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TryingForgivenes (original poster member #29566) posted at 5:41 AM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Does anyone have any memoir or biography recommendations? I love reading about unconventional lives, or people who have been through tragedies. I have a lot of true crime, and natural disaster memoirs and also love reading about 'secretive groups' such as the Amish, or the LDS sects.
Thanks everyone!
Finally respecting him again.I believe that time heals almost all, wish I could fast forward time.
"Hate the sin, Love the sinner" ~Gandhi
Me:31-BS & Him:25-fWS (Irish_guy)
Dday:3/12/10, tt: 4/4/10, 5/22/10
R'ing, & planning our future!
authenticnow ( member #16024) posted at 1:09 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Right now I'm reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for my book club. She also wrote Seabiscuit. It's a WWII story focused on one particular hero.
Very good so far, and I'm not a fan of war stories.
DS, you are forever in my heart. Thank you for sharing your beautiful spirit with me. I will always try to live by the example you have set. I love you and miss you every day and am sorry you had to go so soon, it just doesn't seem fair.
Skye ( member #325) posted at 2:14 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
You might enjoy "Just Kids" by Patti Smith. Not really a tragedy but a pretty unconventional life.
In Just Kids, Patti Smith’s first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies. An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her formidable body of work—from her influential 1975 album Horses to her visual art and poetry.
Threnody ( member #1558) posted at 3:57 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Favorites of mine:
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood
http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Details-Scenes-Obsessive-Girlhood/dp/031601074X
This book had me howling from cover to cover. I don't know when I've enjoyed a memoir more for its own sake.
Anything by Wade Rouse
http://www.amazon.com/Wade-Rouse/e/B001JRZ8VO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1319900215&sr=1-2
It might be best to start with America's Boy, then move on to Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler. From there you can pick up just about anything, but those two are (IMO) crucial to understanding his "story." I've taken writing classes with him and he's really a wonderful man, and his partner Gary (wait til you read about the early days of their relationship 
) is the sweetest man I've ever known. Even sweeter than Mr. T!
If you're into historical figures, anything by Alison Weir is highly recommended. I found The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn (http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Tower-Boleyn-Random-Readers/dp/0345453220/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319900392&sr=1-1) to be incredibly compelling.
[This message edited by Threnody at 9:58 AM, October 29th (Saturday)]
“If you don't like my opinion of you, you can always improve.” ~ Ashleigh Brilliant
"Great love requires determination." ~ tryingtwo
"Don't try to win over the haters, you're not the jackass whisperer." ~ Brene Brown
MixedUpMess ( member #15256) posted at 5:04 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Here's an eclectic assortment of books I've read, and recommend.
The Seabiscuit book by Laura Hillenbrand is very good. I highly recommend it. Very inspirational. The story of a horse who knew his true potential!
Walt Disney - an amazing man. I've read An American Original.
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.
These 2 by David G. McCullough were slower reads, but good:
-Mornings on Horseback (Theodore Roosevelt).
-John Adams.
The Heroin Diaries - by Nikki Sixx, bass guitarist for Motley Crue. Chronicles a year of his life while addicted to heroin. It's amazing he's still alive today. The album that goes with the book is excellent, too.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
Alive - the story of the soccer team who's plane crashed in the Andes in the 70s. They had to resort to cannibalism to survive.
You didn't ask for natural disaster reads but I read a short book on the New Madrid earthquakes in the 1800s a few years ago which was fascinating. The Johnstown Flood is also good.
D-Day: 5-28-2007
Married: 26 years
Me (BS): 48 (Cancer survivor!)
Him (WS)(Alcoholic): 48
DD: 17
False R for 1.5 yrs+
He moved out 5/10. In limbo.
I was sad because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.
TryingForgivenes (original poster member #29566) posted at 5:11 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Thanks everyone! I want to read ALL of these books now 
I recently got an ipad2, and am headed online right now to get started with some of these.
Thanks again, I would have never thought of most of these on my own. 
Finally respecting him again.I believe that time heals almost all, wish I could fast forward time.
"Hate the sin, Love the sinner" ~Gandhi
Me:31-BS & Him:25-fWS (Irish_guy)
Dday:3/12/10, tt: 4/4/10, 5/22/10
R'ing, & planning our future!
Fighting2Survive ( member #28410) posted at 8:19 PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011
I recently finished "Growing Up Amish" by Ira Wagler. It was a very interesting read.
Me: BW, 40.......Him: FWH, 40
D-day: 3-22-10
DS1: 11, DS2: crawling
Status: R going well
"When you can tell the story and it doesn't bring up any pain, you know it is healed." - Iyanla Vanzant, Broken Pieces
ScribblingMum ( member #20097) posted at 2:08 AM on Sunday, October 30th, 2011
-Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
-Scribbling the Cat
Both by Alexandra Fuller (about her African childhood/she's white)
Fabulous writer! I went to her reading in S. Calif. a few years back.
Read them in the above order.
However, I didn't think her latest book was even close to as good as the first two.
-All Over but the Shoutin':Rick Bragg
-Angela's Ashes
:Frank McCourt
-Three Dog Life :Abigail Adams
-A Year of Magical Thinking: Joan Didion
...Memoir is my favorite genre...I could list you tons but here's a start. 
~ScribblingMum~
D-D 1: 12/23/06 - Porn (dd bust him on-line)
D-D 2: 4-25-08 - Massage P.'s(new act. in pretend recov.)
D-D 3:9-9-08 Caught call m. girl
D-Day 4: 6/30/09 -: free MP g.f./prost.
D-Day 5: 1-10-10: new mp prost's.
~DONE!
NotDefeatedYet ( member #33642) posted at 9:58 AM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer. It's about a small group of navy carriers during WWII. Many of the ships were sunk during the battle. Most of the survivors drowned or were eaten by sharks before rescue ships could arrive. It's a tough read.
"It's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart."
Hope4TheFuture ( member #25382) posted at 4:03 PM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
Life - Keith Richards
These are on my list:
Spencer Tracy: A Biography by James Curtis
That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anne Sebba
Hope4
welcome14 ( member #26741) posted at 6:31 PM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
I'm re-reading "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. He is wickedly funny, tough on himself and enjoys poking at others. It's very good. And he also gives some good cooking tips. He has also written a couple of others that I have but have not read yet. Hope you enjoy whatever you settle on!
[This message edited by welcome14 at 12:32 PM, November 6th (Sunday)]
Bs- me
Someone I used to know- Him
Nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home- nikki sixx
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.
Dance4Me ( member #26284) posted at 6:51 PM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X
On Dday -BS-me 41 FWS-him 42
On Dday - Married 19 years 3 kids (16,13,9)
D-Day 10/2/09- TT til Feb. 2010
New love is the brightest, and long love is the greatest, but revived love is the most tender thing known on earth - Thomas Hardy
meaniemouse ( member #10798) posted at 8:38 PM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
I just finished the book about Steve Jobs. It was great.
Act as if what you do matters. It does. William James
Cannaman ( member #33834) posted at 8:53 PM on Sunday, November 6th, 2011
Memoirs of a Sword Swallower by Daniel Mannix
The true story, complete with photographs of Daniel's 3 year career with a real sideshow.
This is the opening line "I probably never would have become America's leading fire-eater if Flamo the Great hadn't happened to explode that night in front of Krinko's Great Combined Carnival Side Shows." How can you put a book down that starts like that?!
m BS/ FWBF/ F pill addict binge drinker 37 h FWW/ BGF 38
d 9 s 7
My A: ONS 2003 other inappropriate behavior/ poor boundaries
Her A: 5 month EA/PA 2011
DDay 8/30/11 (I caught her and confessed to mine)
married 8 years, together 19 working on R/
suddenlyisee ( member #32689) posted at 1:37 PM on Monday, November 7th, 2011
Just finished "Until Tuesday" by Luis Carlos Montalván. Inspiring read.
Amazonia ( member #32810) posted at 4:17 PM on Monday, November 7th, 2011
Wild Swans by Jung Chang is one of my all time favorites.
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Swans-Three-Daughters-China/dp/B000YTFMU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320679232&sr=8-1
"You yourself deserve your love and affection as much as anybody in the universe." -Buddha
"Let's face it, life is a crap shoot." -Sad in AZ
Bigger ( Attaché #8354) posted at 2:21 AM on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
Unconventional?
The Real Frank Zappa
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Frank-Zappa-Book/dp/0671705725
Excellent read and immensely funny and… educational.
Remember if you do buy this from Amazon then go to Amazon by clicking on Dr. Phil. I think SI gets some cash every time a purchase on Amazon originates here (correct me if I’m wrong admins).
"If, therefore, any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone." Epictetus
kitticat ( member #23060) posted at 8:25 AM on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
"Living in the Material World" about the late George Harrison.
Me - BS 64
Him - FWS 63
M 32 yrs, together 34 yrs.
2 adult offspring
D-Day: 8-2-06, TT for 6 weeks
15 random sexual encounters over 4 years.
R
toonces ( member #25949) posted at 4:10 AM on Saturday, November 12th, 2011
I'm reading Steven Tyler's autobiography. He's the lead singer of Aerosmith and is currently a judge on one of those talent(?) TV shows.
I thought I wasn't going to like it but it's a decent book.
Me - BS
Her - WS
affair length - 6 months with OM
married since 7/92
d-day 4/2002
Ready_to_run ( member #20954) posted at 9:15 PM on Saturday, November 12th, 2011
My all-time favorite biography is "Into The Wild" by John Krakauer. He retraces the path of a young man who after college donated his entire savings to charity, burned all the money in his wallet and set out on a 2 year journey across the western US and eventually turned up dead in the Alaskan wilderness.
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