Strong Woman, Small Potato: My Story of Addiction and Recovery, by Charlene Kodimer with Gina Raith

Kodimer's mix of raw wit and unflinching candor provides a glimpse into life's endless challenges through her delightfully warped lens. It's as if Dorothy Parker met Nora Ephron at an AA meeting and decided to write a manifesto on generational trauma. Kodimer's journey—from growing up in LA with a restrictive mother and a detached father to surviving anxiety, depression and opioid addiction to relapsing (on repeat) to finding her way back to herself just before being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease—is captured in her collection of essays and stories which are by turns gut-wrenching and side-splitting. Aging through it all in Kodimer's (preferred Prida) shoes is not for the weak of heart, but she is here to tell the world that living small, on small potatoes, is not the way. The key to embracing the large life we all deserve—as full-on yams—is by helping others, honoring our flawed selves, and owning and sharing our stories. For Kodimer, the truth hurts—and heals.