🏆 Winner:

Death of a Dreamer by Martha Grace Duncan

Death of a Dreamer depicts a daughter’s quest to unravel the enigma of her father’s life: his astonishing change from a brilliant inventor and playful, protective father into a violent criminal who was locked up in a high-security forensic hospital and later—at the age of forty-seven—took his life.

🎖️ Runner-Up:

Poser: A Mostly-True Memoir-in-Essays by R Dean Johnson

In his search for self, he has been a professional surfer, a band’s lead singer, a UFO hunter, an autograph signer at Dodger Stadium, and a guest at a Hollywood party with Keanu Reeves—mostly true. Often unsure of who he is, he’s always been comfortable being someone else. Poser features fourteen essays about faking it until you almost make it, and maybe finding a little redemption along the way.