sherlund&’s heartbreaking memoir, Abandoned at Birth. In her literary debut, Janet Sherlund explores the complex issues so many adoptees and their parents grapple with, including the complicated emotions of rejection, loss, grief, denial, and shame. Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey to fulfill her lifetime longing for connection with her family of origin, her instinctive ache for connection with her birth mother, and what it was like to have a &“borrowed identity.&” In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one&’s true identity. With 5 million adoptees in the U.S., many of whom are discovering their biological roots on DNA websites, Abandoned at Birth is the book for our time. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.Amy Post&’s Out of the Gray, into the Light is a gut-wrenching story of parental helplessness following their daugther&’s diagnosis…
of malignant liver cancer, and it shares the raw, unfiltered emotions of a family suddenly sucked into a healthcare system that often leaves weakened patients to stand silent and alone, in desperate need of an advocate.&“Now I know what it is to advocate for someone, to put everything I have into something outside of myself.&” —Amy Post &“Your daughter has malignant liver cancer.&” For Amy Post and her family, the doctor&’s words shook their world and changed the trajectory of their lives forever. When Amy received a call from her children&’s school telling her that her daughter wasn&’t playing but was instead sitting down on the playground, her mind went into high alert. For months, she&’d had a nagging suspicion that something wasn&’t right with her three-year-old. Exhaustion, random fevers, and now this. Amy and her husband were not prepared, though, for the devastating diagnosis. Nor were they ready for the unveiling of a rare gene that promised not one, but three devastating forms of cancer throughout their child&’s life—if she survived this one. In her book, Amy Post shares the raw, unfiltered emotions of a family suddenly sucked into a healthcare system that runs as a machine but often leaves weakened patients to stand silent and alone and in desperate need of an advocate. It&’s a gut-wrenching story of parental helplessness that grows into a mother&’s determination and fierce fight for survival for her daughter—and then for herself.Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms
By Shaunie Henderson. 2024
Shaunie Henderson—wife, mother, entrepreneur, producer, and creator of the hit TV show Basketball Wives—opens up about finding love, offers advice…
for raising strong, smart, grounded Black children in today&’s world, and reveals how to define your career and personal life by your own terms in this inspirational memoir.Today, Shaunie Henderson is a force to be reckoned with—a TV personality, producer of multiple hit reality shows, entrepreneur, philanthropist, mother of five children, First Lady of her husband&’s church, and role model. But before she found her voice and her purpose, she was one more young woman trying to find her way as a partner, a parent, and a person. In Undefeated, Henderson opens up about the struggles, heartbreaks, losses, and triumphs that have made her who she is today—stories that will inspire you to rise up, discover your strength and self-love, and be who you are meant to be. Featuring her relatable voice and filled with candor, Undefeated is so much more than a memoir—it is a stirring guidebook that will change your life for the better.Love Is a Burning Thing: A Memoir
By Nina St. Pierre. 2024
A riveting memoir about a daughter&’s investigation into the wirings of her loving, unpredictable mother: a woman who lived her…
life in pursuit of the divine, and who started two big fires, decades apart. Ten years before Nina was born, her mother lit herself on fire in a dual suicide attempt. During her recovery in the burn-unit, a nurse initiated her into Transcendental Meditation. From that day on, her mother's pain became intertwined with the pursuit of enlightenment. Growing up, Nina longed for a normal life; instead, she and her brother were at the whims of their mother, who chased ascension up and down the state of California, swapping out spiritual practices as often as apartments. When they finally settled at the foot of a mountain—reputed to be cosmic—in Northern California, Nina hoped life would stabilize. But after another fire, and a tragic fallout, she was forced to confront the shadow side of her mother's mystical narratives. With obsessive dedication, Nina began to knit together the truth that would eventually release her. In Love Is a Burning Thing, Nina interrogates what happens to those undiagnosed and unseen. This is a transfixing, moving portrait of a mother-daughter relationship that also examines mental health, stigma, poverty, and gender—and the role that spirituality plays within each. Nina&’s writing skirts the mystical, untangles it, and ultimately illuminates it with brilliance.My Mama, Cass: A Memoir
By Owen Elliot-Kugell. 2024
A long-awaited, myth-busting, and deeply affecting memoir by the daughter of legendary rock star &“Mama&” Cass Elliot To the rest…
of the world, Cass Elliot was a rock star; A charismatic, wisecracking singer from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted band, The Mamas & The Papas; A legend of Laurel Canyon, decked out in her custom-made Muumuus, glittering designer jewelry, blessed with a powerful, instantly identifiable singing voice which helped define the sound of the 1960s counterculture movement. But to Owen Elliot-Kugell, she was just Mom. In the nearly 50 years since Cass Elliot&’s untimely death at the age of 32, rumors and myths have swirled about, shading nearly every aspect of her life. In her long-awaited memoir, Owen Elliot-Kugell shares the groundbreaking story of her mom as only a daughter can tell it. In My Mama, Cass, Owen pulls back the curtains of her mother&’s life from the sold-out theaters to behind the closed doors of her infamous California abode. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen, the woman who was known to the world as Cass Elliot was decades ahead of her time: an independently minded, outspoken woman who broke through a male-dominated business, a forward-thinking feminist, and a single parent who embraced motherhood from the moment Owen entered the world. From the closely guarded secret of Owen&’s paternity to Cass&’s lifelong struggles with self-esteem and weight, to rumors surrounding her mother&’s death, Owen illuminates the complex truths of her mother&’s life, sharing interviews with the high-profile figures who orbited Cass, as well as never-before-heard tales of her mother and this legendary period of American history. Featuring intimate family and archival photos as well as interviews and memories from famous friends, fans, and colleagues who loved and respected Cass, this book is both a love story and a mystery, a tale of self-discovery and a daughter&’s devotion. At its core, My Mama, Cass is a beautifully crafted testament befitting of Cass Elliot&’s enduring cultural impact and legacy, written by the person who knew and loved her best.