Book picks similar to
Secrets Of Grown Ups by Vera Caspary


biography
memoir
4-21-4-40
writers-fiction

Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski


Chris Waits - 1999
    Uniquely personal view of the Unabomber.

All the Rage


Ian McLagan - 1998
    A riotously funny, fiercely energetic romp, this no-holds-barred autobiography takes readers through the highs and lows of an extraordinary career, chronicling nearly four decades of dynamic music history.

Moe Howard & The 3 Stooges: The Pictorial Biography of the Wildest Trio in the History of American Entertainment


Moe Howard - 1960
    

No Encore for the Donkey


Doug Stanhope - 2020
    Iconoclast. Apostate. Drunk. Many words have been used to describe Doug Stanhope, but rarely has “hopeful” been one of them. However, heading into 2016, Stanhope peered through the apocalyptic fog and saw a forecast that was more rainbows than acid rain: His first book was set for release, his new stand-up special was in the can, and he was about to film a television pilot with his friend and confidant Johnny Depp. The sharks of Hollywood were circling, and Stanhope’s pockets were filled with chum. The only thing that could stop Doug was himself, and that’s exactly what he did.First came the booze, then came the pills, then came the stripper, and then, Doug came. A tryst aboard a cruise ship leaves him literally and figuratively adrift when his scorned wife, Bingo, reveals she is in love with another man: a jug-sippin’, guitar-pickin’ hobo. A simple, black-out fling turns out to be a pebble tossed into the lake of you-know-what named 2016, and in No Encore for the Donkey, Stanhope traces the resulting rings.Written and performed by Stanhope, his third memoir follows the veteran comedian on a quest to save his marriage, his wife, and eventually his wife’s life. Our hero's journey finds Stanhope cuddling with Johnny Depp in his Los Angeles mansion, receiving some much-needed TLC from Marilyn Manson, and - most daunting - building a new hour of comedy in the rusted-out hellscapes of post-industrial America.Equal parts love letter, road romp, and harrowing condemnation of the failures of America’s mental health care system, No Encore for the Donkey is a hilarious and heartbreaking account of a man balancing on the edge of damnation. With Bingo in a coma and Trump about to be elected, Stanhope sifts through the ruins of his own personal cataclysm in order to answer the big questions: What does it mean to love someone when you can’t love yourself? What is the point of success if you have no one to share it with? And is the end of the world BYOB?

Rising Wolf, the White Blackfoot: Hugh Monroe's Story of His First Year on the Plains


James Willard Schultz - 1919
    W. Shultz, and is “real stuff,” vivid and exciting, with the value that comes from firsthand knowledge. In all his fine Indian stories the author nowhere has produced a more Interesting narrative than this. In It he tells the true story of Hugh Monroe, who came to the Blackfoot country when he was 16. He took part in buffalo hunts, accompanied war parties, saw parts of the United States no white man had ever seen before and helped make peace between the Crows and Blackfeet. "Rising Wolf" is to be highly recommended. This Indian story is a true one—which is so different. The author says that he was intimately acquainted with Hugh Munroe, or Rising Wolf, and that this story of his first experiences upon the Saskatchewan-Missouri River plains is put down just as it was told to him by the lodge fires of long ago. Rising Wolf was a white man among the Blackfoot Indians, and, as the author says, he had more adventures than most of the early men in the West. He died at ninety-eight and his body lies in Two Medicine Valley, "in full sight of that great sky-piercing height of red rock on the north side of Two Medicine Lake, which we named Rising Wolf Mountain." The book is sure to engage the undivertable attention of those whose appetite for real adventure is never wholly satisfied. In his famous book "My Life as an Indian", Schultz describes Rising Wolf as "Early Hudson Bay man, typical trapper, trader, and interpreter of the romantic days of the early fur-trading period." "Rising Wolf" is a thrilling account of life among the Indians in the early part of the last century, by a white boy who "went West" in- those early days and was adopted into the Blackfeet tribe. A stirring story for those who love true stories of guns, buffaloes, Indians, and combats with wild beasts and wild men. Contents I. With the Hudson's Bay Company II. The Sun-Glass III. Hunting with Red Crow IV. A Fight with the River People V. Buffalo Hunting VI. Camping on Arrow River VII. The Crows attack the Blackfeet VIII. In the Yellow River Country IX. The Coming of Cold Maker X. Making Peace with the Crows

And The Whippoorwill Sang


Micki Peluso - 2007
     Around the dining room table of her 100 year old farmhouse Micki Peluso's six children along with three of their friends eagerly gulp down a chicken dinner. As soon as the last morsel is ravished, the lot of them is off in different directions. Except for the one whose turn it is to do the dishes. After offering her mother a buck if she’ll do them, with an impish grin, the child rushes out the front door, too excited for a hug, calling out, "Bye Mom," as the door slams shut. For the Peluso’s the nightmare begins. Micki and Butch face the horror every parent fears—awaiting the fate of one of their children. While sitting vigil in the ICU waiting room, Micki traverses the past, as a way of dealing with an inconceivable future. From the bizarre teenage elopement with her high school sweetheart, Butch, in a double wedding with her own mother, to comical family trips across country in an antiquated camper with six kids and a dog, they leave a path of chaos, antics and destruction in their wake. Micki relives the happy times of raising six children while living in a haunted house, as the young parents grow up with their kids. She bravely attempts to be the man of the house while her husband, Butch is working out of town. Hearing strange noises, which all the younger kids are sure is the ghosts, Micki tiptoes down to the cellar, shotgun in hand and nearly shoots an Idaho potato that has fallen from the pantry and thumped down the stairs. Of course her children feel obligated to tell the world. Just when their lives are nearly perfect, tragedy strikes—and the laughter dies. A terrible accident takes place in the placid valley nestled within the Susquehanna Mountains in the town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On a country lane just blocks from the family’s hundred year old haunted farmhouse, lives are changed forever. In a state of shock, Micki muses through their delightful past to avoid confronting an uncertain future—as the family copes with fear and apprehension. One of her six children is fighting for life in Intensive Care. Both parents are pressured by doctors to disconnect Noelle, their fourteen-year-old daughter. Her beautiful girl, funny and bright, who breathes life into every moment, who does cartwheels in piles of Autumn leaves, who loves to sing and dance down country roads, and above all loves her family with all her soul. How can Micki let this child go? The family embarks upon yet another journey, to the other side of sorrow and grasps the poignant gift of life as they begin. . .to weep. . .to laugh. . .to grieve. . .to dance—and forgive.

In the Company of Legends


Joan Kramer - 2015
    These were recognized as high-quality, definitive film portraits, which revitalized the genre and made it a mainstay of television programming.This is their insiders’ view of the famous and the powerful: Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Lew Wasserman, Ronald Reagan, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Jane Fonda, Richard Dreyfuss, Audrey Hepburn, and Bette Davis, among others. Kramer and Heeley’s behind the scenes stories of the productions and the personalities involved are amusing, sometimes moving, often revealing, and have never been told before.

Not Bad For A Human


Lance Henriksen - 2011
    He's best know as the empathetic android Bishop in Aliens and the intuitive criminal profiler Frank Black in the TV series "Millennium," but he has also played gunfighters and gangsters, an astronaut, a vampire, a sadistic monk, Charles Bronson and Abraham Lincoln. He's mentored Tarzan, Evel Knievel and the Antichrist, and fought Terminators, Aliens, Predators, Pinhead, Bigfoot, Superman, the Autobots, Mr. T, Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. He's worked with directors James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Walter Hill, Sidney Lumet, Francois Truffaut, John Huston, David Fincher, John Woo, Jim Jarmusch and Sam Raimi... But this is just skimming the surface.Henriksen is a true artist - a painter, a potter and a creative collaborator who brings complexity and humanity to all of his work by drawing on real life experiences that are often stranger than fiction. His biography not only celebrates the actor's screen persona, film by film, but also recounts the chaotic upbringing and early life experiences that shaped him, revealing the man behind the image. As Lance so candidly states, "This isn't just a book about me becoming an actor. It's about all the people I've crossed paths with over the years who have helped me flourish in spite of the chaos in my early life. It's about a lifelong process of becoming a human being."

The Facts of Life: And Other Lessons My Father Taught Me


Lisa Whelchel - 2001
    Now the actress recounts the journey she's made in real life, from a shy, small-town girl in Texas to the glamorous life of fame and fortune in Hollywood -- and finally to suburban life as a pastor's wife and homeschooling mother of three. Poignant autobiographical stories reveal the developing trust in God that has enabled Lisa to grow in grace through seasons of pressure, pain, and prosperity.

Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You: The Making of a Champion


Lisa Leslie - 2008
    She was soon breaking state records, but life away from the courts was less happy. Here, Lisa recounts her metamorphosis from a gangly teen to a world-famous athlete.

Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars


Bill Berloni - 2008
    As a high schooler in 1976, Berloni had rescued an Airedale mixed breed only hours before it was slated for euthanasia. The terrier was cast as Sandy in the musical Annie and performed there for seven years. The bulldog currently starring in Legally Blonde and her bulldog understudy were rescued from Newark and from North Carolina. Berloni's story is completely engaging as he talks about being the first to train actors to work with animals on stage, his love for mutts over purebreds, as well as the four-acre animal retirement compound where he lives. With photos throughout this delightful book, we learn details about how his dogs are trained, how they react to Broadway life, and his own personal rise to fame. An enchanting writer (whose first book, Doga, has sold more than 350,000 copies for Chronicle) with an inspiring story for animal lovers, theatergoers, and anyone who loved books such as Marley & Me.

Louie, Take a Look at This!: My Time with Huell Howser


Luis Fuerte - 2017
    He lives with his wife in Rialto, CA. Writer David Duron is a writer and longtime television-news producer who lives in Yucaipa, CA.

Mother's House Payment


Ronnie Schiller - 2011
    She learns that her mother has passed on a genetic illness as a parting shot, and she must adjust to growing up with Bipolar Disorder.As she approaches her 30th year, she works hard to pick up the loose threads of her life and tie them into a lifeline for her future. It is a tale of survival, endurance, and acceptance through understanding.

On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite's Most Iconic Climb


Hans Florine - 2016
    

The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers' Tales From The Hollywood Trenches


Peter Lefcourt - 2000
    Linked by the theme of a writer's "first time" -- usually the first time he got paid for his work, but sometimes veering off into other, more unconventional, "first times" -- these always entertaining (and sometimes hilarious) pieces share what it takes to succeed, what it takes to write well, and other aspects of maintaining creativity and integrity while striving for a career in Hollywood. Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King, The Horse Whisperer, Living Out Loud) confesses that his first paid writing job was crafting phone-sex scripts. Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune, Matilda) explains why, in Hollywood, an oral "yes" often turns out to be a written "no." Peter Casey writes about the unparalleled pitch meeting for the award-winning series Frasier. Virtually every big-name writer in Hollywood has contributed to this collection, making it essential research material for anyone trying to make it in the entertainment industry, and a perfect read for movie and television buffs everywhere.