Orphan Memoir

In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites - a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least 30 pounds per man, were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing - not even a football - yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams.

As the car approached the long, steep driveway, I was suddenly overcome by panic. I had never had much of a normal family life before. But now as the new foster home approached larger than life through the windshield, I realized for the first time that I was an orphan. Maybe not in the traditional sense of the word, but being given up by my father to live with some family was all I needed to be convinced that I was not wanted.

Donald Maclean was one of the most treacherous spies of the Cold War era, a member of the infamous "Cambridge Five" spy ring. Yet little is known of this shrewd, secretive man. The full extent of his betrayal has never been documented - until now. Drawing on the recent release of previously classified files, A Spy Named Orphan meticulously documents the extraordinary story of a man leading a chilling double life until his exposure and defection to the USSR.

From the best-selling and award-winning author of novels Bone and Steer Toward Rock, Fae Myenne Ng’s Orphan Bachelors is an extraordinary memoir of her beloved San Francisco’s Chinatown and of a family building a life in a country bent on their exclusion.

Reaching back to the Gilded Age, when that legacy first began to come undone, Alexandra has written an unflinching, mordantly funny account of neglect and class anxiety amid the ruins of a once prominent family. More than an insider's look at a decaying American institution, The Astor Orphan is the debut of a thrilling new voice able to render the secret pains and glories of childhood afresh.

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.

From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of 15 adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots.

A Chance in the World is the unbelievably true story of a wounded and broken boy destined to become a man of resilience, determination, and vision. Through it all, Steve's story teaches us that no matter how broken our past, no matter how great our misfortunes, we have it in us to create a new beginning and to build a place where love awaits.

Euel Lee, alias Orphan Jones, was an African American accused of murdering his white employer and family over a single dollar. The tumultuous events and cast of characters surrounding the racially charged crime garnered national media attention and changed the course of Maryland history. With exacting research, former Maryland State's Attorney Joseph E. Moore reconstructs the murders, the ensuing roller coast of a trial, and the eventual conviction and execution of Orphan Jones. Moore details all of this in the context of Jim Crow and American society during the Great Depression.

At an age when most are aiming for retirement, Bob Higgins moved to Uganda with his wife Carol. Over the course of fourteen years, they trained church leaders with the International School of Ministry video curriculum, provided clean water to rural communities, and ran a mobile clinic while establishing a home for children orphaned by rebel warfare in Northern Uganda.

Double Luck is filled with examples of how the human spirit can triumph over adversity. In the Chinese language, the word crisis is written with two symbols: one meaning "danger" and the other meaning "opportunity". Although Chi Fa's childhood was filled with crisis, he always looked for opportunity. His successful triumph over crisis after crisis is an inspiration for all who seek hope in the face of great challenges.

A detailed and well-written look at life in New York City from the 1920s to today through a memorable memoir about a boy who bounced around among different relatives and caregivers, through his school years, followed by his service during World War II. Cohen shares about his marriage and how he built a distinguished career as an educator in the New York City public school system despite his tough childhood and teen years, seeking out friends and romance resulting in a full and fulfilling life.

An orphan who has survived life's challenges, from his third day on earth following the death of his parents. Taking responsibility for my own life from the age of six. Living from house to house, country to country, with the aim of finding my destiny. My passion for pursing education by overcoming all kinds of challenges. Improvising, Adapting, and overcoming being my motto and driving force. It is titled A Traumatized Orphan, because it adds up in one word who I was.

The massive orphan train exodus whisked three-year-old Teresa from the safety of her New York orphanage, where the worst thing the Foundling nuns did was wash her curly black hair, to a desolate house and cold-hearted "parents" in Kansas. There, she entered a small and strange Volga German world whose inhabitants spoke a language she had never heard. In this odd world, she encountered whippings and sexual abuse. Mail-Order Kid looks at the orphan train movement through the eyes of one small child who yearns to know her "real" mother.

Orphaned by losing his mother at three and his father–who went missing at eight–Sydney author Francis Ravel Harvey avoided the Welfare State by being raised by four older sisters in the colorful environs of Sydney in the 1930s. The search for his cultivated English father is a constant thread throughout the book and reaches an amazing and heartbreaking conclusion when the author finally uncovers the truth surrounding his father’s death.

In this gripping memoir, Randall James tears open his life story, taking the listener on a breathless roller coaster ride through his childhood, teen and adult life. Despite years of neglect, poverty, and violence, Randall graduates from high school and heads out into the world. But his shaky foundation soon leads to drastic consequences, including a suicide attempt. After battling alcohol, marital and health issues, Randall ultimately learns that life's roller coaster doesn't always conclude with a fairy tale ending.

Double Luck is filled with examples of how the human spirit can triumph over adversity. In the Chinese language, the word "crisis" is written with two symbols: one meaning "danger", and the other meaning "opportunity". Although Chi Fa's childhood was filled with crisis, he always looked for opportunity. His successful triumph over crisis after crisis is an inspiration for all who seek hope in the face of great challenges.

The Galveston Orphans Home of Texas has been a fixture of the historic city for over a hundred years. Surviving the great storm of 1900 and giving children a place to call home, there are countless stories about the house’s rich history.

In my daughter's senior year...she asked my wife and I to write down our life's story. I said, "...you don't know what you're asking." Year's later...I finished. I consider this a time capsule for the kid's kids. I may have to quit my job because I'll be so embarrassed. I wanted to jack the price up so my coworkers wouldn't buy it...but I won't. This is not very well-written, and it's boring...but it's my story up until I got married. I wrote it how I talk because I was talking to my daughter when I wrote it. If you can stand poorly written, boring books...then this is the one for you.

Albertina Zimmerman, known affectionately as “Oma” by her loving grandson, Bernard, was an endless source of fascination and narrator of true stories, whose protagonists were leading figures from music, politics, and the Viennese opera.