Sponsored by Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood by Cheryl Diamond
To the young Cheryl Diamond, life felt like one big adventure, whether she was hurtling down the Himalayas in a rickety car or mingling with underworld fixers. Her family seemed like an unbreakable gang of five as they crossed continents and changed identities. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies— a family with secrets that would catch up to all of them. Wild, heart-wrenching, and unexpectedly funny, Nowhere Girl is an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about running for freedom against the odds.
This week, we’re doing some new release highlights and pairing them with nonfiction ebook deals. I am extremely susceptible to an on-sale ebook because it means less space I have to find on my shelves. Reading slump-wise, I’d say I’m trucking along. I just finished Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive, which was amazing. All the hype was real. TW for domestic abuse. I’m reading some good magicalish fiction, but since this is about nonfiction, let’s get onto the new releases!
The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature by Peter Wohlleben
When I got this galley, I was SURPRISED how many people were like “omgggg new tree book.” But people really, really liked The Hidden Life of Trees. In his newest book, Wohlleben looks at humanity’s connection with trees and how we can increase our own awareness of it. Have I hugged a tree in my life? Yes. Yes, definitely. Trees are AMAZING and I am pro-any book that wants us to spend more time around them.
She Memes Well: Essays by Quinta Brunson
Brunson became known through her Instagram series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. She then was in iZombie (which I’ve seen one episode of, but it was enjoyable!) and starred in A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO. In her debut essay collection, she talks about “what it was like to go from a girl who loved the World Wide Web to a girl whose face launched a thousand memes” and essays ranging from the comic to those covering her struggles with depression.
Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution by Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner
Heumann was paralyzed due to polio and, at the age of five, not allowed to attend school. This is the Young Readers version of her memoir Being Heumann, which came out early last year. It covers her achievements, from “fighting to attend grade school after being described as a ‘fire hazard’ because of her wheelchair, to suing the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her disability,” as well as her famed sit-in protest in San Francisco. This is a middle grade version, so for kids 10 and up.
Letters to My White Male Friends by Dax-Devlon Ross
What was it like being a Black member of America’s first generation raised after the civil rights era? What can we learn from the extremely-recent-to-white-America revelation that the country did not, in fact, end racism? In his book, Ross looks at this as well as things like “how we were all educated with colorblind narratives and symbols that typically, albeit implicitly, privileged whiteness and denigrated Blackness.” As an elder Millennial, absolutely this.
NONFICTION BOOK DEALS
In the Shadow of the Valley: A Memoir by Bobi Conn ($1.99)
The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan by Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller ($1.99)
Your Blue Is Not My Blue: A Missing Person Memoir by Aspen Matis ($1.99)
Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan ($0.99)
A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir by Jason Diakité ($1.99)
Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain by Sarah Vallance ($0.99)
For more nonfiction new releases, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.