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"  The Girl&amp;#039;s Guide to Homelessness  (Harlequin), by Brianna Karp  Karp overcame a nightmarish childhood to launch an auspicious corporate career\u2014only to be blindsided by the Great Recession. Saved in part by the intervention of ELLE&amp;#039;s own divine E. Jean Carroll, Karp now delivers this spunky look back at rock bottom. Readers loved it.  If you think being homeless can never happen to you, then place The Girl&amp;#039;s Guide to Homelessness on your required, and humbling, reading list. The author, a fourth-generation Jehovah&amp;#039;s Witness, chronicles her parents&amp;#039; unhealthy marriage and divorce, tales of molestation, her father&amp;#039;s suicide, and more. But at age 22, Karp had &amp;quot;the whole package: boyfriend, home, and a killer job.&amp;quot; She even adopts a 160-pound rescued mastiff. Her story should end happily ever after; unfortunately, she loses her dream job and her real nightmare begins. Like survivors of war, each homeless soul has a story to tell. Karp tells hers in riveting detail\u2014granting us an insider&amp;#039;s view of living on the outside, such as Walmart&amp;#039;s modern-day &amp;quot;underground railroad&amp;quot; that allows overnight parking for people with no other option than to live out of their cars and trailers. This memoir reveals Karp&amp;#039;s rollercoaster ride trying to return to normalcy and illustrates how often luck plays a role in success and why some make it back into mainstream society while others never will.\u2014Marilyn Ludzki, Elmwood Park, NJ The first half of this memoir is strong and searing\u2014recounting a smart girl&amp;#039;s coming of age while engulfed in a dysfunctional family; she maintains just enough determination to survive and break free. The author&amp;#039;s work ethic, compassion, and commitment are admirable; however, the second half of the book is another story. Details of her life in an inherited trailer and her developing relationship with a homeless Scot read like an anti-feminist blog: One bad decision after another. Karp is fortunate enough to have access to both a therapist and an advice columnist, yet readers are left dumbfounded as to why neither suggested Karp attend college, or choose herself (or even her dog) over a man who possesses nothing but blaring red flags.\u2014Myra Clarke, Los Angeles Even today, America&amp;#039;s homeless are ostracized, and Karp&amp;#039;s heroic account shows the ways in which she was treated not as a person who had slipped into an unlucky situation but as a disease that could be transmitted.\u2014Jaime Boler, Laurel, MS Perhaps Karp&amp;#039;s soul-baring story will raise awareness and help extinguish common stereotypes about homelessness. She offers a fresh yet sad look at America\u2014but not without wry humor.\u2014Tracey Cheesman, Mount Carmel, IL Karp&amp;#039;s memoir resonates because, let&amp;#039;s face it: So many people are just one paycheck away from being homeless. Even in her unfortunate situation, her enduring will for a better life allows her to turn a bad situation into something good\u2014she doesn&amp;#039;t give herself a pass to stay cemented in the dumps.\u2014Dollie Hendrix, Fort Collins, CO The real tragedy of this memoir is the human element: The one man Karp grows to love and trust ultimately betrays her. If anything can be learned by reading this memoir, it&amp;#039;s that the resilience of those already fighting an uphill battle is all around us, even in the faces of the homeless.\u2014Lori H. Matthews, San Francisco This could have been a great memoir; instead, Karp constantly exhibits her naivete while denying it. Her yarn turns into a lesson on how to survive a terrible relationship, and not the guide to homelessness that the title suggests.\u2014Melissa Jackson, Bloomington, IN  Your Voice in My Head  (Other Press), by Emma Forrest  Most readers registered only a lukewarm response to the saga of psychologically troubled Brit journo Forrest, who came to New York City, was healingly treated by a therapist who then died, and had a life-upending affair with a bad-boy actor (google around and you&amp;#039;ll find him).  This moving memoir reflects the zeitgeist of Generation X. Mounds of mental illnesses imprison Forrest\u2014she is a cutter, a sufferer of bulimia and depression, and suicidal. To top off the sadness, she even manages to find a boyfriend who cuts. Forrest&amp;#039;s sarcastic and quirky anecdotes documenting her disorders are vividly heartbreaking\u2014after her suicide attempt, an ER doctor pumping her stomach wonders if the cuts on her arm are part of her attempt to end her life: &amp;quot;They weren&amp;#039;t. They&amp;#039;d been added over days and weeks and months. A graffiti artist, coming back in the dead of night to a favorite wall.&amp;quot; Forrest&amp;#039;s tumultuous ups and downs are anchored by tributes and memories from patients of her brilliant and kind-hearted psychiatrist.\u2014Marilyn Ludzki, Elmwood Park, NJ Some people say they can&amp;#039;t live without their therapists, but Forrest was forced to. After his unexpected death, Forrest must learn to become her own life preserver and navigate her way through her out-of-control existence. While Forrest grapples with her mental illnesses, her deceased therapist remains ever-presently the voice in her head.\u2014Lori H. Matthews, San Francisco A rough start of layered, fragmented thoughts and ideas fill Forrest&amp;#039;s introduction, but as her story develops and countless disturbing bits surface, it became clear that Forrest is a complicated soul suffering from mental illnesses galore. Her beloved Dr. R&amp;#039;s sudden death turns her into a self-obsessed investigator as she tries to uncover the reasoning behind his failure to warn her that he was battling an illness of his own.\u2014Rubi Mendoza, Canyon Country, CA Forrest bares her whole body and soul in this memoir, yet it is unclear why she&amp;#039;s not so forthcoming about the true identity of her famous actor boyfriend, who she refers to as her Gypsy Husband (GH)\u2014especially when a quick Google search easily reveals his true identify. Though it is appropriate to applaud Forrest for documenting her mental illness in such a frank manner, her style is too often manic and self-obsessed.\u2014Jaime Boler, Laurel, MS Forrest is her own worst enemy. Mired in narcissism and committed to self-destructive behavior, Forrest details her cutting rituals, suicide attempts, her dependence on her therapist, and her failed romance with a bad-boy actor. Such confessional works only serve to promote stereotypes of women as emotionally disturbed creatures with love addictions.\u2014Myra Clarke, Los Angeles Beautiful yet sparse. Insightful yet gossipy. Forrest&amp;#039;s memoir reads like a guilty pleasure.\u2014Melissa Jackson, Bloomington, IN  Forrest captivates us with her fabulous life, and then rushes back to her sad, destructive behavior.\u2014Dollie Hendrix, Fort Collins, CO Your Voice in My Head is chock-full of despair and unhappiness, yet it does not resonate\u2014it falls flat and is repetitive.\u2014Tracey Cheesman, Mount Carmel, IL  You Must Go and Win  (Faber and Faber), by Alina Simone  Almost tied for second were these wry essays about the mixed fortunes of a Ukraine-born woman who came to America with her family as an infant and later attempted, so far with dissatisfactory results, to succeed in Brooklyn&amp;#039;s indie-rock music scene.   The adventures and misadventures described by indie-rock musician Simone in You Must Go and Win include a parade of strange and exotic characters (such as a Soviet singer who could pass as the Sylvia Plath of the Russian punk scene) and locations as diverse as Siberia and Austin, Texas. Nevertheless, below the surface of the wild stories in this bittersweet memoir lies the heartache of being a 2G (Second Generation)\u2014the offspring of parents who faced politically sanctioned annihilation. As the peripatetic author floats from a series of dead-end jobs to an endless array of educational prospects, she tortures herself trying to please her family while avoiding her inevitable destiny: to perform her music and achieve professional success.\u2014Marilyn Ludzki, Elmwood Park, NJ In her book of essays, Simone recounts her journey of self-discovery. Born in the former Soviet Union, she came to the U.S. with her parents as a baby. The lure of home and of the past is powerful: In 2001, Simone traveled to Ukraine and Siberia to uncover her roots. The trip was well worth it\u2014she was then able to tie her heritage and her music together. I applaud her for her ability to bring character to her life.\u2014Jaime Boler, Laurel, MS This book is a rather eye-opening look at the indie-music industry and the struggles people endure in hopes of catching their big break. But more than all of that, it is a story of courage and determination. This memoir had the potential to be sad and depressing, but the author&amp;#039;s biting wit make this story a riveting tale. I simply had to know what happened next.\u2014Tracey Cheesman, Mount Carmel, IL Simone&amp;#039;s memoir about her years spent trying to succeed in the music business is both interesting and humorous, but it is her insight into her own family and cultural heritage that make this book most enjoyable.\u2014Melissa Jackson, Bloomington, IN Simone ponders her relationships with fame, family, and her motherland: Russia. Along the way, she raises questions about the nature of art, the motivation to succeed, the yearning for recognition, religion, and social and gender roles across cultures. Whip-smart, this collection of essays is both entertaining and thought provoking.\u2014Myra Clarke, Los Angeles Not only is Simone&amp;#039;s timeline hard to follow, but the connections between her tales are not cohesive. It is simply self-indulgent and poor written\u2014I could barely finish it.\u2014Elena Escapini, Washington, DC "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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