New Biographies & Non-Fiction

Brassy Bit Of Aging Crumpet

Walsh, Mary, 1952-


In this disarmingly vulnerable and wickedly hilarious collection of essays, Mary Walsh chronicles her colourful--sometimes difficult, never boring--life, coming to the hopeful conclusion that growing old means finally finding (and loving) yourself In this sharply observed and wryly funny collection of essays on identity, family, and belonging, Mary Walsh takes readers on a rollicking--and sometimes difficult, but never boring--journey through her life. Her subjects range from the heartbreak of growing up next door to her family, to Newfoundland's vibrant and not altogether happy entry into the Canadian confederation, to the behind-the-scenes of her wildly popular CBC shows, including This Hour Has 22 Minutes, to her complicated relationship with her complicated mother, and to her struggles with alcohol, self-doubt, and what it means to connect with those around her. The result is a collection of essays that are deftly comical, vividly rendered, heartachingly vulnerable and, above all, hopeful. In the end, Mary learns the trials and hurdles (some self-inflicted) that she endured in her younger years only make the process of aging all the sweeter. The message she now has is a powerful one: her older years are her best ones yet, because she's finally learned to accept who she is.
Date Published:2026

In this disarmingly vulnerable and wickedly hilarious collection of essays, Mary Walsh chronicles her colourful--sometimes difficult, never boring--life, coming to the hopeful conclusion that growing old means finally finding (and loving) yourself In this sharply observed and wryly funny collection of essays on identity, family, and belonging, Mary Walsh takes readers on a rollicking--and sometimes difficult, but never boring--journey through her life. Her subjects range from the heartbreak of growing up next door to her family, to Newfoundland's vibrant and not altogether happy entry into the Canadian confederation, to the behind-the-scenes of her wildly popular CBC shows, including This Hour Has 22 Minutes, to her complicated relationship with her complicated mother, and to her struggles with alcohol, self-doubt, and what it means to connect with those around her. The result is a collection of essays that are deftly comical, vividly rendered, heartachingly vulnerable and, above all, hopeful. In the end, Mary learns the trials and hurdles (some self-inflicted) that she endured in her younger years only make the process of aging all the sweeter. The message she now has is a powerful one: her older years are her best ones yet, because she's finally learned to accept who she is.

Date Published:2026

DAD, Love, Me

Quick, M. (Matthew),


"On the surface, Matthew Quick seemed to have it all--a loving wife, a thriving career as a novelist, and a beautiful home. He'd traveled all over the world advocating for mental health awareness, standing before crowds as a success story. But secretly, he was depressed and some days, he didn't want to live. Years earlier, when he first told his father he wanted to be a novelist, the response was immediate and brutal: "Idiot!" That voice--angry and belittling--would echo through Quick's mind for years. He channeled his pain into his debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, crafting a complex father-son dynamic drawn straight from his own life. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Still, the approval Quick longed for never came. His father remained cold and withholding. The deeper the rift between them grew, the deeper Quick sank into anxiety and addiction. In this book, Quick takes readers deep into his psyche, as he wrestles with both his own mental health and his father's cognitive decline th scare finally forces Quick to get sober, but then, overcome by creative paralysis, writer's block threatens to end his career. The blank page is unbearable. As his desperation for healing peaks, Quick turns to a Jungian analyst he nicknames "Zeus." In the safety of analysis, as Quick's repressed pain and shame surface, he finally cracks. Just as he is putting himself back together, his father is diagnosed with dementia. Suddenly, the clock is ticking. If there is ever going to be reconciliation, it has to happen now. Quick and his wife pack up their lives in coastal North Carolina, drive eight hours, and move into a house just around the corner from Quick's parents, on an island right outside of Beaufort, South Carolina. There, as his father slips further and further away, Quick races to make a healing connection. Dad, Love, Me is Quick's raw, vulnerable, and deeply moving account of what it means to forgive a parent who never really knew how to love you. It's about wounds that never fully heal, and the power of showing up anyway. This beautifully brave and life-affirming memoir is a must read for anyone who has been starved of love but wants to keep loving anyway."--
Date Published:2026

"On the surface, Matthew Quick seemed to have it all--a loving wife, a thriving career as a novelist, and a beautiful home. He'd traveled all over the world advocating for mental health awareness, standing before crowds as a success story. But secretly, he was depressed and some days, he didn't want to live. Years earlier, when he first told his father he wanted to be a novelist, the response was immediate and brutal: "Idiot!" That voice--angry and belittling--would echo through Quick's mind for years. He channeled his pain into his debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, crafting a complex father-son dynamic drawn straight from his own life. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Still, the approval Quick longed for never came. His father remained cold and withholding. The deeper the rift between them grew, the deeper Quick sank into anxiety and addiction. In this book, Quick takes readers deep into his psyche, as he wrestles with both his own mental health and his father's cognitive decline th scare finally forces Quick to get sober, but then, overcome by creative paralysis, writer's block threatens to end his career. The blank page is unbearable. As his desperation for healing peaks, Quick turns to a Jungian analyst he nicknames "Zeus." In the safety of analysis, as Quick's repressed pain and shame surface, he finally cracks. Just as he is putting himself back together, his father is diagnosed with dementia. Suddenly, the clock is ticking. If there is ever going to be reconciliation, it has to happen now. Quick and his wife pack up their lives in coastal North Carolina, drive eight hours, and move into a house just around the corner from Quick's parents, on an island right outside of Beaufort, South Carolina. There, as his father slips further and further away, Quick races to make a healing connection. Dad, Love, Me is Quick's raw, vulnerable, and deeply moving account of what it means to forgive a parent who never really knew how to love you. It's about wounds that never fully heal, and the power of showing up anyway. This beautifully brave and life-affirming memoir is a must read for anyone who has been starved of love but wants to keep loving anyway."--

Date Published:2026

Ghost Girl : surviving the black swan murders: a memoir

Benefield, Eva,


"A darkly humorous and poignant memoir by the daughter of the victim of "The Black Swan Murder", in which she discusses her perspective on and involvement in this true crime case as well as her experience of grief and loss"--
Date Published:2026

The Killer And Frank Lloyd Wright

Sherman, Casey, 1969-


"The scandal. The genius. The murder that shocked America. Frank Lloyd Wright was more than the mind behind America's most iconic buildings-he was a man whose turbulent private life captivated a nation. The famous architect's stormy marriage to Kitty Wright and his infamous affair with another woman, Mamah Borthwick, ignited one of the country's first celebrity scandals, splashed across headlines from coast to coast. Then, in August 1914, scandal turned to horror. A tragedy at Taliesin, the Wisconsin home Wright built as a monument to love, shook the very foundation of Wright's life-and catapulted him back to the front pages of newspapers across the country as readers clamored for glimpses of his very darkest moments. In The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright, author Casey Sherman delves beyond the myth of Wright's genius to reveal a man of relentless ambition, consuming passion, and devastating loss. With haunting intimacy and propulsive storytelling, Sherman delivers a portrait of an artist who could not escape the shadows of his own making-and who rose, again and again, from the ashes"-- Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2026

"The scandal. The genius. The murder that shocked America. Frank Lloyd Wright was more than the mind behind America's most iconic buildings-he was a man whose turbulent private life captivated a nation. The famous architect's stormy marriage to Kitty Wright and his infamous affair with another woman, Mamah Borthwick, ignited one of the country's first celebrity scandals, splashed across headlines from coast to coast. Then, in August 1914, scandal turned to horror. A tragedy at Taliesin, the Wisconsin home Wright built as a monument to love, shook the very foundation of Wright's life-and catapulted him back to the front pages of newspapers across the country as readers clamored for glimpses of his very darkest moments. In The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright, author Casey Sherman delves beyond the myth of Wright's genius to reveal a man of relentless ambition, consuming passion, and devastating loss. With haunting intimacy and propulsive storytelling, Sherman delivers a portrait of an artist who could not escape the shadows of his own making-and who rose, again and again, from the ashes"-- Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2026

The Liar's Playbook

Bradford-Scott, Leslie


At twelve years old, Leslie Bradford-Scott watched police cars swarm her family's suburban home in Ontario. Hours later, she, her mom, and her grandmother were fleeing across the border into Florida with no explanation and no questions allowed. In an instant, her idyllic childhood turned into a maelstrom of grift, guns, and tragedy. Decades later, Leslie's mother handed her a blue binder--her father's secret prison manuscript dubbed the Liar's Playbook. Inside was a confession to trafficking goods, running arms, and playing both sides between international intelligence and the mafia. For most of her life, Leslie believed her father was a drug dealer with delusions of grandeur. Instead, she discovered a shadow world of espionage, organized crime, and explosive family secrets, including her father's claim that he smuggled jewels to fund CIA-backed operations for the Contras. Her investigation leads to Hamilton's violent "Bomb City" era, where mobsters like the Musitanos settled scores with dynamite, and some of the blood trails lead straight to her family. Part true-crime thriller, part intimate memoir, The Liar's Playbook tracks a daughter's search for truth through unreliable memories, corrupt intelligence agents, and the long echo of her father's double life. As she pieces together what really happened, Leslie must ask the one question that still haunts her: Can you forgive someone whose actions nearly destroyed you?
Date Published:2026

At twelve years old, Leslie Bradford-Scott watched police cars swarm her family's suburban home in Ontario. Hours later, she, her mom, and her grandmother were fleeing across the border into Florida with no explanation and no questions allowed. In an instant, her idyllic childhood turned into a maelstrom of grift, guns, and tragedy. Decades later, Leslie's mother handed her a blue binder--her father's secret prison manuscript dubbed the Liar's Playbook. Inside was a confession to trafficking goods, running arms, and playing both sides between international intelligence and the mafia. For most of her life, Leslie believed her father was a drug dealer with delusions of grandeur. Instead, she discovered a shadow world of espionage, organized crime, and explosive family secrets, including her father's claim that he smuggled jewels to fund CIA-backed operations for the Contras. Her investigation leads to Hamilton's violent "Bomb City" era, where mobsters like the Musitanos settled scores with dynamite, and some of the blood trails lead straight to her family. Part true-crime thriller, part intimate memoir, The Liar's Playbook tracks a daughter's search for truth through unreliable memories, corrupt intelligence agents, and the long echo of her father's double life. As she pieces together what really happened, Leslie must ask the one question that still haunts her: Can you forgive someone whose actions nearly destroyed you?

Date Published:2026

Murder In Paris '68

Chisholm, Edward.


When a body discovered on the outskirts of Paris is identified as a former bodyguard and friend of the enigmatic film star Alain Delon, what begins as a simple murder investigation quickly develops into an explosive political scandal known as the Markovic Affair. With a shady past and a taste for bad company, Alain Delon, dubbed the 'most beautiful man in the world,' lives a life on the edge. That Delon shot to international stardom playing the stylish and murderous Tom Ripley does not go unnoticed. Is art imitating life or is life imitating art? And who killed Stevan Markovic?
Date Published:2026

When a body discovered on the outskirts of Paris is identified as a former bodyguard and friend of the enigmatic film star Alain Delon, what begins as a simple murder investigation quickly develops into an explosive political scandal known as the Markovic Affair. With a shady past and a taste for bad company, Alain Delon, dubbed the 'most beautiful man in the world,' lives a life on the edge. That Delon shot to international stardom playing the stylish and murderous Tom Ripley does not go unnoticed. Is art imitating life or is life imitating art? And who killed Stevan Markovic?

Date Published:2026

Rule Of Lies

Firestone, Jamison R.


How Did You End Up in Russia?! -- The Wild, Wild East -- Life Under the Dictatorship of Law -- Hitting Back -- Enemies of the State and Total War -- Going Global -- Putin Unleashed. "There are many books that explain the transformation of Russia by focusing on the politicians, oligarchs, and KGB/FSB spies who run Russia. This isn't one of them. Let me explain how a kid from New York founded a law firm in Moscow, had to flee for his life and ended up in a pissing contest with the Putin regime." An American lawyer's brilliant, propulsive story of witnessing and playing a part in the transformation of Russia under Yeltsin and Putin, a true tale of fascinating personalities, criminal intrigue, harrowing situations, audacious actions and international politics that combines Bill Browder's Red Notice with Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker. Raised by his father, a multimillionaire conman and crack addict who owned Manhattan's most expensive brothel, twenty-four- year-old Jamison Firestone decided to change the channel. He graduated from law school in 1991 and sought his fortune in Gorbachev's USSR establishing Russia's first independent foreign law firm. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Jamison lived in the maelstrom that was Russia, defending himself and his clients from mafia attacks, dealing with corrupt police officers, having his law office raided by armed commandos, and once having to bug the offices of the Russian police. Jamison was at the center of some of Russia's most important events. He employed Sergei Magnitsky who was murdered for uncovering the largest tax theft in Russian history and teamed up with Bill Browder and Alexei Navalny to expose his killers. Along the way he inadvertently taught Navalny to make videos exposing corruption and started a war with the Russian government over passage of the Magnitsky Acts which threatened to sanction Russia's most powerful people. A real life story that reads like a spy novel, Rule of Lies goes deep inside contemporary Russia and events that have reshaped the globe. Darkly comic, sometimes horrifying and deeply moving, it is a chilling warning of what can happen when a nascent democracy succumbs to one man's corrupt iron rule, becoming not only an authoritarian nation but a profoundly criminal one-a true mafia state"-- Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2026

How Did You End Up in Russia?! -- The Wild, Wild East -- Life Under the Dictatorship of Law -- Hitting Back -- Enemies of the State and Total War -- Going Global -- Putin Unleashed. "There are many books that explain the transformation of Russia by focusing on the politicians, oligarchs, and KGB/FSB spies who run Russia. This isn't one of them. Let me explain how a kid from New York founded a law firm in Moscow, had to flee for his life and ended up in a pissing contest with the Putin regime." An American lawyer's brilliant, propulsive story of witnessing and playing a part in the transformation of Russia under Yeltsin and Putin, a true tale of fascinating personalities, criminal intrigue, harrowing situations, audacious actions and international politics that combines Bill Browder's Red Notice with Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker. Raised by his father, a multimillionaire conman and crack addict who owned Manhattan's most expensive brothel, twenty-four- year-old Jamison Firestone decided to change the channel. He graduated from law school in 1991 and sought his fortune in Gorbachev's USSR establishing Russia's first independent foreign law firm. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Jamison lived in the maelstrom that was Russia, defending himself and his clients from mafia attacks, dealing with corrupt police officers, having his law office raided by armed commandos, and once having to bug the offices of the Russian police. Jamison was at the center of some of Russia's most important events. He employed Sergei Magnitsky who was murdered for uncovering the largest tax theft in Russian history and teamed up with Bill Browder and Alexei Navalny to expose his killers. Along the way he inadvertently taught Navalny to make videos exposing corruption and started a war with the Russian government over passage of the Magnitsky Acts which threatened to sanction Russia's most powerful people. A real life story that reads like a spy novel, Rule of Lies goes deep inside contemporary Russia and events that have reshaped the globe. Darkly comic, sometimes horrifying and deeply moving, it is a chilling warning of what can happen when a nascent democracy succumbs to one man's corrupt iron rule, becoming not only an authoritarian nation but a profoundly criminal one-a true mafia state"-- Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2026

Tell It To The Water : five siblings tell of their father's grief and his struggle back to hope

Morrissey, Donna, 1956-


"From the acclaimed and bestselling author Donna Morrissey, a memoir of love, grief, and the meaning of family that sings with her inimitable style and the voices of her unforgettable Newfoundland parents and siblings. A voice-driven, compact, and powerful memoir of siblings dealing with the loss of their mother while trying to save their stubborn, loving, but infuriating father from the self-destruction of his own grief. Each of Donna's four surviving siblings speak in their unique voices, arguing, laughing, singing. Their never-far-from-mind deceased brother Ford is present in the background, as is their mother, but their father "'Nerk" is the complicated centre around which they all turn. A man who represents a way of life nearly gone even from the far-flung outposts of Newfoundland, Enerkus Osmond is never fully himself unless he is tramping the land with a gun--you always shoots to kill, you never let anything suffer, is his constant lesson--or mucking about in his remote, hand-built cabin, or on the water with his salmon-sneaking old pals. The siblings bring him to Halifax after his wife dies, but staring at an asphalt driveway instead of the sea nearly kills him, and so they take him home. Which nearly does them all in as well. A distillation of love and grief, of guilt and celebration, shot through with Donna's--and her whole family's--unquenchable humour and resourcefulness, this memoir is for anyone who has known just how infuriating family can be, and what a great gift as well."--
Date Published:2026

"From the acclaimed and bestselling author Donna Morrissey, a memoir of love, grief, and the meaning of family that sings with her inimitable style and the voices of her unforgettable Newfoundland parents and siblings. A voice-driven, compact, and powerful memoir of siblings dealing with the loss of their mother while trying to save their stubborn, loving, but infuriating father from the self-destruction of his own grief. Each of Donna's four surviving siblings speak in their unique voices, arguing, laughing, singing. Their never-far-from-mind deceased brother Ford is present in the background, as is their mother, but their father "'Nerk" is the complicated centre around which they all turn. A man who represents a way of life nearly gone even from the far-flung outposts of Newfoundland, Enerkus Osmond is never fully himself unless he is tramping the land with a gun--you always shoots to kill, you never let anything suffer, is his constant lesson--or mucking about in his remote, hand-built cabin, or on the water with his salmon-sneaking old pals. The siblings bring him to Halifax after his wife dies, but staring at an asphalt driveway instead of the sea nearly kills him, and so they take him home. Which nearly does them all in as well. A distillation of love and grief, of guilt and celebration, shot through with Donna's--and her whole family's--unquenchable humour and resourcefulness, this memoir is for anyone who has known just how infuriating family can be, and what a great gift as well."--

Date Published:2026

Transcendent

Cox, Laverne,


"Four-time Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox shares her journey as a transgender woman in Hollywood, confronting childhood trauma, shame, gender identity, her transition, body image issues, her search for romantic love, deep-seated feelings of unworthiness, and ultimately, healing"--
Date Published:2026