Seattle Staff Faves 2022: Nonfiction
Every year we ask our staff across the system for their favorite books published in a given year. Enjoy this variety of nonfiction staff favorites, with annotations by staff members unless otherwise noted. (Created November 2022)
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I'm Glad My Mom Died
"McCurdy takes the reader on a raw and honest journey coming of age as a child actor with an abusive mother. A heartbreaking story told with dark humor and compassion for children who suffered abuse." -- Billie
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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A Spectre, Haunting
“A passionate argument for the continued, urgent relevance of The Communist Manifesto.” [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Anna
"Learn not just about the lifelong competitive nature of this fashion and media giant but about the inner workings of the magazine publishing world and what couture is around the world. Goes way behind and deep beyond those large glasses and bob haircut." -- Marion
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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James Patterson by James Patterson
"Captivating audiobook read by Patterson. Shares about his upbringing, winding path of becoming a writer and then a really famous writer, always being devoted to family and close friends, and brings humor and a smile when hearing what he thinks of the world and some of the people in it." -- Marion
Format: Audiobook CD
Availability: Available
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Unmasking Autism
"My favorite quote from the book: 'Refusing to perform neurotypicality is a revolutionary act of disability justice. It’s also a radical act of self-love. But in order for Autistic people to take our masks off and show our real, authentically disabled selves to the world, we first have to feel safe enough to get reacquainted with who we really are. Developing self-trust and self-compassion is a whole journey unto itself.'" -- Kristy
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Torn Apart
"After years of trying to reform the child welfare system and witnessing its harrowing impacts on Black children and families, legal scholar and sociologist Roberts arrived at a new conclusion -- to protect children from violence, we must abolish what she calls the 'family policing' system entirely. Based on decades of research and advocacy, Roberts (author of the groundbreaking reproductive justice text, Killing the Black Body) outlines how the family policing system harms children and how a vision of abolition can help create a safer, more just society for them to grow up in." -- Bean
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Who Is Wellness For?
"There's so much in this book that rocked me and checked my privilege, but at the same time I felt so much that resonated with my own life. I saw a lot of my husband's trauma while reading it, also. Colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism, the nuclear family - causes so much harm. The earth, community, indigenous wisdom, mutual aid, transformative justice, female strength - everything that we devalue is the only way to survive. We are all we have. Wellness is for all, but not in the world we live in right now." -- Kara
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Gold
"A new translation by Haleh Liza Gafori breathes new life into these centuries-old poems of spiritual longing and ecstasy, making them burn with an even more incandescent flame." -- Abby
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Crying in the Bathroom
“A Mexican American writer exults in her differences. A rewarding debut memoir in which a sensitive soul finds salvation in poetry and a life in literature.” [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Lost & Found
“Journalist Schulz presents a charming and relatable portrait of her late father, in a memoir about processing grief and recognizing and learning from loss by finding new relationships and experiences.” [Library Journal]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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