Some Of My Favorite NON-Fiction

So I decided to take a break from my usual novels and tell you about some of my favorite NON-fiction, and why. ok here we go!

This one is pretty well known but many don't know it's an actual series of his whole life and I read them all.
My mom had a copy of this book and for some reason I decided to pick it up and try reading it. Child abuse. it's a hard subject and this was fascinating to read. Not because of the abuse but I was more interested in what made the mother be normal and then one day "snap" and start to severely abuse her little boy. My mother was abused by her mother but we kinda figured out why my grandmother was physically and emotionally abusive to my mother. But Dave's mother? it was hard to read, but I wanted to understand WHY she would turn on her son like that. After reading this book however I remember I called my mom and said, "THANK YOU for not abusing me!" she chuckled, because she had a choice and I was NOT an easy child. It was an eye opener in many areas and as a mother myself it's now sickening to realize people do these things.














The second installment to this series was more emotional. As we travel with Dave through foster care. I remember I SOBBED in this book. I did not cry in the first book but this one, I remember I was in a car with someone and I was just sobbing for this little boy who only sought to please and love. It ACHED! So for me this one was more heart wrenching simply because it was emotional.

 

 This was easier to read because it was a bit more light hearted as we read about his life as a teenager. It seemed a bit easier then the rest of his life. He still struggled with people as they misunderstood foster children and their situations, they can often times be cruel. In the second book it also talks about people and foster care and at that time their misunderstandings of this system and those put into it.

This is Dave as an adult, and the final installment of this saga. It's about overcoming and letting go. He talks about having to go back and face his abusive mother at his father's funeral; a father who stood back and let it all happen, and he talks about reverting back to the child he was and seeing in her the triumph of knowing she still controlled him even as a man. In the end HE triumphs over everything and becomes this AMAZING man. The journey of reading these books were incredible and inspiring! I love reading things where there is hardship and the person overcomes all and does not allow life to destroy them.

This book is more historical fiction but amazing none-the-less. It's set in today's time and the main character is a decedent of holocaust survivors. She-the main character- never having a real appreciation for what they survived is sent back in time and as a child, sent to a concentration camp where she learns how people and CHILDREN survived in them. The ending is heart throbbing and good. It's a short, fast read but full of amazing insights of the children who lived in the camps.

This is my FAVORITE non-fiction book.
This book was a "don't-bother-me-I'm-reading" kind of book. It's about an American boy who follows his family back to Russia (his parent's were Russian) and isn't able to get back to the states because Stalin was in power and started his purge of his own people. This boy's family gets caught up but they kept their head down and lived life hoping to one day get back to the states. It goes through his child/teenage life as he gets involved in sports and how he was so GOOD at anything he did Russia became aware of him and praised him as a Russian. When he corrected them stating he was an American, he then is falsely arrested and that's when I couldn't put the book down. This man was tortured, imprisoned, starved, sent to work camps, exiled to Siberia and in order to survive he had to turn some of these times into a game. The way his mind worked in order to beat his captors is AMAZING. I was so fascinated at how he made himself, challenged himself in order to get out of any situation. This has a "happy" ending and I have read this book more than once. It's out of print so if you can find it at the library or online GET IT!!!

This is another book well known. I love this book. This book inspires me to be better. That no matter how hard life gets, nobody can take away your spirit, your freedom to BE, your ability to choose your attitude in any given situation.
As we read about very personal experiences of Victor's life in a concentration camp you feel personally toward him and those he lived with.
I love this book. I love the way it makes me feel. So good.