Recent Reads for Black History Month

February 18, 2025February 18, 2025 / Lauren / Leave a comment

February is a month of opposites. Love (Valentine’s Day) and hatred (New England winters) and apathy (NFL championships). There’s also the forgetting of the very recent past (last month’s resolutions) and the remembrance of our longer past: presidential birthdays and Black History Month. For the latter, we celebrate the contributions of members of the African diaspora to the culture and history of the United States. There’s been a recent flurry of books related to African American history, and I’m excited to share them with you this month.

But first, I’m gonna tell you about something that is 1) not a book 2) not about America. It is the excellent BBC documentary series, A History of Africa, which you can view for free on YouTube. The African continent has a diverse and fascinating history that deserves way more attention than it gets. This documentary is a great starting point to enrich your knowledge of Africa’s diasporic daughters and sons.

If you prefer to start your journey in print, though, first on our list is the book equivalent of the aforementioned documentary.

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence by Zeinab Badawi (2025)

Badawi (the host of A History of Africa) is a Sudanese-British journalist who worked for Channel 4 and the BBC before her current gig as President of the prestigious SOAS University of London. Her sweeping historical survey traces Africa’s rich legacy from prehistory to the present, exploring ancient civilizations, medieval empires and colonialism’s impact, while highlighting African voices and perspectives to offer a long-overdue account of the continent’s global significance.

Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation by Bennett Parten (2025)

A groundbreaking account of Sherman’s March to the Sea—the critical Civil War campaign that destroyed the Confederacy—told for the first time from the perspective of the tens of thousands of enslaved people who fled to the Union lines and transformed Sherman’s march into the biggest liberation event in American history.

Sharks Don’t Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham (2024)

You never forget your first shark. For Jasmin Graham, it was a little bonnethead, a type of hammerhead shark. Jasmin fell in love with sharks and with science, but the traditional academic path wasn’t for her. So, she joined with three other Black women to form Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities for young women of color who were pursuing the fascinating and environmentally essential work of marine studies. Jasmin became an independent researcher: a rogue shark scientist, learning how to keep those endangered but precious sharks swimming free – just like her.

Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families by Judith Giesberg (2025)

Drawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, this is the riveting, dramatic story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery.

John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg (2024)

Born into poverty in rural Alabama, John Lewis rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions. Greenberg’s biography, a New York Times Book Review Top 100 Book of 2024, follows Lewis’s journey beyond the civil rights era, highlighting his leadership in the Voter Education Project and his ascent in politics.

The Stained Glass Window: A Family History As the American Story, 1790-1958 by David Levering Lewis (2025)

Sitting beneath a stained-glass window dedicated to his grandmother in the Atlanta church where his family had prayed for generations, it struck Lewis that he knew very little about those ancestors. And so, in his mid-80s, the esteemed historian began to excavate their past and his own, from white slaveholding families to a mulatto slaveholding family to an up-from-slavery black family. Lewis previously won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for each volume of his biography of W.E.B. DuBois.

The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene Daut (2025)

Haiti has the amazing distinction of being home to history’s most successful slave revolt, which led to its independence from France in 1804 and its establishment as a sovereign republic. Its significance looms large in the consciousness of African American thinkers and writers, with figures like Langston Hughes spending time on its soil. This book is the essential biography of the controversial rebel, traitor, and only king of Haiti, Henry Christophe (1767-1820).

Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel White (2024)

An incisive and insightful memoir by Jaleel White, the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters. You may wonder what place this has among serious history books, but Family Matters remains one of the longest-running live action sitcoms starring a mostly African American cast. Join Jaleel as he invites you to relive the unforgettable ride of nineties nostalgia, while uncovering the personal growth behind the iconic suspenders and the lasting impact of his journey as one of America’s favorite sitcom stars.

Further Reading

Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big by Will Packer (2025)

In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space by Irvin Weathersby Jr (2025)

Talk to Me: Lessons from a Family Forged by History by Rich Benjamin (2025)

Holler Rat: Kentucky Meets Connecticut in Anya Liftig’s Memoir

July 19, 2024July 19, 2024 / Lauren / Leave a comment

Meet the author! Anya Liftig will come to the library on Thursday, August 1 at 6:30 pm for a conversation about her memoir. Cheshire residents can borrow the audiobook with Libby, and physical copies will be available for sale at the event. Reserve your spot for August 1st!

Anya Liftig grew up in Westport and graduated from Yale. She was an artist living in Brooklyn before it was cool. You wouldn’t expect her memoir to begin with a relative lying dead in a shack in rural Kentucky, cleaved in half by a piece of construction equipment. But as I learned from my recent reading (audiobook listening, really) of her memoir Holler Rat, Liftig defies expectations.

Liftig’s mother hails from that ramshackle home in Kentucky, and her father is from an upper-middle-class Jewish family in Connecticut. When school ends each year in Westport, the family drives down to the holler to spend summers with Mamaw, the family matriarch. The book initially caught my interest because it straddles the vastly different worlds of rural poverty and New England affluence. I’ve got my own history between those worlds, so I wondered how much of this book would resonate with me personally. Liftig’s narrative was so engrossing that from the first paragraph, I completely forgot about my search for parallels and just settled in to enjoy the ride.

She details medical traumas, cringeworthy adolescent romances, and her family’s quirks (her father plays the bagpipes and her grandmother won’t sell the old Studebaker that’s decaying in the middle of a potato field). Also, there was that time she made out with a dead fish in front of an audience and then put it in a blender and drank it. If it sounds both horrifying and hilarious, that’s a pretty good way to describe the memoir. Liftig moves from story to story with a masterful sense of pace, and her brilliant placement of her performance art pieces within the narrative helped me interpret and appreciate this art genre, which I knew only from parodies. The lead-up to the last chapter is heavy, and you don’t know how it’ll end until you reach the very last word. It’s the best memoir I’ve read recently, and I’m really looking forward to having a conversation with her at the library program on August 1!

It’s worth mentioning a book by another Yale alum and descendant of poor Kentuckians: Hillbilly Elegy, the 2016 memoir by J.D. Vance. This Ohio senator was announced as Donald Trump’s pick for VP candidate only a few days ago. Hillbilly Elegy was a bestseller upon release, but it was criticized for painting broad generalizations and reinforcing negative stereotypes about the rural poor. Now in 2024, it’s not hard to see Elegy as a calculated move from an aspiring politician. (It’s standard political playbook – Barack Obama made a similar move in 1995 when he released his memoir Dreams from My Father right before he ran for senate in Illinois.) Vance’s book is great if you want to better understand his politics, but if you’re looking for a more sympathetic and arguably more accurate portrayal of Appalachia, Holler Rat’s tight personal narrative from a longtime artist is a better pick.

The Legacy of MLK

January 18, 2022January 14, 2022 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

It’s hard to live in America and not know who Martin Luther King Jr. was. If you’re reading this from out of the country, MLK was a black Baptist minister who became the driving force in the 1960’s fight for civil rights, and for the equal treatment of black citizens in America. His call was for peaceful protest and non-violence – always non-violence – and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. For his outstanding efforts, Mr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was charged with the murder, a white troublemaker with a 7th grade education and a long rap sheet. Ray admitted to the crime, had a strong timeline leading up to the crime, had fingerprints on the weapon, but because he lied numerous times and changed pleas and facts all over the place, conspiracy theories abound.

Kings death no doubt played a major role in the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, just a week later, in an effort to help quell the riots that followed his death. His examples reached into South Africa and Northern Ireland, areas of long hostilities, and a statue of him stands in Westminster Abbey in London.

King’s beliefs and activities created as many conflicts as they tried to solve. While the racially charged South saw him as too progressive, so far as to call him a communist, many in the black community, such as Malcolm X, thought he didn’t go far enough and demanded radical action, not peaceful protests. King alienated himself from the US government by opposing the war in Vietnam. Herbert Hoover, head of the FBI, considered King a radical and sent him threatening letters. It wasn’t until 1986 that Ronald Reagan enacted Martin Luther King Day as a Federally recognized holiday.

Biographies will give the standard information on Martin Luther King, and while White Trash (warning: FaceBook will jail you for discussing this book) and Caste are excellent books which will open your eyes to issues you never considered, they’re heavy on sociology and can be difficult to slog through at times. If you’d rather read about the issues he fought against, and where we stand today on Civil Rights in an easier fashion, check out these non-fiction books that will give you a good perspective of the issues. If non-fiction isn’t your thing, try these novels about modern issues as well, and realize we still have a long way to go.

The Hate U Give

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Martin

My Life With Martin Luther King Jr

Survival Math

How We Fight for Our Lives

Celebrities – They’re Just Like Us! The 10 Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2021

December 14, 2021December 8, 2021 / Louise / Leave a comment

We seem to be in the midst of a celebrity memoir boom. Seems like every celeb with time on their hands during the height of the pandemic used that time to write their memoirs. Of course, not every famous person’s story is interesting enough to devote an entire book to, but we’ve picked out 10 from 2021 that we think are worth the page count. There is something really appealing about a candid celebrity memoir that reveals the real person behind the “persona”, be prepared to be entertained, and even inspired, by these celebrity stories.

The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone. She was one of the most renowned actresses in the world–until a massive stroke cost her not only her health, but her career, family, fortune, and global fame. Stone talks about her pivotal roles, her life-changing friendships, her worst disappointments, her greatest accomplishments, and ultimately, how she fought her way back after devastating illness.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci. Tucci reflects on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York; preparing for and shooting the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia; falling in love over dinner; and teaming up with his wife to create meals for a multitude of children. A gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burned dishes.

Just As I Am by Cicely Tyson. Her memoir was released just days after the 96-year-old actress passed away this year. The Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning actor and trailblazer tells her stunning story, looking back at her life and six-decade career. President Barack Obama said of her: “In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.”

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson. As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, she brings readers along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way. Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it.

Trejo : My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo. You may not know him by name, but character actor Danny Trejo has one of the most recognizable faces in film and television. On screen, the actor played scores of bad guys, and has been killed at least a hundred times. This is an inspirational story of a journey from crime, prison, addiction, and loss to unexpected fame as Hollywood’s favorite bad guy with a heart of gold.

Forever Young by Hayley Mills. Under the wing of Walt Disney himself, Hayley Mills was transformed into one of the biggest child starlets of the 1960s through her iconic roles in Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, and many more. This memoir is a behind-the-scenes look at the drama of having a sky-rocketing career as a young teen, as well as the challenges of dealing with an industry that wanted her to remain to bound to a wholesome, youthful public image.

All In : An Autobiography by Billie Jean King. In this spirited account, Billie Jean King details her life’s journey to find her true self. She recounts her no only her groundbreaking tennis career–six years as the top-ranked woman in the world (twenty Wimbledon championships, thirty-nine grand-slam titles) , but also her activism as a feminist and social justice fighter in the wake of her coming out as gay at age 51.

Going There by Katie Couric. For more than forty years, Katie Couric has been an iconic presence in the media world. In her brutally honest, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking memoir, she pulls no punches as she reveals what was going on behind the scenes of her sometimes tumultuous personal and professional life.

The Storyteller : Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl. The legendary American musician, singer, songwriter and documentary filmmaker offers a collection of stories that focus on the memories of his life, from his childhood to today. With his reflections on touring with Scream, joining Nirvana and watching it all crumble, creating Foo Fighters when his life was at a crossroads, and now crisscrossing the world as a family man, Grohl offers an honest portrait of an extraordinary life made up of ordinary moments.

The Boys : A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard & Clint Howard. What was it like to grow up on TV? For Ron, playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days offered fame, joy, and opportunity, but also invited stress and bullying. For Clint, a fast start on such programs as Gentle Ben and Star Trek petered out in adolescence, with some tough consequences and lessons. By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, The Boys is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives.

May is Mental Health Month

May 11, 2021April 17, 2021 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

One in every five people in the US carry some sort of “mental Illness” diagnosis – 20% – making it almost twice as common as killer heart disease, yet people hear the term “mental illness” and pictures of unshaven, alcohol-soaked homeless men and babbling old women with uncombed hair and too many cats come to mind (Don’t judge me!).

In reality, that’s far from the common truth. The umbrella term of “mental illness” includes everyone from your depressed cousin, your churning anxiety over political situations, and Uncle Louie, who served in Iraq and spends most days with his friend Jack Daniels. It includes the teen with autism who works down at the laundromat (don’t jump on me; a strong majority of autism includes OCD and anxiety, with phobias topping the list at 30%), the hoarder you drive past on your way to work, that girl on the cheerleading team who wears a baggy size 0, and that guy at work who stays four hours later than anyone else and talks so fast you can’t follow him. It includes celebrities, like Robin Williams, Margot Kidder, Robert Downey Jr, Brittney Spears, Carrie Fisher, Brooke Shields, and so many more.

“Mental Illness” is more common than COVID.

While some introverts have fared well through the pandemic and quarantines, many people have not. Rates of depression in adults went from 8% pre-pandemic to 28% – almost one in three – after. For those who lived alone, the rates approach 40%. Isolation, job loss, poverty, loss of loved ones, anxiety, and long-haul COVID symptoms all play their part in feeling crushed by a microbe. Among children, who can’t always understand the details of what’s going on, rates of depression and anxiety straddled 40%.

Unfortunately, our image of “mental illness” is tainted by historic images of schizophrenia, the king of all mental illnesses, and often the most resistant to treatment. We watch movies such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, while not remembering that these movies depict mental illness treatment from as much as 70 years ago, when diagnoses were vague, medications were ineffective and dangerous, people believed in insulin comas and the disaster of lobotomies, and there were no PET or MRI scans to show exactly what the problem was. There was a time not very long ago when the number one treatment for syphilis was mercury. Times have changed, and chances are there’s actual help for that now.

How can something affecting 30% of the population be abnormal? Here’s a fact: it’s not, but our refusal to admit it keeps people feeling ashamed and afraid to seek treatment. If you feel down, if the social distancing and anxieties are getting to you, if your child is fearful and withdrawn and having trouble sleeping, reach out! Help is just a phone call away. No insurance? No worries. There are places to help you get medical coverage, and places that work on a sliding scale. There IS help, for everyone. Don’t be afraid to ask.

If you feel like life is overwhelming you, if you are worried about a loved one, if you are struggling with just getting through your day, CALL the CT ACTION line (Adult Crisis Telephone Intervention and Options Network). It’s available 24 hours a day, because the worst thoughts usually happen during the night. 1-800-467-3135, or just call 211, which is the general help line for state services.

Don’t want to feel like you’re the only one on the planet feeling down? Check out these popular books and films on people having difficulties. Chances are, yours aren’t that bad.