Title

Author

Call #

Notes:

Ghost Girl

Hayden

362.1 HAY

A teacher of emotionally disturbed children tells of her work with a silent and withdrawn eight-year-old girl who is the possible victim of ritual abuse.

Wayne: An Abused Child’s Story

Theodore

362.76 THE

The author describes his childhood, during which he was violently abused by his father and neglected by his mother, and his fight as an adult to recover, culminating with his exposure of his parents' crimes on national television.

Three Little Words

Rhodes-Courter

362.73 RHO

Ashley Rhodes-Courter provides an account of her life, focusing on the nine years she spent in Florida's foster care system after being removed from her mother at the age of three, and explaining how her life changed after she was adopted.

Chinese Cinderella

Mah

979.4 MAH

The author tells the story of her painful childhood in China where she lived until the age of fourteen with her father, stepmother, and siblings, all of whom considered her bad luck because her mother died shortly after giving birth to her.

A Brother’s Journey

R. Pelzer

362.76 PEL

The author describes his childhood filled with nightly beatings and unspeakable abuse by his mother and how he found the courage to survive.

They Cage Animals at Night

Burch

362.7 BUR

In 1949 the author's mother, unable to care for him, left him at a Brooklyn orphanage, and for the next three years he lived in institutions and foster homes. Finally he found caring people.

Sickened: True Story of a Lost Childhood

Gregory

616.85 GRE

The author describes her life as the daughter of a woman afflicted with Munchausen by proxy, a form of child abuse in which a parent, most often a mother, invents or induces illness in a child in order to gain attention from medical professionals, tells how she was able to save herself, and discusses her efforts to have another young girl removed from her mother's care.

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood

306.872 ALI

Translation of: Moi Noujoud, 10 ans, divorcee. Ali Nujood, the first child bride in Yemen to win a divorce, tells the story of her experiences after her father arranged for her to be married in 2008 at the age of ten to a man three times her age, describes what happened when she sought out a judge in order to get a divorce, and discusses the impact of her actions on traditional Yemen culture and society.

Outcasts united : an American town, a refugee team, and one woman's quest to make a difference

St. John

796.334 STJ

American-educated Jordanian Luma Mufleh founds a youth soccer team comprised of children from Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkan states, and elsewhere in the refugee settlement town of Clarkston, Georgia, bringing the children together to discover their common bonds as they adjust to life in a new homeland.

Into Thin Air

Krakauer

796.52 KRA

The author relates his experience of climbing Mount Everest during its deadliest season and examines what it is about the mountain that makes people willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense.

Mistaken Identity

Van Ryn

617.4 VAN

The Van Ryn and Cerak families, who became part of a national news story when it was discovered that their daughters were misidentified after a tragic car accident, leaving one family grieving for their daughter while another cared for their comatose child, unaware their roles were about to be reversed, share how their faith in God helped them overcome the emotional upheaval of the accident and its aftermath.

The Devil’s Highway

Urrea

304.8 URR

Chronicles the true story of twenty-six men who attempted to cross the Mexican border into the southern Arizona desert known as the Devil's Highway, describing how the men struggled to survive the desert's harsh conditions and why only twelve survived the journey.

The Year We Disappeared : a Father - Daughter Memoir

Busby

363.2

BUS

Father and daughter, Cylin and John Busby, share their memories of the challenges they faced after their family was forced to go into hiding in order to protect themselves from a killer who had already shot John, a police officer, once and was determined to finish the job.

Beautiful boy : a father's journey through his son's addiction

Sheff

362.29 SHE

Journalist David Sheff tells the story of his son Nic's happy early childhood, the transformation wrought by Nic's addiction to methamphetamine, and his own obsession with Nic's well-being.

When the Ghost Screams

Rule

133.09 RUL

A collection of reportedly true stories about hauntings which involve the ghosts of people who experienced a brutal death.

Ghosts Among Us

Rule

133.1 RUL

Presents firsthand accounts and stories about reportedly true encounters with ghosts and the supernatural in locations across the United States, and includes photographs of the places the incidents are said to have occurred.

No Choirboy

Kuklin

364.66 KUK

A collection of essays in which inmates at American prisons who were sentenced to death while still in their teens share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up in prison and how they feel about capital punishment.

Wheelchair Warrior

Juette

921 JUE

The memoir of Melvin Juette, who was paralyzed in a gang-related shooting, attended college, and became a wheelchair basketball athlete, playing for the U.S. National Wheelchair Basketball team.

Manic

Cheney

616.89 CHE

Teri Cheny, a former entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills, shares the story of her struggles with bipolar disorder, describing what she endured with mood swings, medications, and even shock treatments, before finally gaining control of her illness.

Flu

Kolata

614.5 KOL

Studies the history of the flu, focusing on the influenza pandemic of 1918, and discusses how the government has tried to discover what caused the pandemic and prevent it from occurring again.

Walking with Bears

DeBruyn

599.78 DEB

Biologist Terry DeBruyn shares the story of his experiences after he was able to acclimate a North American black bear with cubs to his presence, allowing him to enter their world and learn first-hand about their daily lives.

A Girl’s Life Online

Tarbox

362.76 TAR

The author recalls her harrowing experiences as a thirteen-year-old who struck an online relationship with twenty-three-year-old Mark and offers advice and insight on online sexual predators.

Dead End Kids

Fleisher

364.36 FLE

Provides a first-hand account of the life of teenage gang girl Cara, a member of the Fremont Hustlers in Kansas City, and reveals the truth about the social and economic factors that led her into an endless cycle of drugs, crime, and abuse.

Witch-Hunt

Aronson

133.4 ARO

Presents information for young people on what really happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 when a group of girls and young women accused certain people in the village of witchcraft, leading to the executions of innocent men and women.

The Burn Journals

Runyon

362.28 RUN

Presents the true story of Brent Runyon who at fourteen set himself on fire and sustained burns over eighty percent of his body, and describes the months of physical and mental rehabilitation that followed as he attempted to pull his life together.

Enrique’s Journey

Nazario

305.23 NAZ

Addresses the issues of family and illegal immigration through the story of a young boy's dangerous journey from Honduras to the U.S. in search of his mother, who left him and his sibling behind make a better life for her family.

Always Running

Rodriguez

921 ROD

The author recounts his growing up in poverty in Los Angeles, his encounters with racism in school and on the streets, and his struggle to overcome prejudice, drugs, and violence.