Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. I find it hard to bypass a misery-memoir – this week’s picks all fall into that genre.

The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton

Summary: Betz-Hamilton grew up in a small town in the early ’90s. When she was 11, her parents had their identities stolen. The family changed their personal information and moved to different addresses, but the identity thief followed. Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world, isolating themselves from friends and family.

I’m thinking: Yes, a bizarre story.

The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams

Summary: As a young mother facing a terminal diagnosis, Julie Yip-Williams decided to write her story (one that included being born blind; escaping from Vietnam during the political upheaval of the country in the late 1970s; and creating a life in America).

I’m thinking: No – I’ve since listened to Yip-Williams’s podcast.

I Never Said I Loved You by Rhik Samadder

Summary: On an unlikely backpacking trip, Rhik and his mother find themselves speaking openly for the first time in years. Afterwards, the depression that had weighed Rhik down, begins to loosen, so he seizes the opportunity to understand it.

I’m thinking: Yes, like the style.