Behind the Scenes of Humanity Today
When fiction is harder to believe than nonfiction
These stories offer insight and open up a wider perspective. They are evidence that we all share similar narratives and are often bound to them by our own limited thinking
Get into the conversation, share your thoughts below.
My Friend Anna, Rachel DeLoache Williams
A young German heiress explodes onto the NYC lifestyle scene. The only problem is that she is a con artist and it is not until she meets our narrator, photo editor at Vanity Fair, that the pieces both come together before falling apart with a bang. The whirlwind is exciting and exotic just before things come to a crashing halt, equal parts funny and outrageous, My Friend Anna is unforgettable.
Maid, Stephanie Land
Stephanie Land is a single mother stuck in the system of poverty and public assistance programs. In her book, she shares what it is really like to work and live below the poverty line and how the system is designed to keep you there. Through sheer will, hard work and resilience Land gives us a candid look at the class system in this country.
Becoming, Michelle Obama
An inspirational look at the life of Michelle Obama on her road to becoming FLOTUS all the way through the Obama tenure in the White House. Her story is so much more than those 8 years and when she shares what her innermost hopes and dreams are for this country you can’t help but be filled with optimism. The writing is elegant and Michelle Obama emanates a warmth through these pages, in her story she embodies the resilience of the human spirit.
Ghettoside, Jill Leovy
Written by an LA Times reporter, Ghettoside takes a look at the devastating crime that one population suffers from even at the hands of the LAPD detectives who are supposed to be protecting them. It's an intimate portrait of “ghettoside” killings where one black man murders another. An eye opening account of justice (or rather lack thereof) inside a community that has not been given a voice. It's fast paced and shocking to see how victims and perpetrators are often unclear categories within this community that is held hostage by circumstance.
Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain
Bourdain is the perfect narrator to chronicle the underbelly of the culinary industry with this book of anecdotes. No one is immune from this story, the cooks and servers, the patrons and owners; the book is filled with late nights, raunchy back of house tales and all sorts of warnings to the various diners that show up every night. Read it and you will never dine out the same.
