#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be. “A raw and raucous exploration of Handler’s ongoing search for self . . . [She’s] disarming us with humor to get at our softest selves and meeting us with her own.”— Oprah Daily There’s a woman I want to become, Chelsea Handler thought as a child. She’ll be strong and confident. She’ll light up a room and spread that light to make others feel better. She’ll make a living being herself. She’ll be a survivor. At ten years old, Chelsea opened a lemonade stand and realized she’d make more money if the drinks were spiked. So she added vodka to her recipe and used her earnings to upgrade herself to first-class on a family vacation—leaving her parents and siblings in coach. She moved to Los Angeles and got fired from her temp job when she admitted she didn’t know how to transfer calls. She’s played pickleball with the scions of an American dynasty. She’s sexted a governor. She shared psychedelics with strangers in Spain. When she accidentally ended up at dinner with Woody Allen, she was not going to leave the table without asking him a very personal pointed question. She went on national television and talked about having threesomes. She's never been one to hold back. But this life of adventure and absurdity is only part of her story. Chelsea knows what it is to truly show up for her family—canine and human, biological and chosen. She’s discovered how to spend time with herself, how to meditate, how to be open to love, and how to end a relationship with dignity. She is a sister to the many women who rely on her. Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built—a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having .

The most haunting memoir of the twentieth century—written in exile, published after death, essential for our time. Stefan Zweig was born into the golden age of European civilization, a world that believed in progress, treasured culture above nationalism, and thought peace permanent. From his privileged position in Vienna—cultural capital of the Hapsburg Empire—he witnessed the last great flowering of cosmopolitan humanism. He knew Rilke and Freud, Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. He moved effortlessly between Paris, London, Berlin, and Rome. By the 1920s, he was one of the most translated authors in the world. Then, across three decades, he watched that entire civilization destroy itself. The World of Yesterday is Zweig's attempt to capture what was lost—the intellectual brilliance of pre-war Vienna, the madness of 1914's patriotic fever, the hyperinflation that destroyed Austria's middle class, the rise of Mussolini and Hitler, the nightmare of exile. Writing without access to his notes or library, relying purely on memory, Zweig creates something more valuable than conventional autobiography: a sustained meditation on civilization's fragility, written by a witness who understood exactly what was being destroyed and why it mattered. This is not simply historical testimony. It is warning and prophecy. Zweig describes how quickly democratic norms collapsed, how virulent antisemitism erupted in countries where Jews felt integrated, how cultural achievement proved defenseless against totalitarian barbarism. He chronicles the failure of intellectuals to resist, the transformation of neighbors into enemies, the speed with which cosmopolitan ideals gave way to tribal hatred. The memoir was completed in Brazil in February 1942, mailed to the publisher on February 21st. The next day, Zweig and his wife ended their lives. He could not survive the destruction of everything he valued. But he left us this book—eloquent, heartbroken, clear-eyed about both his generation's achievements and its catastrophic failures. For readers in our own uncertain era, The World of Yesterday speaks with uncomfortable urgency. The questions Zweig asks have become our questions. The dangers he witnessed have not disappeared. His testimony reminds us that civilization is never guaranteed—it must be defended, or it will be lost. A masterwork of witness and warning. The essential memoir of European catastrophe. Required reading for our age.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically chronicles his hilarious adventures in attempting to follow the original meaning of the Constitution, as he searches for answers to one of the most pressing issues of our time: How should we interpret America’s foundational document? “I don’t know how I learned so much while laughing so hard.”—Andy Borowitz A.J. Jacobs learned the hard way that donning a tricorne hat and marching around Manhattan with a 1700s musket will earn you a lot of strange looks. In the wake of several controversial rulings by the Supreme Court and the on-going debate about how the Constitution should be interpreted, Jacobs set out to understand what it means to live by the Constitution. In The Year of Living Constitutionally , A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution. He asserts his right to free speech by writing his opinions on parchment with a quill and handing them out to strangers in Times Square. He consents to quartering a soldier, as is his Third Amendment right. He turns his home into a traditional 1790s household by lighting candles instead of using electricity, boiling mutton, and—because women were not allowed to sign contracts— feebly attempting to take over his wife’s day job, which involves a lot of contract negotiations. The book blends unforgettable adventures—delivering a handwritten petition to Congress, applying for a Letter of Marque to become a legal pirate for the government, and battling redcoats as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment group—with dozens of interviews from constitutional experts from both sides. Jacobs dives deep into originalism and living constitutionalism, the two rival ways of interpreting the document. Much like he did with the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically , Jacobs provides a crash course on our Constitution as he experiences the benefits and perils of living like it’s the 1790s. He relishes, for instance, the slow thinking of the era, free from social media alerts. But also discovers the progress we’ve made since 1789 when married women couldn’t own property. Now more than ever, Americans need to understand the meaning and value of the Constitution. As politicians and Supreme Court Justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret the Constitution, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how this storied document fits into our democracy today.

"Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy--especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis--and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre. From his early days as an office assistant, to meeting Jonathan Larson and experiencing the triumph and tragedy of Rent, to working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, Jeffrey completely pulls back the curtain on the joyous and gut-wrenching process of makingnew musicals, finding new audiences, and winning a Tony Award--all the while finding himself"--

FROM THE CREATOR OF SHOWTIME'S "HAPPYISH"A New York Times Notable Book, and a “chaotic, laugh riot” ( San Francisco Chronicle ) of a memoir.Shalom Auslander was raised with a terrified respect for God. Even as he grew up and was estranged from his community, his religion and its traditions, he could not find the path to a life where he didn’t struggle daily with the fear of God’s formidable wrath. Foreskin’s Lament reveals Auslander’s “painfully, cripplingly, incurably, miserably religious” youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox Jewish community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. His combination of unrelenting humor and anger renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith and family.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Description In the vein of Mary Karr’s Lit, Augusten Burroughs’ Dry and Sarah Hepola’s Blackout, As Needed for Pain is a raw and riveting—and often wryly funny—addiction memoir from one of New York media’s most accomplished editors which explores his never-before-told story of opioid addiction and the drastic impact it had on his life and career.Dan Peres wasn’t born to be a media insider. As an awkward, magic-obsessed adolescent, nothing was further from his reality than the catwalks of Paris or the hallways of glossy magazine publishers. A gifted writer and shrewd cultural observer, Peres eventually took the leap—even when it meant he had to fake a sense of belonging in a new world of famed fashion designers, celebrities, and some of media’s biggest names. But he had a secret: opiates. Peres’s career as an editor at W magazine and Details is well known, but little is known about his private life as a high-functioning drug addict. In As Needed for Pain, Peres lays bare for the first time the extent of his drug use—at one point a 60-pill-a-day habit. By turns humorous and gripping, Peres’s story is a cautionary coming-of-age tale filled with unforgettable characters and breathtaking brushes with disaster. But the heart of the book is his journey from outsider to insecure insider, what it took to get him there, and how he found his way back from a killing addiction. As Needed for Pain offers a rare glimpse into New York media’s past—a time when print magazines mattered—and a rarefied world of wealth, power, and influence. It is also a brilliant, shocking dissection of a life teetering on the edge of destruction, and what it took to pull back from the brink. Review "Exactly the right book at exactly the right time... As Needed for Pain must have been difficult to write; it's difficult to read. But it's an important book. While it's just one man's testimony of his journey into and through his addiction to pain killers, it's a universal story that anyone from any background who knows the evil of opiate addiction will deeply relate to." -- Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors and Dry "With humility, humor and courage, Dan Peres’ story of pretending to be on top of the world when in fact he was hitting rock bottom is a memoir for our times. An eye-opening, enthralling read, AS NEEDED FOR PAIN is an unforgettable memoir." -- Ayelet Waldman, author of A Really Good Day “This memoir exists in the realm of grace―what causes Dan Peres to take his first pill, what causes him to take his last, remains a mystery. In between there are magic and lies, mistakes and glamour, pretense and escape." -- Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City About the Author Dan Peres was editor in chief of Details for fifteen years, starting in 2000, when the title relaunched under his leadership. During his tenure, the magazine won many awards, including two National Magazine Awards. Before taking the editorship of Details, Dan spent nine years at W magazine, overseeing bureaus in Paris, London, and Milan. While in college, he worked as a copy boy at the New York Times and later as a research assistant at Esquire. He is the author of Details Men’s Style Manual. He lives in New York and has three sons.

"For the last decade, as she's spent countless hours in doctor's waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham's body has felt, as she puts it, 'like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.' It's not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you--as a twenty-five-year-old--are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist's office to discuss the latest Internet disaster. But Dunham does it--even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she's meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her--because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again--if only she could remember who that self was. As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame--from selling the pilot of Girls to the present--in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can't protect you from pain--and begins to control your every move--being famous doesn't stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience. In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can't change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves."--

The book that inspired the award-winning documentary, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence. Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and author, Janis Ian took the stage at age fifteen with a revolutionary song about interracial relationships, "Society's Child." It was 1966 and the country responded with both hostility and accolades. The song went to #1, and Janis was caught in the maelstrom of a divided country. Terrified by the hatred directed at her, she left the music industry, only to return a few years later with the worldwide hit "At Seventeen." The story never ends-her songs are currently used by artists as diverse as Bette Midler, John Mellencamp, and Celine Dion; and she is considered one of the pre-eminent acoustic guitarists of our era by such notables as Chet Atkins. In "Society's Child," you'll journey with Janis as she spends time with luminaries of the century-Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin-singers and songwriters who both influenced and befriended her. Her book takes an unblinking look at the music business, her own remarkable path through it, and what was really happening backstage-with honesty and integrity. Connect with Janis on her website, janisian.com, and read this inspiring autobiography of one woman's unbreakable spirit.

"Courageous, insightful and candid thoughts on malady and mortality from one of our most celebrated writers"--Provided by the publisher

The joyful but ultimately heartbreaking journal of a young Jewish woman in occupied Paris, now published for the first time, 63 years after her death. In 1942, Hélène Berr, a 21-year-old Jewish student at the Sorbonne, started to keep a journal, writing with verve and style about her everyday life in Paris--about her studies, her friends, her growing affection for the "boy with the grey eyes," about the sun in the dewdrops, and about the effect of the growing restrictions imposed by France's Nazi occupiers. Humiliations were to follow, which she records, now with a view to posterity. She wants the journal to go to her fiancé, who has enrolled with the Free French Forces, as she knows she may not live much longer. She was right. The final entry is dated February 15, 1944, and we now know she died in Bergen-Belsen in April 1945, within a month of Anne Frank and just days before the liberation of the camp.--From publisher description.

"Award-winning journalist Julia Ioffe tells the story of modern Russia through the history of its women, from revolution to utopia to autocracy. In 1990, seven-year-old Julia Ioffe and her family fled the Soviet Union. Nearly twenty years later, Ioffe returned to Moscow-only to discover just how much Russian society had changed while she had been living in America. The Soviet women she had known growing up-doctors, engineers, scientists-had seemingly been replaced with women desperate to marry rich and become stay-at-home moms. How had Russia gone from portraying itself as the vanguard of world feminism to the last bastion of conservative Christian values? In Motherland, Ioffe turns modern Russian history on its head, telling it exclusively through the stories of its women. From her own physician great-grandmothers to Lenin's lover, a feminist revolutionary; from the hundreds of thousands of Soviet girls who fought in World War II to the millions of single mothers who rebuilt and repopulated a devastated country; from the members of Pussy Riot to Yulia Navalnaya, wife of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, she chronicles one of the most audacious social experiments in history and how it failed the very women it was meant to liberate-and documents how that failure paved the way to the revanche of Vladimir Putin. Part memoir, part journalistic exploration, part history, Motherland paints a portrait of modern Russia through the women who shaped it. With deep emotion, Ioffe shows what it means to live through the cataclysms of revolution, war, idealism, and heartbreak-and reveals how the story of Russia today is inextricably tied to the history of its women"-- Provided by publisher.

Growing up in the Hollywood Hills during the 1950s, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson thought it was perfectly normal that a guru named Paul Brunton lived with his family, dictating everything from their diet and daily rituals to their travel plans and even his parents' sex life. In this extraordinary memoir, My Father's Guru , Masson reflects on the sheer bizarreness of his childhood - particularly the intense relationship between his father and the elusive, eminent mystic he revered (and financially supported) for years. With candor and charm, Masson describes his father's conviction that Paul Brunton - P.B. to his followers - was a living God destined to fill their lives with enlightenment and wonder. As the Masson family's personal guru, Brunton freely discussed his life on other planets, laid down strict rules on fasting and meditation, and constantly warned of the imminence of World War III. For years, young Jeffrey was as ardent a disciple as his father. But with the onset of adolescence came a dramatic revolt against this domestic deity and everything he represented. Filled with absurdist humor and intimate confessions, My Father's Guru is the spellbinding coming-of-age story of one of our most brilliant writers, navigating an unbelievable upbringing and ultimately finding his own path.

Born into a well known Australian show business family, Helen Reddy has been performing professionally since the age of four. With her song "I am woman" she provided the feminist anthem of the 1970s. Now she tells her own story in this memoir.

I Thought My Father was God [paperback] Paul Auster [Jan 01, 2001]

David Cameron was elected Conservative leader in 2005, promising to modernize the party following its three successive electoral defeats. He became Prime Minister in 2010, forming Britain’s first coalition government in 70 years, at a moment of economic crisis, and went on to win the first outright Conservative majority for 23 years at the 2015 general election. In For the Record, he will explain how the governments he led transformed the UK economy while implementing a modern, compassionate agenda that included reforming education and welfare, legalizing gay marriage, honoring the UK’s commitment to overseas aid and spearheading environmental policies. He will shed light on the seminal world events of his premiership—the Arab Spring; the rise of ISIS; the invasion of Ukraine; the conflicts in Libya, Iraq and Syria—as well as events at home, from the Olympic Games in 2012 to the Scottish referendum. He will provide, for the first time, his perspective on the EU referendum and his views on the future of Britain’s place in the world following Brexit. Revealing the battles and achievements of his life and career in intimate and frank detail, For the Record will be an important assessment of the significant political events of the last decade, the nature of power and the role of leadership at a time of profound global change.

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A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • An essential new translation of the author’s complete, uncensored diaries—a revelation of the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers. “An invaluable addition to Kafka’s oeuvre.”— The New York Times An essential new translation of Franz Kafka’s complete, uncensored diaries—a revelation of the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century’s most important, influential, and visionary writers Dating from 1909 to 1923, Franz Kafka’s Diaries contains a broad array of writing, including accounts of daily events, assorted reflections and observations, literary sketches, drafts of letters, records of dreams, and unrevised texts of stories. This volume makes available for the first time in English a comprehensive reconstruction of Kafka’s handwritten diary entries and provides substantial new content, restoring all the material omitted from previous publications—notably, names of people and undisguised details about them, a number of literary writings, and passages of a sexual nature, some of them with homoerotic overtones. By faithfully reproducing the diaries’ distinctive— and often surprisingly unpolished—writing as it appeared in Kafka’s notebooks, translator Ross Benjamin brings to light not only the author’s use of the diaries for literary invention and unsparing self-examination but also their value as a work of genius in and of themselves.

This powerful, emotional, and astonishing story will inspire anyone who has faced adversity to overcome challenges and persevere. Sandra’s candid account of her personal journey offers a rare glimpse into the life of the woman behind the phenomenal success of Semi-Homemade. Smart, witty, and moving, Made From Scratch is an uplifting tale of determination and survival. Sandra is stunningly open about her abusive childhood and the responsibility thrust upon her at an early age to be the caretaker of her family. Through a series of tragedies and challenges, she painfully discovered that we are all responsible for the choices we make in life. With the guidance of her grandmother, Sandra learned to be a self-sufficient and independent woman. After moving to Wisconsin at 15 to live with her father, an unexpected tragedy and the fallout from his mistakes required her to get her own apartment while still in high school. At 21, Sandra moved to Los Angeles, where she found tremendous success, launching her first product line, Kurtain Kraft. Working with the gritty resolve and make-do skills she learned as a child, she became a millionaire by the time she was 25, only to lose her fortune before the age of 30 and have to start all over again. Sandra started Semi-Homemade, smarter and wiser from her past mistakes, and has never looked back. Now dedicated to helping others through various charities and foundations, Sandra is committed to aiding and inspiring people to reach their dreams. Her unforgettable story will show that if she can do it, you can too. Made From Scratch will make you laugh, cry, think, and embrace the grace and glory in every day. Sometimes feisty but always sincere, Made From Scratch has all of the ingredients that make up the recipe of a courageous life and remarkable success. Written by: Sandra Lee is a lifestyle expert and a New York Times and Amazon.com best-selling author. With 13 books to her credit, she is the host of a top-rated TV show, Semi-Homemade Cooking, on the Food Network. Sandra resides in Los Angeles and New York City. Laura Morton is the author of 30 books, eight of which are New York Times best sellers, including The Truth Is, Melissa Etheridge’s memoir; Bringing Elizabeth Home, the Elizabeth Smart story; and Healthy Living, Joan Lunden’s personal journey. Laura lives in New York.

This memoir is by the man who created the Broadway hits "Hello Dolly!," "Mame," and "La Cage Aux Folles." The self-described "Mr. Show Business, the razzmatazz musical comedy writer, a cheerful man whose life is dedicated to making people smile and feel good and leave the theater humming a show tune," Jerry Herman takes readers on a sentimental journey, retracing his steps toward big-time success and occasional disappointment. Though Herman relates losing his lover to AIDS, and tells of his own HIV status, of plagiarism disputes, and of in-fighting with Broadway producers, his tone remains conversational and cheerfully upbeat.