Tag Archives: Memoir

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire – Andrew Wilkinson

Andrew Wilkinson, touted as the Warren Buffett of tech, pulls back the curtain on the lives of the ultra-rich in this memoir outlining Wilkinson’s rapid rise from barista to successful entrepreneur.

Readers will get fresh insights into building a successful business and a surprising, first-person account of what it’s actually like to become a billionaire.

By the age of thirty-five, Andrew Wilkinson had built a business worth over a billion dollars, but his path to success was anything but a straight line. Never Enough shares both the lessons Wilkinson has learned as well as the many mistakes made on the road to wealth—some of which cost him money, happiness, and important relationships.

Taking a “no secrets” approach to the story billionaires rarely tell, Wilkinson is unwaveringly honest about some of the unexpected downsides of wealth. Money’s toxic effect on personal relationships, how the lifestyles of the rich and famous aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and how competition with peers leaves everyone—even billionaires—feeling like they never have enough.

In this rare and deeply honest glimpse into the life of a billionaire, Wilkinson examines not only his journey to nine zeros but also what comes after that pinnacled number—something, as Wilkinson has come to realize, that money can’t buy.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park – Conor Knighton

When Conor Knighton decided to spend a year wandering through “America’s Best Idea,” he was worried the whole thing might end up being his worst idea. But, after a broken engagement and a broken heart, he desperately needed a change of scenery. The ambitious plan he cooked up went a bit overboard in that department; Knighton set out to visit every single one of America’s National Parks, from Acadia to Zion.

Leave Only Footprints is the memoir of his year spent traveling across the United States, a journey that yielded his “On the Trail” series, which quickly became one of CBS Sunday Morning’s most beloved segments. In this smart, informative, and often hilarious book, he’ll share how his journey through these natural wonders, unchanged by man, ended up changing his worldview on everything from God to politics to love and technology. Whether it’s waking up early for a naked scrub in an Arkansas bathhouse or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway, Knighton goes behind the scenery to provide an unfiltered look at America. In the tradition of books like A Walk in the Woods or Turn Right at Machu Picchu, this is an irresistible mix of personal narrative and travelogue-some well-placed pop culture references, too-and a must-read for any of the 331 million yearly National Parks visitors.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble – Alok Sama

A gripping and entertaining memoir that offers a rare C-suite window on the world of technology investing. Veteran Morgan Stanley banker Alok Sama thought he’d seen it all, until he found himself at the helm of the secretive investment giant that controls global tech— SoftBank, the backer of Yahoo, TikTok, Uber, T-Mobile, DoorDash, Alibaba and WeWork, and the sponsor of the largest technology investment fund in history.

The Money Trap is a thrilling, stranger-than-fiction personal odyssey of Sama’s experiences while working alongside SoftBank’s iconic founder, Masayoshi Son, an eccentric genius who relies on “the Force” to guide his investment decisions and wants to be remembered as “the crazy guy who bet on the future.”

As a high-stakes dealmaker, Sama consorted with A-list CEOs and hobnobbed with heads of state, conducting negotiations on Gulfstream jets, the terrace of a medieval castle in Germany, Son’s private sanctuary with its exquisite Japanese garden, and waterside restaurants in the Turkish Riviera — all while contending with a mysterious dark-acts smear campaign that takes a toll on his private life.

This fascinating and humorous saga provides a unique insider perspective on an industry that is disrupting our daily lives and straining our social fabric. Written with self-deprecating wit, unflinching honesty and searing introspection, The Money Trap is ultimately a morality in life, as in technology investing, more money isn’t always the answer.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row – Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin

A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.

But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence—full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon—transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty-four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.

With a foreword by Stevenson, The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times. Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic thirty-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Third Gilmore Girl – Kelly Bishop

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony Award for her turn in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line to her memorable performance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing. But it is probably her iconic role as matriarch Emily in the modern classic Gilmore Girls that cemented her legacy.

Now, Bishop reflects on her remarkable life and looks towards the future with The Third Gilmore Girl. She shares some of her greatest stories and the life lessons she’s learned on her journey. From her early transition from dance to drama, to marrying young to a compulsive gambler, to the losses and achievements she experienced—among them marching for women’s rights and losing her second husband to cancer—Bishop offers a rich, genuine celebration of her life.

Full of witty insights, The Third Gilmore Girl is a warm, unapologetic, and spirited memoir from a woman who has left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades and has no plans on slowing down.