Biography * Memoir: Women & Persons of Color

The House of Erzulie

by Kirsten Imani Kasai; read by Adenrele Ojo, Ron Butler

The House of Erzulie tells the eerily intertwined stories of an ill-fated young couple in the 1850s and the troubled historian who discovers their writings in the present day. Learn More

Her: A Memoir

Christa Parravani; read by the author

Cosmopolitan Best Books of the Year Pick
A Library Journal Best of the Year Selection

In this haunting memoir of identity and love, photographer Parravani deconstructs the intense bonds between identical twins, as she struggles with the trauma of her charismatic sister’s self-destruction, and an unexpectedly rising tide of similar self-destruction in herself. Learn More

Healing Wounds

by Diane Carlson Evans with Bob Welch; foreword by Joseph Galloway; read by Janet Metzger

What is the price of honor? It took ten years for Vietnam War nurse Diane Carlson Evans to answer that question—and the answer was a heavy one. Learn More

He Had It Coming

by Kori Rumore & Marianne Mather; read by Tanya Eby

Beulah Annan. Belva Gaertner. Kitty Malm. Sabella Nitti. These are the real women of Chicago. Learn More

Half the Sky

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; read by Cassandra Campbell

An AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year
Winner-Washington Post Book World's 10 Best Books of the Year
A New York Times Bestseller!

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“Women hold up half the sky”—Chinese proverb

With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as your guide, undertake a journey through Africa and Asia to meet an extraordinary array of women struggling under profoundly dire circumstances—and an equally extraordinary group that have triumphed. Learn More

Half Broke

by Ginger Gaffney; read by Christa Lewis

Resonant, smart, and beautifully written, Half Broke tears at the heart of what it takes to find wholeness after years of trauma and addiction and offers profound insight on how working with animals can satisfy our universal need for connection. Learn More

Grayson

Lynne Cox; read by Lynne Cox

Seventeen-year-old long distance swimmer Lynne Cox was out training in the cold Pacific one morning when she became aware that an 18-foot baby gray whale was following her, apparently lost and separated from its mother, without whom it would surely die. Something so enormous as a mother whale 50 feet long suddenly seemed very small in the vast Pacific. . . . Learn More

Good Morning, Mr. Mandela

Zelda la Grange; read by Adjoa Andoh; introduction read by the author

A powerful, intimate portrait of the late South African president and apartheid leader Nelson Mandela from the white Afrikaner woman who overcame her own upbringing and prejudice to serve as one of his private secretaries. Learn More

Girlvert

by Oriana Small; read by Oriana Small

Proclaimed "girl-pervert" Oriana Small, AKA Ashley Blue, a veritable artist at heart, weaves through the intricacies of a decade in and out of the adult film industry, love, drugs, and her own firebrand of what it means to live ecstatically. From accolades to agony, Girlvert illuminates the surreality of a life lived beyond all comprehension. Contains mature themes. Learn More

A Girl Named Zippy

Haven Kimmel; read by Haven Kimmel

Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds her. Learn More

Girl in Black and White

by Jessie Morgan-Owens; read by Allyson Johnson

The riveting, little-known story of Mary Mildred Williams—a slave girl who looked "white"—whose photograph transformed the abolitionist movement. Learn More

The Girl Explorers

by Jayne Zanglein; read by Kirsten Potter

The Girl Explorers is an inspiring examination of forgotten women from history, perfect for fans of bestselling narrative history books like The Radium Girls, The Woman Who Smashed Codes, and Rise of the Rocket Girls. Learn More

The Girl and the Bombardier

by Susan Tate Ankeny; read by Karen White

A downed B-17 bombardier's unfinished World War II memoir and a box of letters from the French girl who saved him sets a veteran's daughter on a journey, sixty-five years later, to craft their intersecting stories—a true WWII tale of danger, courage, love, and escape. Learn More

Ghosted and Breadcrumbed

by Dr. Marni Feuerman; read by Devon Sorvari

The lure of the unavailable man is a mystery to many. Why is she wasting her time? But, for many others, it is a deep-seated pattern. With empathy and compassion, Dr. Marni Feuerman helps women see their situations clearly, understand the historical, emotional, and psychological reasons behind their actions, and, most importantly, make better choices for themselves. Learn More

A Ghost in the Throat

by Doireann Ní Ghríof; read by Siobhan McSweeney

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
Longlisted for the 2021 Republic of Consciousness Prize
A Buzzfeed Recommended Summer Read
A Book Riot Best Book of 2022
An NPRBest Book of 2021

Moving fluidly between past and present, quest and elegy, poetry and those who make it, A Ghost in the Throat is a shapeshifting book: a record of literary obsession; a narrative about the erasure of a people, of a language, of women; a meditation on motherhood and on translation; and an unforgettable story about finding your voice by freeing another's. Learn More

Get Lost

by Erin Leider-Pariser; read by Erin Leider-Pariser

NEW! Now Available

Grounded in Erin Leider-Pariser's extraordinary career leading women's adventure travel across seven continents, this guide to living life to the fullest shares real-life experiences of personal transformation powered by exploring the wilds of nature and the soul. Learn More

Gandhi

by Ramachandra Guha; Derek Perkins

New York Times Notable Books 2018
Kirkus Best of 2018 Nonfiction

The second and concluding volume of the magisterial biography that began with the acclaimed, Gandhi Before India: the definitive portrait of the life and work of one of the most abidingly influential—and controversial—men in world history. Learn More

From Junkie to Judge

by Mary Beth O'Connor; read by Nikki Zakocs

From a junkie addicted to methamphetamines to a federal judge, Mary Beth O'Connor's memoir shares her inspiring journey from rock bottom to resilience as she forged a personal path to recovery from trauma and addiction. Learn More

Free Thinker

by Kimberly A. Hamlin; read by Emily Durante

A story of transgression in the face of religious ideology, a racist and sexist scientific establishment, and political resistance to securing women's right to vote.
Learn More

A Fool's Errand

by Lonnie G. Bunch III; read by JD Jackson

AudioFile Earphones Winner

Founding Director Lonnie Bunch's deeply personal tale of the triumphs and challenges of bringing the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to life. His story is by turns inspiring, funny, frustrating, quixotic, bittersweet, and above all, a compelling listen. Learn More

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