Winner Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
How a journey of self-discovery unearthed the scandalous evolution of artificial insemination
By his forties, Peter J. Boni was an accomplished CEO, with a specialty in navigating high-tech companies out of hot water. Just before his fiftieth birthday, Peter’s seventy-five-year-old mother unveiled a bombshell: His deceased father was not his biological father. Peter was conceived in 1945 via an anonymous sperm donor. The emotional upheaval upon learning that he was “misattributed” rekindled traumas long past and fueled his relentless research to find his genealogy. Over two decades, he gained an encyclopedic knowledge of the scientific, legal, and sociological history of reproductive technology as well as its practices, advances, and consequences. Through twenty-first century DNA analysis, Peter finally quenched his thirst for his origin.
In Uprooted, Peter J. Boni intimately shares his personal odyssey and acquired expertise to spotlight the free market methods of gamete distribution that conceives dozens, sometimes hundreds, of unknowing half-siblings from a single donor. This thought-provoking book reveals the inner workings?and secrets?of the multibillion-dollar fertility industry, resulting in a richly detailed account of an ethical aspect of reproductive science that, until now, has not been so thoroughly explored.
Finalist Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
A retired boxer sets out in search of her daughter, Shyloh, an addict living with mental illness on the streets of San Diego. In Fort Unicorn and the Duchess of Knothing, Nelson tries desperately to find - and save - her first-born, delving into the roots of mental illness, addiction, and the meaning of unconditional love.
This memoir is an unflinching witness of what it means to be homeless, mentally ill, and addicted in America - and to love someone who is all of those things. Fort Unicorn is, more than anything else, a vivid and tender portrait of people who are too often invisible to society.
Finalist Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
Dr. Michael Lewis is a family physician and has spent the last 20 years honing his skills. Recognized as an expert in the field, he has been invited to be on local and international news (TV and radio). He is married and has one awesome kid!
In this book, you'll learn:
The barriers to delivering compassionate care
How self-care improves patient care
Why physicians do what they do
Why doctors are burning out
The disturbing situations that affect physicians' decisions and their life choices
Finalist Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
Ever felt like the way you were raised or where you grew up determined how far you could go in life? From the rural life of Junction City, Kansas to the gritty streets of South Central L.A., and later Detroit, Ron Naulls shares his truth in The Audacity of Dope and Perseverance, a remarkable story that dispels the very notion that our potential is inevitably cut short based on the cards we were dealt.
Like many children being raised in urban communities in the 80s, young Ron witnessed the all too familiar tale of a parent battling drug addiction and the lasting effects felt by family and friends. This raw and uncut exposé reveals domestic abuse, juvenile delinquency, sexual harassment, unemployment, violence, racism, and dope in all its various forms.
Finalist Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
Standing on the Cordova dock looking out at the ocean, I knew I was not in Kansas City anymore. As a black woman, I had rarely been past the invisible racial line of the Troost corridor in Kansas City. Going to a small, indigenous village in Alaska with my newly wedded Jewish husband was terrifying. Despite my fears, I decided to leave a past of abuse, racism, and poverty. But would my past make me stronger in this new land or silence me? Travel North Black Girl is an unlikely journey of finding one's power. It addresses the complexity of race, gender, generational trauma, and the powerful healing that the wilds of Alaska provide. Through humor, adventure, and painful reckoning, this memoir speaks to us all.
Finalist Nonfiction: Narrative 2022 Best Book Awards
Can a comically straightforward American man learn patience and understanding in the wilderness? Laugh out loud, latte-out-your-nose funny,with themost heart-touching, curveball characters since Bill Bryson’s A Walk In the Woods.
The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,600-mile footpath from Mexico to Canada through the mountains of the west, and Rick sets out with all the perseverance and determination he thought he’d need for the six-month trek. But once on the Trail, he learns that what’s brought to a challenge is less important than what’s found while doing it.