Reviews Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Forever Young Autobiographies

Diary of a Young Naturalist: British Book Awards winning memoir by Irish teen Dara McAnulty

Book review: An amazing dive into the natural world and walking an autistic path

Diary of a Young Naturalist is an intense and evocative memoir by a remarkable Irish teen.

It was written by environmentalist Dara McAnulty and details the heady ups and low lows of a year in his world.

The life story was released by Little Toller Books and has picked up a swag of accolades.

Most notably this includes the British Book Awards 2021 Non-Fiction Narrative Book of the Year.

So keep reading to find out more about McAnulty, his book, living with Asperger’s/autism, and tips for life-story creating …

All That She Carried: A National Book Awards winning family story by Tiya Miles

Book review: What you need to know about a South Carolina slavery keepsake that ended up in the Smithsonian

All That She Carried: The journey of Ashley’s sack, a black family keepsake is a story of resistence against all odds.

It was penned by Harvard Professor Tiya Miles and tells how in the 1850s an enslaved South Carolina girl Ashley, 9, was sold away from her mother Rose.

The life story was published by Penguin Random House last year and named the National Book Awards 2021 Nonfiction winner.

So read on to find out more about the book, what makes it so interesting and what we can glean to inspire our own life-story projects …

The Winter Road: Walkley winning true crime by Kate Holden

Book review: Behind the headlines of murder, land use and green laws

The Winter Road: A Story of Legacy, Land and a Killing at Croppa Creek is a gripping Australian read.

It was written by acclaimed memoirist Kate Holden and tells how in 2014 an elderly New South Wales farmer shoots an environmental officer.

The life story was published by Black Inc last year and won the 2021 Walkley Awards Book Award.

So keep reading to find out more about the book and what it can teach us as we sit down to create our own life-story projects …

Tell Me Why: Award-winning life story by singer-songwriter Archie Roach

Book review: What you ought to know about this stolen child, storyteller and leader

I was lucky to see Archie Roach AM at a sold-out concert the week I finished reading his memoir Tell Me Why: The story of my life and my music.

His book was published by Simon & Schuster Australia in 2019 and is a companion to the music star’s new album and tour.

However, I listened to the audiobook version, read by Roach, which won the Australian Book Industry Awards 2021 Audiobook of the Year.

So let’s jump into what Tell Me Why is about, what makes it interesting and what we can learn to help our own life-story creating …

The Happiest Man on Earth: Bestseller by 100yo Auschwitz survivor Eddie Jaku

Book review: Amazing ways to live by a Holocaust survivor

Kicking off this year’s book reviews is the powerful life story by the late Eddie Jaku OAM: The Happiest Man on Earth: A Holocaust survivor shares how he found gratitude, kindness and hope in the darkest of places.

The bestseller was published in 2020 by Pan Macmillan Australia after Jaku turned 100.

And last year it won the Australian Book Industry Awards Biography Book of the Year.

So let’s find out what the book is about, why it is so interesting and what you can learn for your own writing …

Best life stories of 2021: Award-winning books to read this holiday season

How to choose must-read books to enjoy this year and into 2022

Holiday season calls for a good book or three!

Certainly my book stack is ever-growing with informative and entertaining life stories.

But I’ve selected a shortlist of must-reads for the latest Forever Young Autobiographies life-story reading list!

This best life stories of 2021 list features writers from Australia, the United Kingdom plus the USA.

And it includes bestsellers and award winners.

Also, stay tuned as I plan to review each book on the website during 2022 and include suggestions to help when we sit down to write.

So let’s take a look at what autobiographies, memoirs, biographies and other life stories made the list for the best life stories of 2021 …

Book review: Sontag: Her Life and Work, a biography of writer Susan Sontag

A 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner by Benjamin Moser with HarperCollins Publishers

Sontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin Moser is a definite portrait of an emblematic genius.

The biography came out in 2019 and is published by Ecco/ HarperCollins Publishers.

In short, it tells the story of one of America’s greatest 20th Century writers: a girl from the suburbs who grew up to be an intellectual and cosmopolitan force.

Indeed Moser was well-placed to tackle this towering life story as the author of Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector.

Furthermore, he has worked as a books columnist for Harper’s Magazine and The New York Times Book Review.

Certainly the 832-page work has been hailed a “landmark biography” and picked up a slew of awards including being named the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography.

Keep reading to find out more about Sontag, what makes it interesting reading plus tips it offers us as life-story writers …

Book review: Biography The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X, a leader in racial equality

A Pulitzer Prize and National Book Awards winner by journalist Les Payne and Tamara Payne with W. W. Norton & Company

Epic biography The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne is not just a life story but a lesson in history.

The Liveright/ W. W. Norton & Company publication was released last year and draws on hundreds of hours of interviews to present an unprecedented portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most politically relevant figures.

Renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Les Payne started the book in 1990 and was assisted by his daughter and principal researcher Tamara Payne.

However, after her father’s death in 2018, Tamara went on to finish his life’s work.

Notably the book has picked up a slew of awards including being named Winner National Book Awards 2020 for Nonfiction and most recently Winner 2021 Pulitzer Prize Biography.

So keep reading to find out more about the biography, its points of interest and lessons we can learn as life-story creators …

Book review: AFL coach pens When All is Said and Done while fighting MND

ABIA winning biography by Ungarie’s Neale Daniher, with Warwick Green

This week I’m sharing an award-winner: When All is Said and Done by Neale Daniher with Warwick Green.

Certainly many know Daniher as an Australian Football League (AFL) legend – on and off the field.

But in 2013 he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and soon after co-founded FightMND, which has invested over $40 million into research and care initiatives.

Indeed this biography began as a letter by Daniher to the grandchildren he will never get to know.

However, it was published by Pan Macmillian Australia in 2019 and awarded the Australian Book Industry Awards Biography Book of the Year 2020.

So read on for more about the book and what it can teach us as life-story creators.

Book review: Anxiousness, hope and Your Own Kind of Girl by musician Clare Bowditch

One ARIA Award winner’s memoir about dieting, breakdowns and beating anxious thoughts

This week’s book review is Your Own Kind of Girl: The stories we tell ourselves and what happens when we believe them written by Australian ARIA Award-winning singer and actress Clare Bowditch.

The memoir was released in 2019 by Allen & Unwin and has won many accolades including the Australian Book Industry Awards Matt Richell New Writer of the Year 2020.

In addition it has garnered the support of fellow musicians Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins and Kate Miller-Heidke as well as journalists Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, among many others.

Certainly the 352-page book has been a labour of love and decades in the making.

“This is the story I promised myself, aged twenty-one, that I would one day be brave enough – and well enough – to write,” Bowditch writes.

So keep reading to find out what the book is about, highlights and tips for those sitting down to create an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.