Southern Childhood

In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.

Based on a remarkable true story. Winter, 1969. Since she was a little girl, Catarina learned not to ask for much. Born to a family of corn farmers in rural south Brazil, she was happiest when she was surrounded by sprawling fields and burly, familial farmhands—until her family was driven out of the land they had worked diligently for years, and Catarina was sent to work for a wealthy family in São Paolo. Only ten years old, Catarina becomes a housemaid—and the lifeline of her family. Far from everyone and everything she’d ever known, she discovers the shocking gap between her life ...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a tense, poignant novel of a boy awakening to his small town’s secrets, “John Grisham takes command of this literary category just as forcefully as he did legal thrillers with The Firm” (Entertainment Weekly). “You can’t help thinking of other...

This is a summary with key takeaways and analysis of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, television star Trevor Noah's memoir about growing up as a mixed-race child.

In a small North Carolina mountain town, three fifth graders from fractured families are thrown together for a class project. Marcus, a shy piano prodigy struggling under the weight of his mother’s expectations and his father’s musical legacy, finds an unlikely ally in Shell, the resilient daughter of a drug-addicted mother who is just beginning a shaky road to recovery. Alongside them is Squeeze, the sheriff’s neglected son whose bullying hides a desperate need for attention. But when Shell’s mother returns from rehab with a youth pastor who seems to promise stability, the fragile ...

From the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET), a riveting "must-read" memoir about the glamorous and ugly moments of being a high-powered Black female executive in the entertainment industry (Alicia Keys). Debra Lee has been the visionary responsible for elevating Black images and...

Jack Myers' fictionalized memoir explores the dynamics of being raised in a declining Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. Pint-sized and four-eyed, little Jimmy Morris is near the bottom of the food chain in his working class "streetcar suburb" of Kings Cross. He's a dreamer, schemer, schoolyard scrapper, secret lover of books, and classroom clown . . . a kid you can't decide whether to hug or to slap. Meanwhile, the conformity of the 1950s is yielding to those turbulent '60s. Yes, the times they definitely were a changin' ó with Kings Cross in the eye of the societal storm. America's ...

Not quite Eat Pray Love. More like Obey, Panic, Reboot. The Good Indian Girl isn’t some epic tale of survival. It’s a story many of us know: growing up with too many expectations, not enough explanations, and a quiet voice inside whispering, “Is this really who I am?” Neetha Naidu’s life wasn’t extraordinary. But it was real. And it was funny—even when it wasn’t supposed to be. From childhood rules and cultural pressure to marriage, immigration, parenting, and finally choosing herself, Neetha walks us through the mess with unfiltered honesty and sharp, dark humor. She knows ...

Sometimes the truth is found in a folktale. An evening of revelry and storytelling goes horribly awry when temptations arise and passions flare. Those who survive are haunted by memories and regrets in this southern gothic tale told across dual timelines. 1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of...

As the civil rights movement and the fight for voter rights unfold in Selma, Alabama, many things happen inside and outside the Brown family’s home that do not have anything to do with the landmark 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Yet the famous outrages which unfold on that span form an inescapable backdrop in this collection of stories. In one, Willie Mae takes it upon herself to offer summer babysitting services to a glamorous single white mother—a secret she keeps from her parents that unravels with shocking results.

The Grammy- and Academy Award- nominated singer-songwriter's haunting, lyrical memoir, sharing the story of an unthinkable act of violence and ultimate healing through art Mobile, Alabama, 1986. A fourteen-year-old girl is awakened by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. On the front lawn, her...

“A joyous glimpse into a childhood we all wish we’d had: fun, carefree, and near the sea.” —JS Hyder Step back into a simpler time—when days were long, troubles were small, and the world felt wide and full of possibility. The Adventures of a Florida Boy is a warm, nostalgic memoir that brings to life the magic of growing up on a Florida island in the 1960s. With humor, heart, and a vivid sense of place, Jim Melvin shares true stories of barefoot summers, salt-air mischief, island friendships, and the kind of childhood adventures that shaped a lifetime. Whether he’s outrunning ...

“I laughed and I cried but most of all I thought and I remembered how it was growing up in one of the most turbulent periods of American history when communities tried to come together. Accepting ourselves is part of it all and Perry Brass helps us with that in his brilliant new book. Now back to read it all over again.” Reviews by Amos Lassen. (reviewsbyamoslassen.com) “'King of Angels' might be compared to Harper Lee’s 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' substituting the turbulent 1960s with Lee’s depression-era setting and replacing Catholic-Jewish antagonism and homophobia for the race ...

Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind - his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn't seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He's not sure she's as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it's been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge... Sully's heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future.

She came home to rebuild her life… not to rekindle an old flame. After the slow collapse of a toxic marriage, Emily Breaux returns to Bon Chance, Louisiana, determined to reclaim more than just her independence. She’s ready to start fresh, one home-cooked meal and second chance at a time. Helping her is Noah Devereaux. Her childhood best friend turned quiet, steady confidant. A veteran with wounds of his own, Noah spends his days fixing what’s broken… even when it isn’t his to mend. Between simmering pots and shared meals, Emily and Noah discover that sometimes, the best recipes ...

An Amazon adventure set in the wilderness of Brazil, Journey to the River Sea is filled with mystery and memorable characters, read by actress Imelda Staunton. It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at thirteen, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus...

Elizabeth had always believed there was nothing more magical than the precious gift of love...even now in the heart of danger, she still believed it...she always would. After telling the story of Simon's magical cowboy ranch for more years than she cared to count, Elizabeth Fountaine wondered if there might be more to the fanciful fairy-tale than being an elaborate bedtime story to tell children. More than ever before, she very much needed for even just a small piece of the fairy-tale to be real. Kellyn had always loved Elias Stratton with all her heart and probably always would. She'd ...

A childhood fire. A haunting secret. A woman's search for the truth that could consume her. Echoes in the Ashes is a gripping story that will take you on a journey through the embers of a lost past. Ava, a woman haunted by nightmares of a devastating fire, receives a mysterious package that reawakens buried memories. A burnt diary and a faded photograph ignite a relentless pursuit of truth. As Ava delves deeper, she uncovers a web of lies and betrayal. The secrets hidden within the ashes threaten to shatter everything she thought she knew about her family. With the help of a determined ...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A tantalizing mystery and a tender coming-of-age story...Unputdownable."—Oprah.com In the summer of 1989, a Baton Rouge neighborhood best known for cookouts on sweltering summer afternoons, cauldrons of spicy crawfish, and passionate football fandom is...

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is a world-renowned scholar, professor of history and geography at Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Faculty of Modern History of Oxford University. The Americas, part of the acclaimed Modern Library Chronicles series, offers an intriguing history of the world's western hemisphere.