When I was 14 years old, my parents sent me to Ireland for 3 weeks so that I could practice the English language I was learning in school. This was a full immersion trip which meant I would stay with an Irish family for the whole duration of my stay with no contact with other French speaking students. The family who hosted me lived in the suburbs of Dublin, and…
Category: Non-fiction
Alison Neuman
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Searching for Normal by Alison Neuman
When she was three years old, Alison Neuman was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a rare muscle disease that also affects her immune system. However, she did not know the name of her debilitating illness until much later. She spent a lot of time in hospitals and at doctor’s appointments with her mother by her side. As she was growing up, the disease progressed, and Alison ended up needing a wheelchair. It didn’t…
Laurel Downing Bill
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Aunt Phil’s Trunk Vol. 1 & 2 by Phyllis Downing Carlson and Laurel Downing Bill – Review + Giveaway
I have always been fascinated by how people would drop everything, and go to faraway places to look for gold in horrendous conditions. So when I was contacted by Laurel Downing Bill to participate in a virtual blog tour for her books about the history of Alaska, I jumped at the chance of learning more about the Gold Rush. Laurel Downing Bill is a third generation Alaskan who was born…
Krista Bremer
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My Accidental Jihad by Krista Bremer
Krista Bremer, a South California girl who loves surfing, has just moved to North Carolina to study journalism when she meets Ismail Suayah, a Libyan older man from a poor, illiterate Muslim family. Soon they become a couple, but an unplanned pregnancy early in their relationship forces them to make choices. They decide to keep the baby and get married. My Accidental Jihad chronicles the challenges and rewards of a bi-cultural marriage….
Non-fiction
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Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
In 1993, Piper Kerman had just graduated from college when she fell for the wrong girl: Nora was an older woman who was involved in an international drug smuggling ring. Piper started following her girlfriend in her frequent trips, and one day Nora asked her to smuggle a suitcase full of money from the United States to Belgium. When her baggage was almost lost in transit, Piper realized she was…
Amanda Lindhout
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A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett
Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian freelance journalist, and Nigel Brennan, an Australian photographer, traveled to Somalia in the summer of 2008 to report on the war raging in this country. What should have been a one-week short trip turned into a 15-month nightmare when Amanda and Nigel were kidnapped by a group of rebels. This book tells Amanda’s harrowing and heartbreaking story. Deeply moving, it is very well written and manages…