I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

 Jennette's mother pushes her into the world of acting to fulfill her (mom's) dreams.  Along the way there is bizarre/abusive behavior by Mom who appears to be a narcissist.  Mom encourages anorexia so J can play younger roles.  When her mother dies, J is released from many of Mom's nooses, and is currently in therapy.

Overall, a shocking and sad story, but somehow also made humorous by the author.

5 stars.

The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson

From the cover "One fat man's quest to get smaller in a growing America" really sums up the whole book.  I wouldn't say I enjoyed reading it, but I did connect with the author on many levels.  I sincerely hope he is able to successfully continue his journey

4.5 stars.

Educated, a Memoir by Tara Westover

Horrifying look into the world of crazy religious preppers.  I'm so happy that the author got away from this clusterfuck.

4 stars.

Theft by Finding by David Sedaris

Diaries 1977 - 2002

Snippets from the author's diaries.  Some funny, some sad.

4 stars

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan.

Young mother gets a cancer diagnosis at the same time her father does.  Their stories.

3.5 stars.

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan.

Audio book.  Read by the author.

5.5 hours.

Heartbreaking at times story of how the author finally bonds with her mother, the self-proclaimed glue of the family, where the father is the glitter.

I'm not sure if it would have been quite as good in print form because the author doing her parents' voices was great.

5 stars.

Book #35 in 2015 (Audio)

Eat, Pray, Love  by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Read by the author.

12 hours, 40 minutes.

The author spends a year in Italy, India, and finally Bali, trying to get her crumbling life in order.  Told in 108 short stories, for lack of a better word.

4 stars.

Book #16 in 2013

A Gift of Hope, Helping the Homeless by Danielle Steel.

An interesting, sad look at Ms. Steel's strategy to cope with the loss of her son by doing direct outreach work with the homeless in San Francisco.

I don't believe there was enough material for a full book and it seemed as though the author was stretching it out, mostly by repeating things. 

3 stars

Book #4 in 2013

Bad Habits, Confessions of a Recovering Catholic by Jenny McCarthy.

As another recovering Catholic, saddled with internalized guilt, I enjoyed most of this book.  I'd heard about JM regarding her autism theories, but never saw her on MTV or anything else.  The first part of the book was better, but even the second half was a mostly fun, easy read.  A lot of extraneous swearing, but maybe that's her "style"?

I'm a little jealous that she's found a spiritual life after Catholicism.  I really wish I could.

3.5 stars

Book #21 in 2011

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness, a memoir by Brianna Karp.

The author may have been through some hard times, but it appears that many of the adult ones may have been of her own making. Buying jewelry and international plane tickets while complaining about not having enough money for a place to live? Leaving the warmth and safety of a B&B to wait at the train station in the snow and cold for an undependable fiance? I hope that she gets some professional money managing help for dealing with any proceeds from her book sale.

This amazon.com review snipet sums it up:

I thought this book should have been entitled "The Girls Guide to Bad Choices." It really has very little to do with the realities of being homeless, and frankly I'm not sure that choosing an alternative living arrangement is tantamount to being homeless. Plenty of people choose to RV full time; they generally don't consider themselves "homeless." I've known people who camped on the beach for months who didn't consider themselves homeless.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, but if someone is interested in the topic, it is an ok read.

2.5 stars

Book #12 in 2011

A Child Call "It" by Dave Pelzer.

Disturbing memoir of a child abuse victim. Although there is excruciating details on his abuse, there is no explanation of what changed his mother from a loving parent to a crazed abuser. The book felt fake and unbelievable without that information.

Also, I found absolutely nothing inspirational about this story.

2 stars.

Book #9 in 2011

The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross.

I was disappointed in this book after all the rave reviews I read. While Ms. Ross suffered abuse at the hands of her step-father, she clearly enjoys wearing her victimhood like a crown. She also never clearly explains why she remains in relatively close contact with this man despite what he did. She does have a nice writing style though, which is really the only reason I finished reading it.

2.5 stars.

Book #22 in 2010

Home is Where the Wine Is by Laurie Perry.

I love Crazy Aunt Purl and her blog, but sadly, didn't love this book. Oh, it was written in her easy-to-read, chatty style (which I enjoyed), but didn't seem like it had all that much to say. I guess this is because most of the chapters seemed like repeats to me - not exactly quoting the blog, but restating some of the previous info contained therein. I think someone who didn't follow her blog compulsively would enjoy it more.

That said, I came to the first pattern at the end and couldn't wait to cast on a set of handwarmers. And I still wish I lived close enough to be Laurie's friend.