Our Parents, Ourselves: Family Memories

Bob Morris is the author of Crispin the Terrible and Assisted Loving, which received honors from the American Library Association, Lambda Literary Awards and was a New York Times editor's choice. A frequent contributor to the Times, he has also been a commentator on NPR's All Things Considered and has written for the The Southampton Review, Elle, the New Yorker, Town and Country and other publications. His mother's last word was his name. His father's was "Wonderful." Together they inspired the title for his latest memoir, Bobby Wonderful: An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents (Twelve), a true story of love and redemption. Bob Morris was always the entertainer in his family, but not always a perfect son. When he finds his parents approaching the end of their lives, he begins to see his relationship to them in a whole new light and it changes his way of thinking. As accessible as he is insightful, Bob Morris infuses each moment of his profound emotional journey with dark comedy, spiritual inquiry and brutally honest self-examination.

Homer Hickam served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, where he won the Army Commendation and Bronze Star medals. In addition to a best-selling author, Hickam has been a coal miner, scuba instructor, and NASA engineer.  His second book, Rocket Boys: A Memoir, was translated into eight languages, was a National Book Critics Circle-nominee as Best Biography of 1998, and was the basis for the critically-acclaimed film October Sky. He is also the author of the novel Back to the Moon, the memoirs The Coalwood Way and Sky of Stone, and the inspirational We Are Not Afraid: Strength and Courage from the Town That Inspired the #1 Bestseller and Award-Winning Movie October Sky, as well as a fictional WWII series and two series of Young Adult books. Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Man, his Wife, and her Alligator (William Morrow) is his funny, sweet, and sometimes tragic tale of a young couple and a special alligator on a crazy 1,000-mile adventure.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters, having reported from all over the world and from many wars. He is now the award-winning host of Weekend Edition Saturday, the most-listened to news program on NPR. Simon has won a Peabody and an Emmy for his reporting and also has over 1.2 million followers on Twitter. When Simon began tweeting from his mother's hospital room in July 2013, he didn't know that his missives would soon spread well beyond his Twitter followers. Squeezing the magnitude of his final days with her into 140-character updates, Simon's evocative and moving meditations spread virally. Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime (Flatiron Books) expands on those famous tweets to create a memoir that is rich, deeply affecting, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating. Unforgettable is not only one man's moving celebration of his mother's colorful life, it is a spirited, and inspiring tribute to the love between parent and child.