Tagebücher & Memoiren

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR `Talking to you in English', he said, `is like touching you with gloves.'

Subjected to extreme abuse from a family 'friend', Sarah turned to her father only to experience the same treatment from him. Utterly devastated, Sarah even started to wonder if she was somehow to blame for this most unforgivable of betrayals and was driven to attempted suicide. This title presents her story.

In this absorbing and surprising memoir, one of the biggest names of classic Hollywood-the star of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and Marnie-tells her story, including never-before-revealed experiences on the set of some of the biggest cult films of all time .

An extraordinary memoir of transition and transgender politics and culture';Six weeks before sex reassignment surgery (SRS), I am obliged to stop taking my hormones. I suddenly feel very differently about my forthcoming operation.' In July 2012, aged thirty, Juliet Jacques underwent sex reassignment surgerya process she chronicled with unflinching honesty in a serialised national newspaper column. Trans tells of her life to the present moment: a story of growing up, of defining yourself, and of the rapidly changing world of gender politics. Fresh from university, eager to escape a dead-end job, she launches a career as a writer in a publishing culture dominated by London cliques and still figuring out the impact of the Internet. She navigates the treacherous waters of a world where, even in the liberal and feminist media, transgender identities go unacknowledged, misunderstood or worse. Yet through art, film, music, politics and football, Jacques starts to become the person she had only imagined, and begins the process of transition. Interweaving the personal with the political, her memoir is a powerful exploration of debates that comprise trans politics, issues which promise to redefine our understanding of what it means to be alive. Revealing, honest, humorous, and self-deprecating, Trans includes an epilogue with Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?, in which Jacques and Heti discuss the cruxes of writing and identity.

'POWERFUL AND SOMETIMES SHOCKING ...' SUNDAY TIMES In this powerful book, Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights lawyer and activist, tells of her fight for reform inside Iran, and the devastating backlash she faced after winning the Nobel Peace Prize.Having fought tirelessly for democracy, equality before the law and freedom of speech, Ebadi became a global voice of inspiration. Yet, inside her own country, her life has been plagued by surveillance, intimidation and violence. Until We Are Free tells shocking stories of how the Iranian authorities eventually forced her into exile. Her sister and daughter were detained, her husband was enmeshed in an espionage plot with another woman, her Nobel medal was stolen from her safety deposit box, and her offices in Tehran were ransacked.An illuminating depiction of life in Iran today as well as the account of Ebadi's personal struggle to uphold her work and keep her family together, Until We Are Free is ultimately a work of hope and perseverance under circumstances of exceptional difficulty.

Reborn is the compelling and frank early diary of Susan Sontag.'Vivid, exhilarating, often moving . . . charts the development of a good writer and an important critic'Sunday Telegraph'I intend to do everything . . . I shall anticipate pleasure everywhere and find it too, for it is everywhere! I shall involve myself wholly . . .everything matters!'This first selection from Susan Sontag's diaries (from 1947-1963) takes us from early adolescence though to when Sontag was in her early thirties. It is an astonishingly affecting, honest self-portrait which is also a fascinating, revealing account of an artist and critic being born. We see Sontag honing her skills and fashioning herself, by a supreme act of will, into an intellectual force.'Fascinating. One can feel Sontag's mind beginning to ripen and bloom, and the full force of the intellectual originality that would be her hallmark emerging' Guardian'Inspirational. Sontag shows us not just the importance, but the exhilaration of being earnest' New Statesman'A fascinating document of her apprenticeship, charting her earnest quest for education, identity, and voice. Reborn is overwhelmingly a record of an inner landscape' New York Review of Books'One of the finest American writers, thinkers, and political activists of the past four decades . . . an intimate portrait of her early life' Independent on SundayOne of America's best-known and most admired writers, Susan Sontag was also a leading commentator on contemporary culture until her death in December 2004. Her books include four novels and numerous works of non-fiction, among them Regarding the Pain of Others, On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, At the Same Time, Against Interpretation and Other Essays and Reborn: Early Diaries 1947-1963, all of which are published by Penguin. A further eight books, including the collections of essays Under the Sign of Saturn and Where the Stress Falls, and the novels The Volcano Lover and The Benefactor, are available from Penguin Modern Classics.

'Shooting an Elephant' is Orwell's searing and painfully honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma; killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd 'solely to avoid looking a fool'. The other masterly essays in this collection include classics such as 'My Country Right or Left', 'How the Poor Die' and 'Such, Such were the Joys', his memoir of the horrors of public school, as well as discussions of Shakespeare, sleeping rough, boys' weeklies and a spirited defence of English cooking. Opinionated, uncompromising, provocative and hugely entertaining, all show Orwell's unique ability to get to the heart of any subject.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Going Solo by Roald Dahl, read by Dan Stevens. This is the second part of Roald Dahls remarkable life story, following on from Boy. When he grew up, Roald Dahl left England for Africa - and a series of dangerous adventures began. From tales of plane crashes to surviving snake bites, this is Roald Dahls extraordinary life before becoming the worlds number one storyteller.

For fans of David Sedaris, Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran comes the new book from Jenny Lawson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Let's Pretend This Never Happened...In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson regaled readers with uproarious stories of her bizarre childhood. In her new book, Furiously Happy, she explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. Furiously Happy is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. And who doesn't need a bit more of that?

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY WINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHYWINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES' TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2016 The Return is at once a universal and an intensely personal tale. It is an exquisite meditation on how history and politics can bear down on an individual life. And yet Hisham Matar's memoir isn't just about the burden of the past, but the consolation of love, literature and art. It is the story of what it is to be human.Hisham Matar was nineteen when his father was kidnapped and taken to prison in Libya. He would never see him again. Twenty-two years later, the fall of Gaddafi meant he was finally able to return to his homeland. In this moving memoir, the author takes us on an illuminating journey, both physical and psychological; a journey to find his father and rediscover his country.'A beautifully-written memoir that skillfully balances a graceful guide through Libya's recent history with the author's dogged quest to find his father' Barack Obama

'Hot damn! Let us rumble, keep going and don't slow down ... let's have a little fun ...'In his much-anticipated memoir, Hunter S. Thompson looks back on a long and productive life. It is a story of crazed road trips fuelled by bourbon and black acid, of insane judges and giant porcupines, of girls, guns, explosives and, of course, bikes. He also takes on his dissolute youth in Louisville; his adventures in pornography; campaigning for local office in Aspen; and what it's like to accidentally be accused of trying to kill Jack Nicholson. Alongside this 'depraved and terrifying adventure', Hunter S. Thompson exposes the darkness at the heart of America today: a time when the 'goofy child President' and the New Dumb have taken control, and the nation thralls to Bush's War on Terror, War on Evil, War on Iraq, and even War on Fat ... a time when fear and loathing are greater than ever.

From skinny scholar to muscle-bound showman. ';Easily the best memoir ever written about weight training, steroids and all' (Men's Journal). When blue-blooded, storklike Samuel Wilson Fussell arrived in New York City fresh from the University of Oxford, the ethereal young graduate seemed like the last person on Earth who would be interested in bodybuilding. But he was intimidated by the dangers of the cityand decided to do something about it. At twenty-six, Fussell walked into the YMCA gym. Four solid years of intensive training, protein powders, and steroid injections later, he had gained eighty pounds of pure muscle and was competing for bodybuilding titles. And yet, with forearms like bowling pins and calves like watermelons, Fussell felt weaker than ever before. His punishing regimen of workouts, drugs, and diet had reduced him to near-infant-like helplessness and immobility, leaving him hungry, nauseated, and prone to outbursts of ';'roid rage.' But he had come to succeed, and there was no backing down now. Alternately funny and fascinating, Muscle is the true story of one man's obsession with the pursuit of perfection. With insight, wit, and refreshing candor, Fussell ushers readers into the wild world of juicers and gym rats who sacrifice their lives, minds, bodies, and souls to their dreams of glory in Southern California's so-called iron mecca.

"Du er heldig, at du har paryk, mormor" er en dagbog over et kræftforløb, der skildrer autentisk og ærligt, hvor hårdt det er og samtidig de mange glæder der er indimellem, hvor man forandrer sig, ser anderledes på livet og bliver taknemmelig over, at få lov til at være til. Endvidere at nå dertil, at man måske ikke ville have været det foruden.

Hverdagsbilleder og overraskelser. At finde sine pladser i tilværelsen med en Søborgdreng årgang 1945. Undres over forstandens og kroppens forunderlige, og selvstændige liv, som ikke altid husker at banke på hos de øverste lag af bevidstheden. Lege med hukommelsen. Opdage forskelen på hukommelse og erindring. Er det videnskaben eller troen der har svarene? Hvad er værst? Tidsspring, tankespring, og refleksioner vedrørende barndom, ungdom, manddom og alderdom. Såvel nuet som evigheden stikker næsen frem i ubevogtede øjeblikke. At søge mening og opdage det modsatte - og omvendt. At se om bag nogle af datidens og nutidens mantra. Livet set fra 5 positioner: Fra en Sølvsmedie 1962 til 1971. Fra cykelmiljøet med bevidstheden på indre rejser 1961 til 1966. Fra en værnepligtig soldats oplevelser 1967 til 1968. Fra erkendelser gennem et langs liv i forsøg på at forstå de kræfter, der skaber livets forudsætninger. Fra en opvækst i kunstens og filosofiens favntag med disse som ledestjerner og med eksistensen som alle tings gåde. Ja, og undres over, hvad livet er for en utrolig begivenhed.

Denne bog spænder meget vidt - fra mit første år på Højdevangens skole på Amager, til min tid på kostskolen og teknisk skole i Kolding. Så min tid som lærer i Folkeskolen og Efterskolen. Jeg tror ikke, du kommer til at kede dig. Rigtig god læselyst!

"Åndeløse af spænding løber vi opover for at få den sidste gåde løst og undersøger omhyggeligt alle huller og fordybninger i varden, hvor en beretning kunne være nedlagt. Vi er sikre på, at vi må finde noget, at vor undersøgelse af stedet strækker sig over en hel time. Hele den måde hvorpå varden er bygget, og stedet, hvor den er lagt, siger os jo, at den må have været beregnetpå en ekspeditionsmeddelelse. Et par sten er reven ud ud af dens ene sidevæg, og det kunne tyde på, at mennesker muligvis kunne have besøgt den. Men her er også spor af en ulv, og det kunne jo tænkes, at det var den, der havde leget med stenene." "Min rejsedagbog" er Knud Rasmussens bog om hans første ekspedition i Grønland i 1912-13. Sammen med Peter Freuchen rejste Knud Rasmussen tværs over indlandsisen; dens hvide ørkener og storslåede natur og mennesker.

Through a series of exquisitely observed autobiographical sketches, Adrian Tomine explores his life in comics - from an early moment on the playground being bullied, to a more recent experience, lying on a gurney in the hospital, and having the nurse say 'Hey!