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After 9/11: One Girl's Journey through Darkness to a New Beginning
by Helaina Hovitz Jasmin Lee Cori“You are a herald for your generation....Thank you for using your voice to help us make sense of that dark day, and forge a new beginning.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter to Helaina Hovitz Helaina Hovitz was twelve years old and in middle school just blocks away when the World Trade Center was attacked. Her memoir encapsulates the journey of a girl growing up with PTSD after living through the events firsthand. After 9/11 chronicles its effects on a young girl at the outset of adolescence, following her as she spirals into addiction and rebellion, through loss, chaos, and confusion.The events of 9/11 were a very real part of Helaina’s life and are still vivid in her memory today. Hundreds were stranded in the neighborhood, including Helaina, without phones or electricity or anyone to help. Fear and despair took over her life. It would take Helaina more than a decade to overcome the PTSD — and subsequent alcohol addiction — that went misdiagnosed and mistreated. In many ways, After 9/11 is the story of a generation growing up in the aftermath of America’s darkest day —and for one young woman, it is the story of a survivor who, after witnessing the end, got to make a new beginning. This new trade paperback edition includes tips on how to cope with trauma, an FAQ section, and a guide to discussing 9/11 with children. “Inspirational, courageous and beautifully told. After 9/11 is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.” — Cathy Free, correspondent, PEOPLE magazine“Helaina Hovitz's engrossing narrative begins in the shadow of the twin towers with her as a backpack-toting twelve-year-old and plays out over the next fifteen years in dramatic - and sometimes distressing - detail. This impressive debut is both deeply evocative and intensely personal.” — Peter Canby, Senior Editor, The New Yorker“A moving and remarkable testament to a time that changed our country, told beautifully by a young woman who never gave up hope that she could reclaim her life, no matter how grim things looked.” — Sean Elder, contributor, Newsweek
After a Funeral: A Memoir
by Diana AthillA classic memoir by the author of the New York Times bestseller Somewhere Towards the End. When Diana Athill met the man she calls Didi, she fell in love instantly and out of love just as fast. Didi's quirks, which at first appeared so charming and sweet, soon revealed a darker side--he was a gambler, a drinker, and a womanizer, impossible to live with but impossible to ignore. After a Funeral explores the years of their friendship; a period that culminated in Didi's suicide (in Athill's apartment). This bravura work "gives a new dimension to honesty, a new comprehension to love" (Vogue).
After a While You Just Get Used to It
by Gwendolyn KnappA vibrant new voice ups the self-deprecating memoir ante with tragicomic tales of her dysfunctional life in swampland Florida and America's Big Easy A dive bar palm reader who calls herself the Disco Queen Taiwan; a slumlord with a penis-of-the-day LISTSERV; and Betty, the middle-aged Tales of the Cocktail volunteer who soils her pants on a party bus and is dealt with in the worst possible way. These are just a few of the unforgettable characters who populate Gwendolyn Knapp's hilarious and heartbreaking--yet ultimately uplifting--memoir debut, After a While You Just Get Used to It. Growing up in a dying breed of eccentric Florida crackers, Knapp thought she had it rough--what with her pack rat mother, Margie; her aunt Susie, who has fewer teeth than prison stays; and Margie's bipolar boyfriend, John. But not long after Knapp moves to New Orleans, Margie packs up her House of Hoarders and follows along. As if Knapp weren't struggling enough to keep herself afloat, working odd jobs and trying to find love while suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the thirty-year-old realizes that she's never going to escape her family's unendingly dysfunctional drama. Knapp honed her writing chops and distinctive Southern Gothic-humor style writing short pieces and participating in the renowned reading series Literary Death Match. Now, like bestselling authors Jenny Lawson, Laurie Notaro, and Julie Klausner before her, Knapp bares her sad and twisted life for readers everywhere to enjoy.
After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles
by Bryan LitfinWhat really happened after Acts?If you&’ve ever wondered what happened to the biblical characters after Acts—from the well-known Matthew to the lesser-known Bartholomew—then this book is for you. Join Dr. Bryan Litfin as he guides you through Scripture and other ancient literature to sift fact from fiction, real-life from legend. Skillfully researched and clearly written, After Acts is as accurate as it is engaging. Gain a window into the religious milieu of the ancient and medieval church. Unearth artifacts and burial sites. Learn what really happened to your favorite characters and what you should truly remember them for.Did Paul ever make it to Spain? Was he beheaded in Rome?Is it true that Peter was crucified upside down?Was the Virgin Mary really bodily assumed into heaven?The book of Acts ends at chapter 28. But its characters lived on.
After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles
by Bryan LitfinWhat really happened after Acts?If you&’ve ever wondered what happened to the biblical characters after Acts—from the well-known Matthew to the lesser-known Bartholomew—then this book is for you. Join Dr. Bryan Litfin as he guides you through Scripture and other ancient literature to sift fact from fiction, real-life from legend. Skillfully researched and clearly written, After Acts is as accurate as it is engaging. Gain a window into the religious milieu of the ancient and medieval church. Unearth artifacts and burial sites. Learn what really happened to your favorite characters and what you should truly remember them for.Did Paul ever make it to Spain? Was he beheaded in Rome?Is it true that Peter was crucified upside down?Was the Virgin Mary really bodily assumed into heaven?The book of Acts ends at chapter 28. But its characters lived on.
After All: In Her Own Words . . . The Searing Truth behind the Dazzling Smile
by Mary Tyler MooreNew York Times Bestseller Audiences have long adored Mary Tyler Moore for her television persona as the quintessential girl-next-door, as well as for her strong performances on screen and stage. But what about the poignant doubts and inner strength that drove this versatile and courageous actress? After All is the candid, moving autobiography of the woman America fell in love with, and the icon she became. &“Mesmerizing…Fans will love Moore&’s behind-the-scenes reminiscences.&” —San Francisco Chronicle Mary Tyler Moore was America's darling: actress, producer, star of the golden age of television. Her work on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show garnered multiple Emmys, followed by critical acclaim for her acting on Broadway and in film. Now, in her witty, candid, heartbreaking autobiography, Mary Tyler Moore tells all about the Dick Van Dyke nobody knows; Elvis, her sly, seductive co-star in Change of Habit; how Carl Reiner taught her to cry while being funny; Robert Redford's confession after casting her in Ordinary People; about then-First Lady Betty Ford's inebriated debut on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and years later, her phone call that saved Mary's life. After All is the exhilarating and moving story of this extraordinarily successful woman, a complex and creative star who hadn&’t developed a legacy without much pain and reflection along the way. Mary spares nothing as she recounts her traumatic childhood, two failed marriages, her own alcoholism, the tragic death of her son, and her third, happy marriage to a cardiologist eighteen years her junior. Offering a firsthand overview of the television industry, and peppered with sharp anecdotes, the result is a remarkable narrative and a rare look at one the most enduring and admired stars of our time. Inspiring, poignant, and brutally frank, After All will touch every reader's heart and soul.
After All These Years: Our Story
by Mick Foster Tony AllenThis is the combined life story of Mick Foster and Tony Allen, revealing how these most unlikely of stars toured the world and entered the record books. A charming narrative told with heaps of Celtic charm, it is filled with nostalgic reminiscences about growing up in rural Ireland in the 1950s and 60s, and spans the breadth of their long career, including appearing on Top of the Pops alongside Bob Geldof and being feted by Terry Wogan, and the extraordinary moment when they found themselves at the very top of the charts, beating Take That to the number-one slot.
After Andy: Adventures in Warhol Land
by Natasha Fraser-CavassoniAfter Andy is Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni’s insider's account of working in Andy Warhol’s studio and Interview magazine, and explores Warhol’s impact on the art world, pop culture, society, and fashion—and how his iconic status gave rise to some of our most influential tastemakers today. Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni met Andy Warhol when she was sixteen, and then on and off over the years before landing in New York City at the Andy Warhol Studio, or as she calls it, “Adventures in Warhol Land.” In this witty, page-turning account, she takes readers deep into the Pop artist’s world—as well as miles into the stratosphere of the socialites, fashion icons, film stars, rock legends, and art world powerhouses who could be found in his orbit—where she worked with Fred Hughes, Brigid Berlin, Vincent Fremont, and others who were once part of the Factory clan. As the last person hired at the studio before Warhol died in 1987, Fraser-Cavassoni saw firsthand the end of an era and the establishment of a global phenomenon. From the behind-the-scenes disagreements and the assessment of his estate, which included Interview magazine and his art inventory, to the record-breaking auction of his belongings and the publication of his diaries, Fraser-Cavassoni examines the immediate aftermath of Warhol’s death and his ever-growing impact, which ranged from New York to Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Interviews with key figures of the art world and dozens of Andy intimates make After Andy and its subject more relevant than ever today.
After Anne: A Novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Life
by Logan SteinerA stunning and unexpected portrait of Lucy Maud Montgomery, creator of one of literature’s most prized heroines, whose personal demons were at odds with her most enduring legacy—the irrepressible Anne of Green Gables.“Dear old world,” she murmured, “you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” —L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908As a young woman, Maud had dreams bigger than the whole of Prince Edward Island. Her exuberant spirit had always drawn frowns from her grandmother and their neighbors, but she knew she was meant to create, to capture and share the way she saw the world. And the young girl in Maud’s mind became more and more persistent: Here is my story, she said. Here is how my name should be spelled—Anne with an “e.”But the day Maud writes the first lines of Anne of Green Gables, she gets a visit from the handsome new minister in town, and soon faces a decision: forge her own path as a spinster authoress, or live as a rural minister’s wife, an existence she once called "a synonym for respectable slavery." The choice she makes alters the course of her life.With a husband whose religious mania threatens their health and happiness at every turn, the secret darkness that Maud herself holds inside threatens to break through the persona she shows to the world, driving an ever-widening wedge between her public face and private self, and putting her on a path towards a heartbreaking end.Beautiful and moving, After Anne reveals Maud’s hidden personal challenges while celebrating what was timeless about her life and art—the importance of tenacity and the peaceful refuge found in imagination.
After Apollo?
by John M. LogsdonOnce the United States landed on the moon in July 1969, it was up to President Nixon to decide what to do in space after Apollo. This book chronicles the decisions he made, including ending space exploration and approving the space shuttle. Those decisions determined the character of the US human space flight program for the next forty years.
After Auschwitz
by Hermann Gruenwald Bryan DemchinskyGruenwald paints his life story onto the larger canvas of some of the great conflicts and movements of the twentieth century. He offers a vivid portrayal of growing up affluent and Jewish in class-conscious Hungary in the interwar period and of the initial promise and disillusioning reality of Hungarian communism.
After Auschwitz: A story of heartbreak and survival by the stepsister of Anne Frank (Extraordinary Lives, Extraordinary Stories of World War Two #1)
by Eva SchlossEva was arrested by the Nazis on her fifteenth birthday and sent to Auschwitz. Her survival depended on endless strokes of luck, her own determination and the love and protection of her mother Fritzi, who was deported with her.When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the long journey home. They searched desperately for Eva's father and brother, from whom they had been separated. The news came some months later. Tragically, both men had been killed.Before the war, in Amsterdam, Eva had become friendly with a young girl called Anne Frank. Though their fates were very different, Eva's life was set to be entwined with her friend's for ever more, after her mother Fritzi married Anne's father Otto Frank in 1953.This is a searingly honest account of how an ordinary person survived the Holocaust. Eva's memories and descriptions are heartbreakingly clear, her account brings the horror as close as it can possibly be.But this is also an exploration of what happened next, of Eva's struggle to live with herself after the war and to continue the work of her step-father Otto, ensuring that the legacy of Anne Frank is never forgotten.
After Auschwitz: A Story of Heartbreak and Survival by the Stepsister of Anne Frank
by Eva SchlossEva was arrested by the Nazis on her fifteenth birthday and sent to Auschwitz. Her survival depended on endless strokes of luck, her own determination and the love and protection of her mother Fritzi, who was deported with her. When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the long journey home. They searched desperately for Eva's father and brother, from whom they had been separated. The news came some months later. Tragically, both men had been killed. Before the war, in Amsterdam, Eva had become friendly with a young girl called Anne Frank. Though their fates were very different, Eva's life was set to be entwined with her friend's for ever more, after her mother Fritzi married Anne's father Otto Frank in 1953. This is a searingly honest account of how an ordinary person survived the Holocaust. Eva's memories and descriptions are heartbreakingly clear, her account brings the horror as close as it can possibly be. But this is also an exploration of what happened next, of Eva's struggle to live with herself after the war and to continue the work of her step-father Otto, ensuring that the legacy of Anne Frank is never forgotten.
After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family--1968 to the Present
by J. Randy TaraborrelliFor more than half a century, Americans have been captivated by the Kennedys - their joy and heartbreak, tragedy and triumph, the dark side and the remarkable achievements. In this ambitious and sweeping account, Taraborelli continues the family chronicle begun with his bestselling Jackie, Ethel, Joan and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the years "after Camelot." He describes the challenges Bobby's children faced as they grew into adulthood; Eunice and Sargent Shriver's remarkable philanthropic work; the emotional turmoil Jackie faced after JFK's murder and the complexities of her eventual marriage to Aristotle Onassis; the the sudden death of JFK JR; and the stoicism and grace of his sister Caroline. He also brings into clear focus the complex and intriguing story of Edward "Teddy" and shows how he influenced the sensibilities of the next generation and challenged them to uphold the Kennedy name. Based on extensive research, including hundreds of exclusive interviews, After Camelot captures the wealth, glamour, and fortitude for which the Kennedys are so well known. With this book, J. Randy Taraborrelli takes readers on an epic journey as he unfolds the ongoing saga of the nation's most famous-and controversial-family.
After Cleo, Came Jonah
by Helen BrownJonah entered Helen Brown's life not long after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had begun recovery from a mastectomy. His arrival coincided with the finalisation of her previous book, Cleo, as well as preparations for the wedding of her son and struggles with her daughter's determination to embark on a spiritual journey. Jonah, as it happened, was just as headstrong as Helen's daughter. So while Helen attempted to deal with her own mortality and help arrange a wedding, her daughter took off to war-torn Sri Lanka and Jonah fled down the street.In Cats and Daughters, Helen Brown writes with honesty and humour about family life, its serious setbacks and life-changing events. She also learns that sometimes the best thing a strong mother and cat slave can do is step back, have faith in those she loves and be grateful nothing's perfect. As Helen writes in her dedication, this book is 'to cats and daughters who don't always come when called'.
After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy
by Anthony T. KronmanAn intimate, philosophic quest for eternity, amidst the disenchantments and disappointments of our time &“Aims to persuade America&’s &‘relentlessly rational&’ elites to acknowledge the existence of &‘divinity.&’ . . . Kronman&’s ambition is to repair &‘the schism between those for whom religion continues to matter and those who view it with amusement or contempt.&’&”—Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal &“In this deceptively quiet and self-effacing book, Anthony Kronman makes an audacious argument: the most important things in our lives make sense only if we believe the world is divine. In a sense, we already believe it, if only we could find the words. Here they are.&”—Jedediah Britton-Purdy, author of After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene Many people of faith believe the meaning of life depends on our connection to an eternal order of some kind. Atheists deride this belief as a childish superstition. In this wise and profound book, Anthony Kronman offers an alternative to these two entrenched positions, arguing that neither addresses the complexities of the human condition. We can never reach God, as religion promises, but cannot give up the longing to do so either. We are condemned by our nature to set goals we can neither abandon nor fulfill, yet paradoxically are able to approach more closely if we try. The human condition is one of inevitable disappointment tempered by moments of joy. Resolutely humanistic and theologically inspired, this moving book offers a rational path to the love of God amidst the disenchantments of our time.
After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief
by Andrea GilatsAn intensely moving and revelatory memoir of enduring and emerging from exceptional grief To grieve after a profound loss is perfectly natural and healthy. To be debilitated by grief for more than a decade, as Andrea Gilats was, is something else. In her candid, deeply moving, and ultimately helpful memoir of breaking free of death&’s relentless grip on her life, Gilats tells her story of living with prolonged, or &“complicated,&” grief and offers insight, hope, and guidance to others who suffer as she did. Thomas Dayton, Andrea Gilats&’s husband of twenty years, died at 52 after a five-month battle with cancer. In After Effects Gilats describes the desolation that followed and the slow and torturous twenty-year journey that brought her back to life. In the two years immediately following his death, Gilats wrote Tom daily letters, desperately trying to maintain the twenty-year conversation of their marriage. Excerpts from these letters reveal the depth of her despair but also the glimmer of an awakening as they also trace a different, more typical course of the grief experienced by one of Gilats's colleagues, also widowed. Gilats&’s struggle to rescue herself takes her through the temptation of suicide, the threat of deadly illness, the overwhelming challenges of work, and the rigor of learning and eventually teaching yoga, to a moment of reckoning and, finally, reconciliation to a life without her beloved partner. Her story is informed by the lessons she learned about complicated grief as a disorder that, while intensely personal, can be defined, grappled with, and overcome.Though complicated grief affects as many as one in seven of those stricken by the loss of a close loved one, it is little known outside professional circles. After Effects points toward a path of recuperation and provides solace along the way—a service and a comfort that is all the more timely and necessary in our pandemic-ravaged world of loss and isolation.
After Emily: Two Remarkable Women And The Legacy Of America's Greatest Poet
by Julie DobrowThe untold story of the extraordinary mother and daughter who brought Emily Dickinson’s genius to light. Despite Emily Dickinson’s world renown, the story of the two women most responsible for her initial posthumous publication—Mabel Loomis Todd and her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham—has remained in the shadows of the archives. A rich and compelling portrait of women who refused to be confined by the social mores of their era, After Emily explores Mabel and Millicent’s complex bond, as well as the powerful literary legacy they shared. Mabel’s tangled relationships with the Dickinsons—including a thirteen-year extramarital relationship with Emily’s brother, Austin—roiled the small town of Amherst, Massachusetts. After Emily’s death, Mabel’s connection to the family and reputation as an intelligent, artistic, and industrious woman in her own right led her to the enormous trove of poems Emily left behind. So began the herculean task of transcribing, editing, and promoting Emily’s work, a task that would consume and complicate the lives of both Mabel and her daughter. As the popularity of the poems grew, legal issues arose between the Dickinson and Todd families, dredging up their scandals: the affair, the ownership of Emily’s poetry, and the right to define the so-called "Belle of Amherst." Utilizing hundreds of overlooked letters and diaries to weave together the stories of three unstoppable women, Julie Dobrow explores the intrigue of Emily Dickinson’s literary beginnings. After Emily sheds light on the importance of the earliest editions of Emily’s work—including the controversial editorial decisions made to introduce her singular genius to the world—and reveals the surprising impact Mabel and Millicent had on the poet we know today.
After Emma
by Sheila HockenFrom the book Jacket: Sequel to Emma and Co. Readers of Sheila Hocken's previous bestselling autobiographies (Emma & I, Emma VIP and Emma & Co) will remember her remarkable guide-dog, Emma, who inspired Sheila with a lifelong love of chocolate-brown Labradors. After Emma relates more of the hilarious (and sometimes despairing) antics of Bracken, Mocha, Buttons and Teak of Emma & Co, but it also introduces four new characters, Pip (a Colliador), Elsa (a neurotic mongrel), Katy (a black Labrador), and Katy's daughter, Psyche. Apart from its many humorous anecdotes, After Emma highlights Sheila Hocken's continuous enthusiasm and caring attitude towards the training of her dogs and she is forthright in her criticism of some methods used by other trainers. The book also movingly reveals Sheila's very real fears that an eye infection could threaten her sight once more. After Emma is the sixth delightful and heart-warming book from an author whose own experiences and reflections have won her a large and dedicated following. She won much acclaim with her first book, Emma & I, the memorable account of her special relationship with her guide-dog: "It has that rare quality motional honesty -touching and joyful" -Daily Mirror. Sheila Hocken was born in Beeston, Nottingham in 1946 into a family who were all blind or partially sighted. Emma, a chocolate-brown Labrador, gave her the freedom to travel, and was brilliantly intuitive in realising her needs. A successful operation in 1975 restored Sheila's sight, and she now lives in Stapleford, Nottingham, with her husband Don and daughter, Kerensa. After Emma is her sixth book.
After Evil: She Was One Of The Yorkshire Ripper's Victims, He Was The Boy Left Behind
by Carter Woodrow JaneCriminologist Jane Carter Woodrow has spent many years working with both offenders and victims of violent crime, but it wasn?t until she met Neil, whose mother was one of the Yorkshire Ripper?s first victims, that she realised quite how devastating the aftermath of a murder can be...
After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance
by Anne Sibley O'BrienIn 1908 Mohandas Gandhi spoke to a crowd of 3,000. Together they protested against an unjust law without guns or rioting. Peacefully they made a difference. Gandhi’s words and deeds influenced countless others to work toward the goals of freedom and justice through peaceful methods. Mother and son team, Anne Sibley O’Brien and Perry Edmond O’Brien, highlight some of the people and events that Gandhi’s actions inspired. From Rosa Parks to the students at Tiananmen Square to Wangari Maathai, these people have made the world sit up and take notice. The provocative graphics and beautiful portraits accompanying these stories stir the emotions and inspire a sense of civic responsibility.
After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance
by Anne Sibley O'Brien Perry Edmond O'BrienThis book explores the work of Mohandas Gandhi and his legacy through fifteen profiles of activists who chose nonviolent resistance as the path to change. The book focuses on heroic individuals who were in direct physical danger and chose to respond with nonviolence.
After Ireland: Writing the Nation from Beckett to the Present
by Declan KiberdPolitical failures and globalization have eroded Ireland’s sovereignty—a decline portended in Irish literature. Surveying the bleak themes in thirty works by modern writers, Declan Kiberd finds audacious experimentation that embodies the defiance and resourcefulness of Ireland’s founding spirit—and a strange kind of hope for a more open nation.
After Life: My Journey from Incarceration to Freedom
by Alice Marie Johnson Nancy FrenchForeword by Kim Kardashian WestThe true-life story of the woman whose life sentence for non-violent drug trafficking was commuted by President Donald Trump thanks to the efforts of Kim Kardashian West—an inspiring memoir of faith, hope, mercy, and gratitude.How do you hold on to hope after more than twenty years of imprisonment? For Alice Marie Johnson the answer lies with God.For years, Alice lived a normal life without a criminal record—she was a manager at FedEx, a wife, and a mother. But after an emotionally and financially tumultuous period in her life left her with few options, she turned to crime as a way to pay off her mounting debts. Convicted in 1996 for her nonviolent involvement in a Memphis cocaine trafficking organization, Alice received a life sentence under the mandatory sentencing laws of the time. Locked behind bars, Alice looked to God. Eventually becoming an ordained minister, she relied on her faith to sustain hope over more than two decades—until 2018, when the president commuted her sentence at the behest of Kim Kardashian West, who had taken up Alice’s cause.In this honest, faith-driven memoir, Alice explains how she held on to hope and gave it to others, from becoming a playwright to mentoring her fellow prisoners. She reveals how Christianity and her unshakeable belief in God helped her persevere and inspired her to share her faith in a video that would go viral—and come to the attention of celebrities who were moved to action.Today, Alice is an icon for the prison reform movement and a humble servant who embraces gratitude and God for her freedom. In this powerful book, she recalls all of the firsts she has experienced through her activism and provides an authentic portrait of the crisis that is mass incarceration. Linking social justice to spiritual faith, she makes a persuasive and poignant argument for justice that transcends tribal politics. Her story is a beacon in the darkness of despair, reminding us of the power of redemption and the importance of making second chances count.After Life features 16 pages of color photographs.
After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart
by Megan MarshallA moving and penetrating memoir of a life in biography from the Pulitzer Prize winner and “gifted storyteller” (Judith Thurman, The New Yorker).Megan Marshall’s innovative books, including The Peabody Sisters and the Pulitzer Prize–winning Margaret Fuller, are treasured works of American biography. In the richly absorbing essays of After Lives, Marshall turns her narrative gift to her own art, life, and the people in it.In each of six essays, Marshall reinvents the personal essay form, as a portal to the past and its lessons for living into the future. The book’s brilliant, assured interplay between memoir and biography places surprising characters on the page, including the twelfth-century Buddhist hermit Kamo no Chomei, a reassuring spiritual presence for Marshall during several otherwise deracinating months in Kyoto. In her stunning coming-of-age tale, “Free for a While,” set in 1970s California, Marshall interweaves the story of her adolescence with that of Black Power martyr Jonathan Jackson, the author’s AP history classmate, gunned down at seventeen in a failed attempt to free his famed older brother George from prison in the case that put Angela Davis on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Here too is the author’s passion for the biographical chase, and for the mysteries at its heart. She tells the astonishing story of viewing the disinterred remains of her one-time subject Sophia Peabody Hawthorne, wife of Nathaniel, and their daughter Una, the truths of whose early death Marshall works to reveal. Throughout these finely wrought essays, Marshall, “[at] the front rank of American biographers” (Dwight Garner, New York Times), makes palpable her driving impulse to “learn what I could from others: how to live, how not to live, what it means to live.”