Funny like a Crutch

From the moment young Sarah Thyre gives a fake name to a security guard in a shopping mall while he announces her name ove the loudspeaker to the time she sweet talks a dentist into giving her braces her father will pay for, Sarah's attempts at a better life are not just fraught with peril, but humiliation and laughter. Dark at the Roots is her memoir of a life in pursuit of doing better and getting out. None of the incidents are extraordinary, but they are recognizable for their ordinariness and made unique by Sarah's quirky worldview. Follow the formative years of an alum of "Strangers With Candy" and "Upright Citizen's Brigade." Readers who are looking for their next funny, irreverant and witty read after A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel or works by David Sedaris can continue to tickle their funnybone with Thyre.

Leg of Wood, Heart of Steel

Every surgery, every pain and every hurdle involving Emily Rapp's degenerating bone disease is chronicled in a heartfelt and inspiring memoir. The Poster Child lost her foot when she was four and the rest of her leg when she was nine. By the time she was ten, Emily was the Midwestern spokeskid for the March of Dimes project and spoke enthusiastically at church suppers, rodeos and county fairs about how "normal" she was. Emily has always been aware of how she didn't quite meet the standards of normal, but her indefatigable memoir shows readers a person who had no other choice but to be extraordinary since normal wasn't an option. Readers who enjoyed Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet will be pleased with the lack of sentimentality and the brutal honesty of this life story. They will also appreciate Emily's very human emotions of frustration and anger with herself and her prosthesis.

Playing Our Songs

Rock journalist Rob Sheffield was completely happy with his life as an up and coming writer for Rolling Stone and his wife, a witty, punky, Appalachian girl, Renee. On Mother’s Day, after only six years of married life, Renee stood up from her sewing machine and suffered a fatal aneurysm. Love Is A Mix Tape is Rob’s heartfelt story of his life before, during and after Renee, told through the music and mix tapes the two of them made for each other and listened to with joy and appreciation for each other's tastes. The author uses music to trigger overlooked details and emotional background for the important events in his life. Full of pop culture, musical references and witty repartee between author and reader. Teens will appreciate Rob’s great affection for his wife and music of all genres. But after the author's tone, the writing isn't really compelling enough to support the story. Less a memoir and more a personal writing exercise in grief counseling from one of the commentators on VH1's Best Week Ever.