The little-known history of plastic surgery for prisoners reflects a societal bias about attractiveness and a surprising aid to convict rehabilitation.
REVIEW: Killer Looks: The Forgotten History of Plastic Surgery in Prisons by Zara Stone
Category: Reviews
An archive of our reviews of memoirs, essay collections, and other works of creative nonfiction.
REVIEW: Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory, and Family by Madhushree Ghosh
The memoir deftly braids memories of food and a Bengali upbringing with reflections of how cuisine has informed the writer’s sense of identity…
REVIEW: Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos
Melissa Febos combines memoir with compassionate and candid advice on craft in Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative.
REVIEW: Big Reader: Essays by Susan Olding
A life-long love of books and her personal connections to specific works are explored by a master essayist.
REVIEW: An Encyclopedia of Bending Time by Kristin Keane
Writer Kristin Keane daringly bends the boundaries of form and craft in a book exploring the loss of her mother.
REVIEW: Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir by Aileen Weintraub
A high-risk pregnancy inspires suspense and laughter in a memoir chronicling a farmhouse rehab, marital challenges and 38 weeks of bed rest.
REVIEW: Shadow Migration: Mapping a Life by Suzanne Ohlmann
The memoir uniquely explores the space between the facts of our lives and our shadow selves.
REVIEW: Affliction: Growing Up with a Closeted Gay Dad by Laura Hall
This memoir of a closeted gay father shows that the closet has collateral victims in unsuspecting spouses and confused children
REVIEW: Endings & Beginnings: Family Essays by DeWitt Henry
Family relationships are explored in an essay collection shortlisted for the PEN Award for the Art of the Essay.
REVIEW: Cost of Living: Essays by Emily Maloney
The American medical system is examined from the dual perspectives of patient and health-care worker.
