Biographies and Memoirs

Unbroken: Life Outside the Lines

Adriene Cat | Biographies and Memoirs

Adriene Caldwell’s memoir, Unbroken: Life Outside the Lines, chronicles a childhood characterized by trauma. Born to a schizophrenic mother who beat her, neglected her, and eventually surrendered her to the state, Caldwell endures sexual assault, the drowning death of a friend, homelessness, extreme poverty, and a sadistic foster mother she dubs “The Bitch from Hell.” She claws toward stability through academic excellence and a transformative year in Germany. Yet adulthood brings new devastation: stripping, cocaine addiction, a predatory affair with a former foster father, and multiple suicide attempts. Each cycle of hope and collapse exposes the fissures of social safety nets promised...

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Most Recent Reviews

The Business of Storytelling: Inspire Action, Build Trust, and Drive Results Through Story

Don Yaeger (Forbes Books)

| Reviewed by Louise Garten

Facts inform, but stories transform—and Don Yaeger has spent a lifetime proving it.The Business of Storytelling is Yaeger’s masterclass on why storytelling is the most undervalued skill in business. The thirteen-time New York Times bestselling author builds a persuasive thesis drawing on decades of collaborations with icons such as Warrick Dunn, Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, and Sports Illustrated. He argues that storytelling is not an innate gift but a trainable skill, the “currency of kings and queens,” and one that builds trust, inspires ac...

Duck It!

C.O.B. (Grey Line Press)

| Reviewed by George Buehlman

C.O.B.'s Duck It! is set in 2035, two years after the PAN-R virus. The story follows Lionel Romero, a thirty-five-year-old landscaper from Fort Lauderdale, who sets out for the Midwest in a stolen golf cart truck after a virus wipes out 99% of humanity. With his mom’s bible, his father’s revolver, and a dream not to die in Florida, he abandons his childhood home and drives a stolen royal-blue electric golf cart truck (the “GCT”) toward Dubuque. What follows is a road-trip journal that is hilarious, profane, and surprisingly tender. C.O.B. gives...

What Really Matters: Find Meaning Amid Upheaval

Robert A Saul MD & Michael Cogdill (Koehler Books)

| Reviewed by Jayne Anne Rooney

In an age of noise, weaponized misinformation, and frenzy for viral hype, Dr. Robert Saul and Emmy-winning journalist Michael Cogdill deliver a timely, most-needed compass for the soul. Inspired by the shooting at Columbine and refined through decades of civic engagement, professional courage, and frontline storytelling, What Really Matters: Find Meaning Amid Upheaval successfully conveys the message that a meaningful life is built not on viral influence or political victory, but on six interconnected pillars: truth, trust, science, civility, d...

Grunts, Gramps & Tanks: A Soldier’s Tales

Rick Bogdan (Bookbaby)

| Reviewed by Cristina Prescott

Rick Bogdan’s Grunts, Gramps & Tanks: A Soldier’s Tales follows the unpredictable journey of a disillusioned Chicago retail buyer, Tyler Gordon Willett, who impulsively enlists in the infantry in 1975 without telling his wife, Nancy. The teenage recruits at Fort Polk nickname him “Gramps” as he survives basic training, memorably marked by the “Private Dickhead” payday incident. He also endures the OSUT program, where a tank commander’s sweaty Coke inspires his ambitions. The narrative tracks his growth from a novice to an officer, through e...

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