Feature Image Credit: @lindasbooklist

There is nothing better than reading a new book while the fall leaves are dwindling in the chilly air. We are yet another victim to the cardigan and sweatshirt fever, making fall a favorite season of the year. So as the year is coming to a close, it is only right to better myself with the knowledge of the world. Here’s a line up the most anticipated nonfiction books coming this 2021 fall season, full of memoirs and stories of families and history. Cuddle up with a blanket, a hot coffee or tea, and these amazing books!

There’s a Hole in My Bucket: A Journey of Two Brothers by Royd Tolkien (Aug 1, 2021)

The legacy of Tolkien is continued through the true stories of his great-grandsons, Royd Tolkien, and his brother, Mike. So when Mike is diagnosed with motor neuron disease, the two brothers decide to make their own adventures by checking off everything they can from Mike’s bucket list. However, things take a turn when Royd loses his brother and realizes that Mike has been making another bucket list – fifty things he wants Royd to do after his death. An emotionally charged, obstacle-filled, humourous yet challenging journey lies ahead as Royd must go out of his comfort zone and still find the love of sibling bonds through grief and heartache.

Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor by Anna Qu (Aug 3, 2021)

Qu tells the riveting story of her youth and determination through the trials of mistreatment from her mother. Separated from her mother by the Office of Children and Family Services, the consequences Qu must face last longer than she might have imagined. After 20 years without her mother or family, Qu must be fearless in asking about the truths of her life, the trauma, and the survival of immigrant families.

The Good Widow by Jennifer Katz (Aug 10, 2021)

After the death of her spouse of almost two decades, Jenny must navigate her life as a single mother to both her teen daughter and adult stepson. Love endures through continuing celebrations of life, new connections, and even trying to discover a new romantic relationship. Embarking on quests of comfort in times of grief, and life in times of unimaginable loss, The Good Widow proves the power, and sometimes the awkwardness, of new and growing love.

Do Not Disclose by Leora Krygier (August 24, 2021)

Leora is content as a wife, a mother and a daughter. She lives her life in a routine and works as a juvenile court judge and a caretaker for her family. Only after discovering a secret file of handwritten notes addressed to her father does she realize her identity as a second-generation Holocaust survivor. Secrets of the past and present-day are discovered in this passionate memoir of wartime in Europe and her current life.

Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang (Sept 7, 2021)

This must-read memoir of seven-year-old Qian, who arrives in New York City in 1994 and is confused by fear, is heartbreakingly courageous. Surviving means staying invisible, but staying invisible in the face of coming to age in a “beautiful country” is harder than it seems. Once loved in the joys of innocence by her parents, Qian must find strength through hunger and resilience. Never once does she give up through teaching and surviving herself, but also having to care for her mother through unimaginable circumstances. The number-one rule in America still stands: to be noticed is to risk losing everything.

On Freedom by Maggie Nelson (Sept 7, 2021)

The idea of “freedom” has an endless amount of possibilities when it comes to the culture and exchanges, both personal and of others, in today’s society. Maggie Nelson pulls from critical theory to pop culture to explore how we think, experience, or talk about freedom. In today’s challenging world, On Freedom is liberating, paradoxical, and forging courage. Written with care, this is an essential book for the times of art, policies and the ever-changing world.

Now Beacon, Now Sea: A Son’s Memoir by Christopher Sorrentino (Sept 7, 2021)

Beautiful and painful, that is how this story is described for the messiness of life that is explored. Christopher must excavate the interwoven past of himself and his family after the death of his mother, a Puerto Rican girl identified on her birth certificate as Black, only to seemingly become white as her life progressed in cities of New York. This is not only a journey of self-discovery but one of life. It is the distinguishing of two identities, the one that has been pressed onto Christopher, and the one he so desperately craves.

Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke (Sept 14, 2021)

Powerful, empathetic, intelligent, and courageous. If those words inspire you, then so will the story of Tarana Burke. She writes about her journey of healing and the life that empowered her to speak up and make a difference for those around her, and herself. Tarana not only changed the way of society but the way she viewed herself. This memoir might just be the self-help book that everyone needs.