Tag: memoir

Cover for The Chick and the Dead by Carla Valentine

Review: The Chick and The Dead: Life Behind Mortuary Doors by Carla Valentine

March 1, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage. Grief. Cheating. Depression. Detailed descriptions of animal deaths. Autopsies on babies discussed. Detailed descriptions of autopsies.  Death of family members. Discussion of suicide victims and their bodies. Negative work environment that included jokes against weight, disabilities, and emotions.  Carla Valentine is a pathologist who worked for years doing postmortems, but is now … More Review: The Chick and The Dead: Life Behind Mortuary Doors by Carla Valentine

Cover for The Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle

Review: The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Mammals by Merlin Tuttle

February 19, 2022

This book was fascinating! The Secret Lives of Bats is basically an educational memoir about Merlin Tuttle’s life learning and saving bats. His journey started when he was a child exploring caves with his parents and it led him to spend a lifetime educating the public on the good that bats can do.  Like I … More Review: The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Mammals by Merlin Tuttle

Cover for How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith

Review: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

February 14, 2022

“The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it. This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories.” Clint Smith … More Review: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Cover for Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

Review: Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

January 26, 2022

“I feel guilty about even thinking about attending to myself. You power through, not because you aren’t in pain, but because it’s the only option. Because you’ll be met with a complete lack of understanding if you don’t.” While this is a very short delve into Migraines, it is very impactful and informative. Maria Konnikova … More Review: Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

Cover for All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

November 30, 2021

Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, racism, homophobia, death of a friend, physical violence. This is a series of personal essays about journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson. They explore his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia.  This was a very moving memoir about George’s life. He describes his past trauma and … More Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Cover for Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peters

Review: Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson

November 27, 2021

Content Warnings: sexual assault, underage sexual attention, abusive mother, drug and alcohol use, domestic abuse, homelessness, murder, suicide, stalking, panic attacks, miscarriages, and friends and family death. “We all have our own scars. Let them be a blessing and not a curse.” Wow, what a life!  Cassandra Peters, aka Elvira, started her life as a … More Review: Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson

Cover for Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

Review: Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

November 12, 2021

Trigger Warnings: drug use, cheating, gang violence and murder, criminal acts, abusive childhood, family death Danny Trejo is an actor that I have watched on screen since I was a child. He is an iconic actor with his looks and personality. When I saw that he wrote a memoir, I knew I needed to read … More Review: Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo

Cover for The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London by Christopher Skaife

Review: The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London by Christopher Skaife

September 4, 2021

Until a few years ago, I didn’t realize that the Tower of London had ravens or that there was a whole rumor that the city would fall if the ravens left. Christopher Skaife takes us through the history of the position of Ravenmaster and what it means to be a Ravenmaster.  As an American, I … More Review: The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London by Christopher Skaife

Cover for The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America by Ann Neumann

Review: The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America by Ann Neumann

August 21, 2021

In The Good Death, journalist and hospice volunteer Ann Neumann examines what it means to die in the United States. She discusses end-of-life care, right to die, medical ethics, starvation deaths, and other aspects of what it could mean to die in America.  This book was very interesting because it looks at how your wishes … More Review: The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America by Ann Neumann

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Review: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

June 10, 2021

“Accepting death doesn’t mean you won’t be devastated when someone you love dies. It means you will be able to focus on your grief, unburdened by bigger existential questions like, “Why do people die?” and “Why is this happening to me?” Death isn’t happening to you. Death is happening to us all.” In this eye-opening, … More Review: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty