Autobiography
A Widow, Not A Wife: 'Smacked' Explores An Ex-Husband's Secret Addiction
Eilene Zimmerman's new book is about her ex-husband's death from the effects of cocaine and opiod addiction. He was a high powered, wealthy lawyer, and the father of two children. Until his death she didn't know about his addictions.
Tegan And Sara Find Pain — And Unexpected Joy — In 'High School'
Twins, singer-songwriters, and LGBTQ icons Tegan and Sara talk about their tumultuous high school years. It's the subject of their new memoir and a new recording.
W. Kamau Bell's 'Awkward Thoughts' On Racism And Black Comedy
Comic W. Kamau Bell has spent much of his life feeling awkward. A self-described "tall, rangy black dude," Bell was often mistaken for a basketball player growing up — except that serious asthma and allergies meant he spent the bulk of his childhood indoors watching TV.
Feminist Gloria Steinem Finds Herself Free Of The 'Demands Of Gender'
As she approached 60, the co-founder of Ms. magazine says, she entered a new phase in life, one in which "you can do what you want." Originally broadcast Oct. 26, 2015.
Silence On The Sidelines: An MLB Insider's 'Manifesto' On Youth Sports
Baseball's Mike Matheny speaks with Fresh Air's Dave Davies about his playing career, managing in the big leagues and the pressures of youth sports. Matheny is the author of The Matheny Manifesto.
3,600-Page Autobiographical Novel Is An Honest And Masterful 'Selfie'
My Struggle is about Karl Ove Knausgaard's wrangle with his father, with death, with his muse and so on. The 46-year-old Norwegian's pointedly unliterary book has become a literary sensation.
How We Deal With Loss In Different Ways In Two Beautifully Written Memoirs
In Abigail Thomas' What Comes Next and How to Like It, the aging process robs the 70-something of beauty and energy. In H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald trains a goshawk after her father dies.
Sugar Ray Leonard's Fight 'In And Out Of The Ring'
The former boxing champ won world titles in five weight divisions and received a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. In his new autobiography, The Big Fight, Leonard details the obstacles he battled — including sexual abuse and addictions — during his career.
On Publishing Mark Twain's Autobiography
100 years after his death, Mark Twain's autobiography was published the way Twain himself wished. Fresh Air's David Bianculli talks with Robert Hirst, of the Mark Twain Project, about editing and publishing Twain's work.