Meet ordinary people with extraordinary tales to tell. Borrow a biography from the Lititz Public Library.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
After her mother’s death and the end of her marriage, the author decided to take a 1,100 mile solo hike and found inspiration to rebuild her life.
My Amish Childhood by Jerry S. Eicher
In 1968, the author’s family left the Amish society in Ontario to start a new community in Honduras.
Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless
The author and her younger sister followed their alcoholic and suicidal mother from place to place, relocating to new communities and social situations during the 1960s and 1970s.
Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
Today a successful restaurateur and food retailer, an American-born son of Taiwanese immigrant parents shares his journey through American culture, the prejudice he encountered while growing up, and misadventures as a lawyer, street fashion entrepreneur and stand-up comedian.
After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey
Thirty years after his father was found dead of an apparent heart attack under mysterious circumstances, the author decided to find out what really happened the night he died.
Her: A Memoir by Christa Parravani
The author tells the story of her sister’s struggles with a personality disorder and drug abuse, sharing her own battle with survivor’s guilt after her twin was found dead of a heroin overdose.
Holy Ghost Girl by Donna M. Johnson
The author was only three years old when her mother signed on as the organist for a Pentecostal tent revivalist travelling throughout the South in the 1960s and 1970s.
Does this Church Make Me Look Fat: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right and Solves Her Lady Problems by Rhoda Janzen
A woman reconnects with her family and roots, starts dating a churchgoer and begins a surprising journey to faith and love.
The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet by Dara-Lynn Weiss
A mother with her own food and body issues chronicles the daily challenges of getting her overweight seven-year-old daughter healthy after a doctor pronounces her obese.
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander, M.D.
When a rare illness placed him in a coma, the author, who considered afterlife experiences the product of a brain under extreme stress, had an emotional and life-changing experience.
Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat by Dan Hampton
From 1986 to 2006, the author was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons sent into a war zone to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling
A comedy writer and actress from the television series “The Office” shares her observations, fears and opinions on life.
Fiction Ruined My Family by Jeanne Darst
The youngest of four daughters, the author grew up in an eccentric family of faded gentility in which her father’s failed dream of writing the great American novel put the family in debt and drove her mother to alcoholism.
Originally published on April 19, 2013 in the Lititz Record Express