memoir

Carol Lin is a former ABC News and CNN anchor whose voice helped guide the nation through some of the most defining moments of the 21st century - including her historic coverage on the morning of 9/11. She joins us to discuss her new memoir: When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War.

On October 11, The Eleanor Roosevelt Center in partnership with PEN America presented the 2025 Banned Book Awards at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, New York. This year’s Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement honoree was best-selling author Margaret Atwood and Joe Donahue had the great honor of speaking with her at the event.In her latest work, "Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts," Atwood explores her past and reveals connections between real life and art.

Nicholas Thompson has long been known for his sharp and inquisitive mind as the former editor and chief of “Wired,” CEO of “The Atlantic,” and a writer who moves fluently between technology, culture, and the human stories that animate both. In his new memoir “The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports” Thompson turns inward exploring the most enduring relationship of all, the one between a parent and a child. The book traces his deepening bond with his son through running, the sport that Thompson has loved his entire life and the way the miles on the road become a space for connection, conversation, and growth.

From Susan Orlean, the beloved New Yorker writer and bestselling author of “The Orchid Thief” and “The Library Book,” comes “Joyride” - a masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose.This episode of The Book Show was recorded at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY in an event co-presented by Northshire Bookstore and WAMC on the Road.

Greg Cope White’s memoir “The Pink Marine” is the inspiration for Netflix breakout hit “Boots.” “Boots” tells the story of an 18-year-old closeted gay teenager who enlists in the Marines with his straight best friend. Greg is not only the real-life inspiration he’s also one of the show’s writers and co-executive producer.

Susan Orlean's latest, “Joyride,” is a memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose that invites to approach life with wonder, curiosity, and an irrepressible sense of delight. She will be in conversation with Joe Donahue at Skidmore College on 11/17 in an event presented by Northshire Bookstore and WAMC on the Road.

On October 11, The Eleanor Roosevelt Center in partnership with PEN America presented the 2025 Banned Book Awards at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, New York. This year’s Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement honoree was best-selling author Margaret Atwood and Joe Donahue had the great honor of speaking with her at the event.In her latest work, "Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts," Atwood explores her past and reveals connections between real life and art.

Berkshire-based actor, voice over artist, comedian, and audiobook narrator and producer, Alison Larkin joins us again with the next chapter in her tumultuous, marvelous journey finding her way to live - before she meets her soulmate, Bhima, and after she loses him.Her book, “Grief … A Comedy” is available now.

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister end up winning a Pulitzer Prize for a distorted newspaper column that is read by many? Well, in Dave Berry’s new book “Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up” he provides the details.“Class Clown” isn’t your regular memoir; it is a celebration of life rich with humor, joy, absurdity, and sadness.

Content warning: this conversation deals with sexual assault and rape.E. Jean Carroll’s “Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President” is an unfiltered memoir chronicling her two high-stakes civil trials against Donald Trump, first for sexual abuse in 2023 and then defamation in 2024, culminating in over $100 million awarded against him.Carroll shares everything from trial strategy and wardrobe choices to psychiatric evaluations and courtroom drama. She riffs on Trump’s infamous “she’s not my type” line, turning it into the narrative spine of her story while skewering his legal team’s theatrics.