Tag: Biographies & Memoirs

  • Book of the Day: My Lobotomy

    My Lobotomy: A MemoirMy Lobotomy: A Memoir
    by Howard Dully, Charles Fleming

    In this heartfelt memoir from one of the youngest recipients of the transorbital lobotamy, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption.

    At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital—or ice pick—lobotomy.

    Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn’t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the “normal” life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?

    There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor’s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn’t intervened on his son’s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freeman’s sons about his father’s controversial life’s work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor’s files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.

    Revealing what happened to a child no one—not his father, not the medical community, not the state—was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man.

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  • AUDIBLE Deal of the Day 🎧 Waiter to the Rich and Shameless

    A new deal every day from Audible. Today’s deal ends 07/11/2017 @ 11:59PM PT.

    Waiter to the Rich and Shameless: Confessions of a Five Star Beverly Hills ServerWaiter to the Rich and Shameless: Confessions of a Five Star Beverly Hills Server by Paul Hartford

    Over 300 5-Star Reviews!

    A down-and-out musician chops off his hair to become a server at the top of the Hollywood food chain, discovering a cloistered world of money, fame, bad behavior, and intrigue.

    Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary five-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter’s personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country’s most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.

    Of the many millions of food service workers around the globe, only a tiny number ever ascend to a top-level position at a world-renowned restaurant catering to iconic celebrities, moguls, and politicians. As one of those select few, Paul ("Pauli") Hartford is the first waiter to open the door into a cloistered, coveted world of money, fame, bad behavior, and intrigue. He peels back the veneer of civility and culture at the nation’s most preeminent celebrity hangout, the Cricket Room, in Beverly Hills, California. He exposes the epic human foibles of its elite clientele, the dining room’s corrupt corporate culture, its clandestine culinary practices, and the heartbreaking struggles of its beleaguered waitstaff.

    This keenly-observed story also traverses Pauli’s 10-year evolution from a jaded, party-hungry rock musician who moonlights as a bartender, into a snobbish and pretentious waiter, and finally into a polished and sophisticated server who takes his job so seriously that it drives him to the brink of illness. Pauli finds himself at first seduced by his famous guests’ glamour and self-indulgence, then accustomed to it, and finally appalled by it.

    For obvious reasons, some details and specifics about the real Cricket Room have been cleverly disguised, but discerning listeners will easily connect the dots.

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  • Book of the Day: The Mother-in-Law Cure

    The Mother-in-Law CureThe Mother-in-Law Cure by Katherine Wilson

    Full of lighthearted humor, sumptuous food, and the wisdom of an Italian mother-in-law, this warm and witty memoir follows American-born Katherine Wilson on her adventures abroad. Thanks to a surprising romance—and a spirited woman who teaches her to laugh, to seize joy, and to love—a three-month rite of passage in Naples turns into a permanent embrace of this boisterous city on the Mediterranean.

    Katherine Wilson arrives in Naples, Italy, for an internship at the U.S. Consulate. One evening, she meets handsome Salvatore and finds herself immediately enveloped by his elegant mother, Raffaella, and the rest of the Avallone family. From that moment, Katherine’s education begins: Never eat the crust of a pizza first, always stand up and fight for yourself and your loved ones, and consider mealtimes sacred—food must be prepared fresh and consumed in compagnia.

    Unexpectedly falling for Salvatore, and captivated by Raffaella’s companionship and guidance, Katherine discovers how to prepare meals that sing—from hearty, thick ragù to comforting pasta al forno. Through courtship, culture clashes, marriage, and motherhood, Katherine comes to appreciate carnale, the quintessentially Neapolitan sense of comfort and confidence in one’s own skin. The Mother-in-Law Cure is a sumptuous story that is a feast for the senses. Goethe said, “See Naples and die.” But Katherine Wilson saw Naples and started to live.

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