Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence / Paul Feig
The creator of the popular TV series Freaks and Geeks draws on his own experiences to present a hilarious and candid look at the trials and tribulations of adolescence and high-school life, from ill-fated prom dates and hellish bus rides to bombardment by dodge balls.

Driving With Dead People / Monica Holloway
In this memoir, Holloway writes about how she struggled to retain her optimism in spite of her father's sexual abuse, her mother's abandonment, and her siblings' betrayals; her morbid fascination with a local funeral business that led to her job as a hearse driver; and the insecurities that have overshadowed her survival.

Madness: A Bipolar Life / Marya Hornbacher
A journalist describes the painful impact on her life of bipolar disease, from the initial diagnosis of the ailment, to her efforts to control violently careening mood swings, to her continuing struggle to cope with the ailment in every aspect of her life.

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama / Pico Iyer
An illuminating account of the Dalai Lama explores his diverse roles as a politician, scientist, philosopher, and religious leader; discusses his ideas about religion, Tibet, peace, and world events; and examines his hidden life, often pragmatic messages, and the daily challenges he confronts. 

Little Heathens: hard times and high spirits on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression / Mildred Armstrong Kalish
An evocative memoir of growing up in the heart of the Midwest during the Great Depression describes life on her grandparents' Iowa farm, a time of endless work, resourcefulness, no tolerance for idleness or waste, family, and kinship, in a volume that includes recipes and how-to's for everything from no-fail wart-removal spells to skinning a rabbit.

She Got Up off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana / Haven Kimmel
A continuation of the best-selling memoir, A Girl Named Zippy, follows the story of her mother, Delonda, who reinvents her life by learning to drive, returning to college, and losing fifty pounds, achievements that coincide with Zippy's ongoing quest to work out the dynamic of their nuclear family.

Animal, Vegetable Miracle: A Year of Food Life / Barbara Kingsolver
Follows the author's family's efforts to live on locally- and home-grown foods, an endeavor through which they learned lighthearted truths about food production and the connection between health and diet.

Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found / Jennifer Lauck
 A poignant autobiography describes growing up in Carson City, Nevada, during the 1970s, the shattering effects of tragedy--loss, loneliness, mistreatment--on her family, and her own indomitable will to survive.

I'm Not the New Me: A memoir / Wendy McClure
A humorous but poignant chronicle of the American weight-loss culture draws on the author's online sites Pound and Candyboots to describe her battle with self-esteem and weight, from dealing with a family legacy of fat and drastic surgery, developing self-confidence, to struggling to understand oneself both after the weight loss and if you gain it back.

Monsoon Diary: a memoir with recipes / Shoba Narayan
Interweaves personal reminiscences with delicious Indian recipes and reflections about Indian and American culture, culinary traditions, and her own eccentric family.

Stealing Buddha's Dinner: a memoir / Bich Minh Nguyen
A coming-of-age memoir by a Vietnamese American recounts her struggles for an American identity in the pre-politically correct climate of the Midwest and her passion for American food in the face of her family's Buddhist lifestyle.

Jesus Land: A Memoir / Julia Scheeres
The story of a white girl who was sent from the Midwest to a Christian reform school in the Dominican Republic after she and her black adopted brother fought back against the racism and bullying that was directed toward them. 

In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family / John Sedgwick
The author recounts how he suffered from life-threatening levels of depression during the writing of his second book, a circumstance that prompted his investigation into his own family history.  

Yes Man / Danny Wallace
The journalist author of Join Me describes his experiences of saying yes to every opportunity that came his way, a personal journey during which he won and lost $45,000 on a scratch ticket, was promoted beyond his level of experience at the BBC, earned a nursing degree, and more.