by Caroline George In Susana Prather’s family, the women have been cursed for seven generations. They have all been lost to the Georgia swamp that lies behind Susana’s house. On the morning after her eighteenth birthday, Susana wakes up drenched in water, unable to remember if she had been sleepwalking. Despite her attempts to prevent

by Nathan Hill This title is essentially a love story, but also the story of modern marriage and the current obsession with health, pursuit of personal happiness, and how our beliefs shape experienced reality. Jack and Elizabeth meet as young college students involved in the early 90’s art scene (a lot of super relatable places

by Anne Enright This title is beautifully written. A mother and granddaughter struggle to reconcile the gorgeous poetry and international renown of their father/grandfather with his abuse and abandonment of the family. Alternating chapters told from the perspective of the granddaughter and mother, sandwiching a chapter told from the poet from his boyhood. The book

by Sarah Stankorb In Disobedient Women, Stankorb weaves her own story of familial abuse and resulting spiritual journey in between the stories of women that suffered extensive, life-long abuse at the hands of their respective churches. The book began to come to fruition upon Stankorb discovering online blogs and support groups of women detailing harrowing,

by Laura Redniss Oak Flat follows two families: the Nosies, an Apache family whose daughter is an activist for the preservation of Oak Flat, and the Gorhams, a mining family that spans across generations. While Redniss kept a largely neutral stance and presented both sides of the conflict, the book serves to highlight the continued

by Safiya Sinclair Award-winning poet Safiya Sinclair writes of her childhood in Jamaica in a Rastafarian family.  Despite poverty and being part of a despised minority religion, Sinclair remembers a vivid, joyful early childhood, until her father’s increasing paranoia, contempt for outsiders – known as “Babylon,” and control of his family grew unbearable.  A beautifully

by Maria Bamford Comedian Maria Bamford has always been drawn to structured, rigid self-help and recovery programs. From childhood Suzuki violin lessons to Debtors Anonymous to institutional metal health facilities, Bamford chronicles her attempts to find a place to belong throughout life in weird, delightful, and moving ways.   Structured like a For Dummies self-help book,