Biography

1860: Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing a horrifying battle with her husband of 21 years. Feeling increasingly threatened by Elizabeth and her brilliant intellect, Theophilus Packard makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum. The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband.

In this deeply personal memoir about a life spent chasing the news, the MSNBC anchor and daughter of two pioneering helicopter journalists recounts her eccentric and volatile California childhood and charts her own journey to globe-trotting foreign correspondent.

Self-trained chef and restaurateur French shares her memoir about discovering the potential of food as a medium for artistic creation. French's journey is sometimes rocky, but her book is a poignant look at how food can be beautiful and healing. From scooping ice cream cones at her father's diner, to bringing fine dining and culinary adventure to rural Maine, her tale is rooted in food. French chases dreams, loses battles, and ultimately finds freedom.

A powerful memoir by 25-year-old Ly Tran about her immigrant experience and her recent family history in the aftermath of the war that spans from Vietnam to Brooklyn, and ultimately to the Ivy League.

In this memoir that spans dozens of countries worldwide, a young girl and her family adopt one new identity after another and run from both the law and the secrets that will eventually catch up to all of them.

In this poignant and deeply intimate memoir, Sarah Ruhl chronicles her experience with Bell's palsy after giving birth to twins.  Happily married and in the flush of hard-earned professional success, with her first play opening on Broadway, Sarah Ruhl has just survived a high risk pregnancy and given birth to twins when she discovers the left side of her face entirely paralyzed. Bell's palsy. Ninety percent of Bell's palsy sufferers see spontaneous improvement and full recovery. But not like Sarah Ruhl.

The story of Daniel Ellsberg and his decision to steal and publish secret documents about America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

An evocative picture book that tells the true story of the author's immigration from Kuwait to the United States.

Many of the inventions and discoveries that we use in our lives today were created centuries ago -- during the golden age of Muslim empires and beyond. Art, music, astronomy, physics, mathematics, medicine, and so many other files of knowledge we shared and created and discussed in Arabia, Persia, Iraq, and India a very, very long time ago.

In her debut picture book, professional Indigenous dancer Ria Thundercloud tells the true story of her path to dance and how it helped her take pride in her Native American heritage.