Memoir Book Reviews

From the life of an immigrant in Western Michigan to the overwhelming allure of Los Angeles and the sweat-soaked streets of Latin America, Dutch Preacher Boy: Coming of Age in Grand Rapids, Taking Wing Beyond* by Tuna Fisch is an unpredictable and deeply compelling memoir.

The author’s unforgettable childhood in the beauty of Holland and his exciting journey to the “New World” sets the tone for the story, summoned by a razor-sharp memory and the ability to paint rich and immersive scenes, even from five decades ago. His sense of childlike wonder and excitement is everywhere in the prose, which […]

Author Richard Deatherage unravels his fascinating life and universally relatable struggles in The Last Leadholders: Quest for Fulfillment, an honest, timely, and thought-provoking memoir.

After a lifetime of adapting to change and finding ways to persevere, the author faced one of his biggest challenges in 2008 – finding a way forward in a career that was rapidly entering the 21st century, potentially leaving him behind. Like Proust’s madeleine, this watershed moment kicks off a stream of far-flung recollections, retold in both stark and vivid detail, resulting in a powerful and deeply personal chronicle of a life. From hilarious anecdotes […]

A sibling’s love embraces those he has lost, most especially the brother with whom he grew up and shared ambitions, dreams, and a remarkably mature philosophy in The Roar of Ordinary: Brothers, Sisters, War, and Fate, an emotive memoir by J.C. Foster.

The saga of Foster’s family could begin when his father Chuck, in mid-adolescence, rebelled against his overbearing father and struck out on his own as America was struggling under the deprivations of the Great Depression. That independent spirit undoubtedly influenced both Foster and his younger brother Steve. Two tragic deaths left Chuck alone with an invalid daughter […]