Reviews Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Forever Young Autobiographies

Book review: Walkley award-winning Fallen by investigative journalist Lucie Morris-Marr

Learn about the secret trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell with this Allen & Unwin read

Kicking off this year’s book reviews is Fallen: The inside story of the secret trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell by Lucie Morris-Marr.

This book was published by Allen & Unwin in 2019 and won Australia’s 2020 Walkley Awards Book Award.

Morris-Marr broke the story that the third most senior Catholic cleric was being investigated by police for historic sex crimes against children.

And the journalist was in court when ‘God’s treasurer’ was found guilty.

Indeed it was a conviction that sent ripples around the world (and again when quashed by the High Court of Australia last year).

So keep reading to find out more about this historic case and Morris-Marr’s Fallen.

Best life stories of 2020: Award-winning books to read this holiday season

What books a life-story coach is reading and reviewing into 2021

If you want to be a better writer try reading a book.

And if you want to be a truly better writer read the best books!

Indeed that’s the mission I’ve set myself for the latest Forever Young Autobiographies life-story reading list.

The best life stories of 2020 list features writers from Australia, United Kingdom and the USA.

And it includes first-time writers and bestsellers.

Plus the best bit is I’ll be writing a review for each book during 2021 with tips to help us all when we sit down to write.

So dive in and take a look at what autobiographies, memoirs, biographies and other life-stories made the cut for the best life stories of 2020 …

Book review: New York Times Best Seller The Yellow House by Sarah M Broom

A quick and easy review of the Grove Press memoir set in New Orleans East

The Yellow House by Sarah M Broom rounds out the Forever Young Autobiographies book review series for the year.

And what a way to finish!

This bestselling memoir was put out in 2019 by Grove Press and tells the story of many people, many families but one house – the Yellow House.

Indeed Broom’s family home in New Orleans East became the centrepoint of many worlds from the 1960s to its drawn-out demise after Hurricane Katrina.

Most notably the story won the National Book Awards 2019 for Nonfiction, was a New York Times Best Seller and named one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2019.

So let’s find out more about Broom, The Yellow House and what we can takeaway as life-story writers …

Book review: Pulitzer Prize winner The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Biography of a Rhodes Scholar and the father of the Harlem Renaissance by Oxford University Press

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart is a formidable biography on the life and influence of this leading professor, art critic and aesthete.

The book is a solid but illuminating read at 944 pages and was first published by Oxford University Press USA in 2018.

Stewart is a Professor of the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

And is well equipped to lead us on the journey of Locke’s life during the 1800-1900s in segregate America.

Indeed, the biography has won huge acclaim, most notably as winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

So let’s take a look at what this model life-story on the father of the Harlem Renaissance is about and what we can takeaway to improve our own writing …

Book review: Working Class Man by Cold Chisel’s Jimmy Barnes

The quick way to find out what Barnesy’s second memoir by Harper Collins is all about

In his youth Jimmy Barnes reckons he was here for a good time not a long time.

And you definitely get that feeling from the start of the Australian rock-and-roll legend’s second memoirWorking Class Man released by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd in 2017.

This fast-paced book is a follow up to Barnesy’s award-winning bestseller Working Class Boy (see my review here), which detailed moving to Australia and growing up in Adelaide.

While the first book is about running away, Working Class Man is about running out of time and trying to put things right.

The two books have reportedly sold over 500,000 copies making them the most successful biographical series in local publishing history.

And hot on the heels of these two is Killing Time: Short Stories From the Long Road Home, due out in October.

But first, let’s find out more about Working Class Man and what it can teach us as life-story writers …

Book review: Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Becoming by Penguin Books Ltd

A revealing memoir about life before and during the office of US president Obama

The book Becoming by Michelle Obama has been a powerhouse bestseller for years.

This memoir’s been on my reading list since it was published by Penguin Books Ltd in late 2018.

However, a document a ry about the Becoming book tour has also been released this year on Netflix.

I recently got hold of the audiobook version, read by the former First Lady of the United States of America herself.

It was an eye-opening account of a woman who is much more than what is portrayed on stage and in the media.

She has a fighting spirit and much to teach us as fellow writers who are planning, writing, polishing or publishing an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Let’s take a look…

Book review: Journalist Stephanie Wood’s Fake by Penguin Random House

‘Love in a world of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies’ by an ex-Fairfax Media staff writer

I love the book title of Fake by Stephanie Wood.

Such a simple name for such a complex story of love, lies and loss in the modern world of internet dating.

Fake was released by Vintage Australia (Penguin Random House Australia) last year and has been nominated for the Australian Book Industry Awards 2020.

Wood is an award-winning long-form writer and a former senior staff writer at Fairfax Media’s Good Weekend magazine.

A survivor of a toxic relationship, her book is a firsthand account and stark warning to others.

Fake has many highlights that can help us start and finish our own writing, whether that be an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Let’s take a closer look…

Book review: No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani

No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani and translator Omid Tofighian, Pan Macmillan Australia. Portrait photo of Behrouz Boochani by Hoda Afshar.

What everyone should know about a Kurdish-Iranian refugee’s time in Manus prison

Imagine a writer forbidden paper and pen.

Wouldn’t this be tortuous enough let alone being held prisoner for more than six years on remote islands?

This was the case to befall author Behrouz Boochani in 2013 but amazingly he discovered a way to write.

Using smuggled mobile phones the Kurdish-Iranian refugee wrote No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison via long text messages and with the assistance of translator Omid Tofighian.

The Pan Macmillan Australia book won Australia’s 2019 National Biography Award plus numerous other prizes.

As life-story writers we can learn much from this unique and historical story…

Best books of 2019: Must-read books about life stories to enjoy this summer

The quick and easy way to pick a new non-fiction book and get reading

“Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures anyone can have.”

I totally agree with this quote by author Lloyd Alexander.

A great book will take you to another world plus inspire and heighten your own writing.

This week I’m sharing my summer must-read list of autobiography books for 2019.

I’ve aimed for a shortlist diverse in authors, topics and accolades.

Plus I am giving away a copy of One Life by Kate Grenville to kickstart one person’s reading year.

Let’s get started …

Book review: Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee

Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee, Allen & Unwin, headshot Goodreads.com

Amazing Allen and Unwin memoir by a Queensland courts judge’s associate

Australian memoir Eggshell Skull has been on my reading list for a number of reasons.

Author Bri Lee writes about working in many Queensland cities and towns where I have lived.

And as a print journalist for many years I know the courthouses she refers to and also some of the cases.

But I’ve also been eager to read Eggshell Skull because it has been winning awards since it was published by Allen & Unwin in mid 2018.

It was shortlisted for the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards in non-fiction, winning the 2019 People’s Choice Award, and also won the 2018 People’s Choice at the Nib Awards for research in writing, plus the 2019 ABIA for Biography of the Year.

The publisher describes the work as “a haunting appraisal of modern Australia from a new and essential voice”.

Keep reading to find out more about Lee’s first book and be inspired to start writing your own life story …