Category Archives: Bios and Memoirs

It Takes a Lifetime to Learn How to Live: An Italian American story of coming home – Libby Cataldi

Posted on November 10, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Libby’s life was falling apart. Recently divorced, recovering from breast cancer, and struggling with her son’s heroin addiction, she felt lost and desperate for strength. Though she never got along with her own mother, she fondly … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged family, Italy, memoir, relationships | Comments Off

Fight Night 1939: The Champ, the Challenger, and a Portrait of America on the Brink – Joseph Monninger

Posted on November 8, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I had never heard of Tony Galento before reading this book—the rough-edged heavyweight best known for flooring Joe Louis in the third round of their championship bout. At first glance, his story might seem like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged Boxing, culture, racism, society, sports | Comments Off

Horny: Sex Without Scruples – Brad Deep

Posted on September 29, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Horny: Sex Without Scruples is not your typical memoir; it’s mostly commentary. It’s also raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically blunt, focusing on human sexuality, power dynamics, exploitation, and the complexities of modern relationships. Author Brad Deep, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged exploitation, massage, memoir, sex, Sexual abuse, sexuality | Comments Off

Outside The Law: How An Ex-Cop Became America’s Most Prolific Bank Robber Since John Dillinger – Mark Ogden & Paul Ogden

Posted on July 19, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) Outside The Law follows the life of Bruce Davidson, a decorated Marine, police officer, lawyer, and family man, as he heads down a destructive path of depression, alcoholism, divorce, and financial collapse, before finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged alcoholism, Crime, depression, military, police | Comments Off

An important UnderratedRead Revisited: My (Underground) American Dream – Julissa Arce

Posted on June 9, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “In less than two weeks there was more than a good chance my secret would finally be exposed—the secret that could ruin my life, that could send me to jail, that could end my career before … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Immigration, World Issues | Tagged DACA, Dream act, illegal immigration, immigration, Mexico | Comments Off

Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man’s Search for Home – Jonathan Capehart

Posted on May 31, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Everything we do in life is an audition for something. We just don’t know what for yet.” Journalist, commentator, and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Jonathan Capehart relates his life experiences in his memoir, Yet Here I … Continue reading →

Posted in American Politics, Bios and Memoirs | Tagged gay, journalism, memoir, New York, race, truth | Comments Off

A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory -Dr. Jagadish Shukla

Posted on April 22, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Meteorologist and climate scientist Dr. Jagadish Shukla was a climate-change skeptic for years. What led him to change his mind? He recalls this and his life in his autobiography, A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction, World Issues | Tagged climat4e science, climate change, India | Comments Off

My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift – Harold Phifer

Posted on March 11, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Hal endured a tumultuous upbringing under the cruel hand of his Aunt Kathy. While his mother suffered from severe mental illness, it was Aunt Kathy who had to step in to raise him and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged abuse, death, family dysfunction, mental illness | Comments Off

Ugliness – Moshtari Hilal, Translated from the German by Elisabeth Lauffer

Posted on March 6, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) In this deeply personal book, author Moshtari Hilal interweaves memoir, history, and sociology to explore the painful realities of feeling “ugly” in a world that prioritizes symmetry and Eurocentric beauty standards. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, History | Tagged Afghanistan, beauty, culture, Eugenics, fascism, Middle East, plastic surgery, ugliness | Comments Off