The Bright List

Melanie Hoffert and The Sound of Silence on the American Prairie

Prairie Silence: A Memoir, by Melanie M. Hoffert

What's the story of an expatriate from rural America like? Here we have a gay woman, who was never seen by anyone in her small North Dakota town as anything but a cipher. She finally left her claustrophobic but compelling rural life behind for downtown Minneapolis.

Now, years later, she wants to go back home to visit.  Everyone from her childhood asks her if she’s found a “fella” yet. Cue the sweaty palms and abrupt subject changes.

Magnificent writing. You’ll understand the true meaning of “prairie silence” in the first chapter. This memoir speaks to anyone who left “back there” for the big city, but realizes they never quite got away.

Narrated by Abby Craden. 

--Aretha Bright

Lauren Slater: Who Comes First? Your Dog or Your Daughter?

 

The  $60,000 Dog: My Life With Animals, by Lauren Slater

 Don’t be fooled by the adorable puppy cover— author Slater does indeed love animals, but her memoir is anything but soft and fuzzy.

Her memoir with the story of a bleak childhood, dominated first by her mother’s mental illness and then by a foster family that gave her a house, "but not a home." Her love for animals starts here, where she finds refuge in  the countryside and observing the lives of deer, foxes, and insects.

The $60,000 dog of the title is Lila, the family pet who came down with an extremely painful case of glaucoma. The dilemma that Slater faced is one that will resonate with every person who has ever valued an animal as more than just a pet.

As Lila’s medical bills mounted, Slater was faced with choosing between sending her daughter to summer camp or buying the medicines that would ease Lila’s pain. The happiness of her daughter, stacked up against the happiness of her pet.

Slater first wrote of this situation in Oprah magazine, where it was a huge hit and inspired the rest of the book. Animal lovers will certainly relate to the “do anything it takes” approach to save their fuzzy family members.

Slater is great at building tension and intrigue. Her memories of animals that affected her life are beautiful. Be prepared to cry during the scenes at the vet hospital! Especially for the baby swan whose beak was broken off. 

This book will touch every person who has ever thought of animals as their dearest companions.

--Aretha Bright

Gerald Asher on the Dirty World of Wine & Les Politiques de Vendanges

 

A Vineyard in My Glass, by Gerald Asher

and

A Carafe of Red, by Gerald Asher

Gerald Asher is a redoubtable British "wine personality" who has the enviable career of traveling to exotic countries, drinking the best they have to offer, and then writing about it.

A Vineyard in My Glass is the dashing memoir of Asher's vineyard apprenticeship in Europe when he was a young man, plus lots of local history about all the places he visited.

Warning: You will be extremely jealous.

In A Carafe of Red, Asher takes the reader on a spectacular history-road-trip of wine in France, Spain, Italy, California— going back ages. This is not a "where-this-wine-comes-from-blah-blah" kind of book— no, there are all sorts of dirty politics and criminal activities.

Carafe and Vineyard complement each other and I hope the author was enjoying a glass while he wrote them.

Narrated by the the star of "Little Man Tate,"  P.J. Olchan.

—Aretha Bright

The Playboy Aristocrat Who Turned Mayan Hieroglyphics-- and His Own Life-- Upside Down

The Road to Ruins, by Ian Graham

Ian Graham was raised a classic British aristocrat, who could’ve easily gone to seed with his wealth and playthings. Instead, he became a first-class autodidact who would, almost accidentally, change the course of archeology and anthropology.

His writing is delicious. It starts with his childhood friendship with Rudyard Kipling, and it just never stops.

University of New Mexico Press was pleased to publish Graham’s book as an anthropology classic, but they soon realized he was garnering fans who had no interest in relics at all! It’s him, this amazing man, who’s the attraction. Graham’s life is one of those “unbelievable adventures,” a road trip in a swank car that went completely off the rails—told with great humility and wit.

Narrated by the fantastic film actor John Mawson, whose voice is instantly humorous, cheeky—he could talk me into anything. (I think Audible has a untapped dating service just waiting to happen).

—Aretha Bright

Joseph Kittinger and His Legendary 19.5-Mile Fall Into Fame

Come Up and Get Me: An Autobiography of Colonel Joseph Kittinger, by Joseph Kittinger

They don't make adventurers like Joe Kittinger any more: a man whose ultimate goal was to fly around the entire globe in a balloon by himself.

Welcome to the rootin'- tootin'—and unexpectedly poignant— story of a Vietnam POW who went from ballooning to free-falling in outer space to making records every time he opened a hatch.

Kittinger was the guy that the military would use as a test pilot to see "what would happen" in extreme and emergency situations, miles above the ground.

Balls of steel? Check.

His proudest achievement is a terrifying parachute drop from 19-and-a-half miles above the earth in 1960, where he reached a speed of 614 mph.

Military history and adventure story fans will love this guy.  Kittinger is humble, funny, and someone you'd definitely want to have by your side in a tight situation! There needs to be a sequel to Snakes on a Plane—with Kittinger in a starring role.

-Aretha Bright

Note from our colleague, Chris Hall:

Kittinger's record leap from 19.5 miles in Project Excelsior still stands today.

Just this month, October 2012, a guy named Felix Baumgartner tried to break it, but aborted. He did this not only with Kittinger's blessing, but assistance. See Video and Story for more at Gizmodo and the Atlantic.

Kate Wholey Shows the Humor and Heartbreak of Alzheimer's

Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words:
Travels with Mom in the Land of Dementia, by Kate Whouley

Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words is a cry, then laugh, then cry again memoir. Stock up on tissues!

My heart goes out to the author, Kate Whouley,  who tells the story of taking care of her mother with dementia against mind-boggling odds.

It's not always “fun,” as in the Rescue Me TV episode when the chief's wife develops Alzheimer's and throws a disco party for her gay son, despite her husband’s homophobia. The reality is unlike anything seen on TV. At one point,  Whouley's mother has stopped bathing, and the author has to go through elaborate manipulations just to give her a sponge bath. Anyone’s who’s been there knows what it’s like to be brought to your knees.

Kate is at peace with what eventually happened—but her journey to get there is a tremendous insight into anyone dealing with end-of-life family care.

—Aretha Bright

Danger to Self— The Combat Zone of the ER Mental Crisis Ward

 

Danger to Self: On the Frontline with an ER Psychiatrist, by Paul Linde

This is an ER psychiatrist’s story from the front lines of mental illness and acute situations. This book  reminded me why I got my psychology degree in the first place— It should be the next doctor soap on TV. 

 Linde’s book consists of ten case studies drawn from 17 years of working in the high-pressure atmosphere of the Psychiatric Emergency Service at San Francisco General Hospital.

Linde’s use of a combat metaphor isn’t accidental. The mental health pros at SF General deal with a flood of patients who are hallucinating, drunk, catatonic, aggressive, severely suicidal, high on drugs, paranoid, and physically sick. I couldn’t believe some of the stories. Their decisions need to be made as quickly as any physician’s, and making the wrong call could have consequences just as lethal as in surgery.

 This is the Wild West of medical dramas—and it’s all true.

--Aretha Bright

Susie Brings Betty Dodson to Audio— My Happiest Clits Up! Moment

Sex For One, by Betty Dodson

The only female orgasm primer you’ll ever need— now in audio! This has been a dream of mine, to make this happen. I consider Betty my fairy godmother— she always comes through.

An American legend, pioneer of women’s liberation, and a founder of the pro-sex feminism— what's not to like about Dodson?  She personally changed my life— it's not just her orgasm ideas, it's her WHOLE ATTITUDE.

Sex for One isn't really a “how to” manual— it’s a “why the fuck not!” Betty is the personification of "Seizing the Day," of grabbing life by the horns and giving it a good tussle. When people ask what women's liberation and sexual liberation have to do with each other, I just point at Betty's entire life. 

Funny, smart, and full of great quips you'll repeat to your friends and lovers the rest of your days. Fall in love with Betty, go ahead— and have some “self-love” along the way, too. 

Narrated by Genvieve Bevier, who did Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty" trilogy!

Orgasms for Two: The Joy of Partner Sex, by Betty Dodson

Dodson followed up Sex for One with the kind, but frank Orgasms for Two:

“ There are many sex manuals on the shelves of bookstores. They offer advice on being sexier, on giving him what he really wants, on making her wild with desire. 

 Most of them are about as substantive as a filmy piece of lingerie. What is missing is a down-to-earth, realistic, honest book.” 

Orgasms for Two speaks to the core of sexuality today, and tackles difficult, hot issues, and slams politically-correct topics. I doubt you’ll think or have sex the same way again after listening to this book. 

Narrated by Genvieve Bevier, who did Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty" trilogy!