I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)
An American classic, Maya Angelou’s debut memoir recounts the acclaimed author’s childhood and adolescence from Arkansas to Missouri to California. She touches on themes of identity and self-acceptance and recounts the abhorrent racism she and her family experienced, as well as the sexual violence she suffered at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. But there’s great joy here, too, especially when young Angelou learns to come out of her shell through her love of literature.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Kitchen Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (2000)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Kitchen Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (2000)
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You’ve probably seen this book on several similar lists, but that’s because it’s endlessly interesting. Bourdain dishes on such a niche culture—that of high-octane kitchens in some of the world’s best restaurants—and doesn’t shy away from some of its ugliest qualities. He gets personal, too, with anecdotes both amusing and somber.
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Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala (2013)
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala (2013)
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Sri Lankan writer and economist Sonali Deraniyagala lost her parents, her husband, and her two young sons in the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India. In this relentless memoir, she explores the seemingly bottomless depths of grief and how our power to remember the past can be healing. Readers who love a resolution might look elsewhere, but they’d be missing out on some unflinching, courageous writing.
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The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2005)
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2005)
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From acclaimed writer Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking recounts the sudden death of her husband and the hospitalization of their daughter within days of each other. (Her daughter eventually died at 39, which Didion writes about in Blue Nights.) It’s an engrossing and vulnerable look into a year of experiencing and coping with tragedy—filled, of course, with the writer’s famously incisive prose.
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (2016)
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (2016)
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In her final book, actress and writer Carrie Fisher gives fans a peek behind the curtain of her time on set of the first Star Wars movie. She hilariously commentates on excerpts from her diary during that time, recalls her crush on Harrison Ford, and delves into how complicated it can be to navigate the world of celebrity—especially as the face of such an iconic character.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (2017)
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (2017)
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Widely recommended as one of the best books of 2017, Hunger is Roxane Gay’s raw and powerful memoir about her own self-image and our society’s obsession with appearance. There’s a reason Gay is such a prolific writer today, whether you follow her musings on Twitter or her New York Times column; she is incredibly inquisitive and can make any reader question the status quo. Hunger is no exception.
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Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes (2016)
Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes (2016)
We all have songs that can conjure specific memories. Writer, comedian, and TV personality Dave Holmes takes that notion to heart in his memoir, where he writes about growing up Catholic and closeted in Missouri and how he “accidentally” became an MTV VJ. There’s a plethora of references to ʼ80s and ʼ90s music and self-deprecating humor that strikes the perfect balance.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (2020)
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (2020)
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There’s no shortage of powerful writing in this book by writer and poet Cathy Park Hong. Throughout the work—about America’s racialized consciousness—she expertly weaves many personal details of her life as the daughter of Korean immigrants with topics like intersectionality and artistic expression. There’s plenty of enlightening history, too, including on activist Yuri Kochiyama. Her writing demonstrates her self-awareness; she even challenges many of her own thoughts. It’s a fascinating, essential read.
How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones (2019)
How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones (2019)
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Saeed Jones, an award-winning poet, writes with such a distinct style in this searing memoir about coming of age as a young, black, gay man from the South. He writes about grief, about identity in a world that makes it hard to find one, and about acceptance. It’s a short read in length (at 192 pages) but leaves a memorable impression.
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Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (1997)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (1997)
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Writer Jon Krakauer’s infamous retelling of the 1996 Mount Everest expedition that left eight climbers in his party dead is a harrowing read. For those with zero mountaineering experience (like this writer), he makes it easy to visualize what conquering this mountain looks like. There’s also some fascinating insights on the commercialization of Everest. If you’re reading a recently printed version, there’s an interesting postscript that responds to the fairness of his account of events (which was questioned in fellow survivor Anatoli Boukreev’s book The Climb).
Heavy by Kiese Laymon (2018)
Heavy by Kiese Laymon (2018)
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With the deeply moving Heavy, Kiese Laymon shares the trials of his upbringing in Jackson, Mississippi. It’s written in the second person, addressing his mother, and it touches on his relationship to his body and how racism permeated his views of himself and the world around him. This modern memoir should be on every reading list.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (2019)
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (2019)
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If you want to read a book that turns the concept of a memoir on its head, pick up Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House. While playing with traditional form, Machado delves into the abuse she suffered in a same-sex relationship. She references horror tropes and fairy tales and gives readers a completely vulnerable (and often terrifying) look into a dark and traumatizing experience. We’ve heard the audio version is just as engrossing.
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I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (2022)
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (2022)
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In what was arguably the most talked-about memoir of the past year, actor and writer/director Jennette McCurdy details what went on behind the scenes in her life before, during, and after making the hit Nickelodeon show iCarly. She bears it all—discussing her eating disorder and the toxic relationship she had with her mother—while using pitch perfect humor, in a memoir that’s hard to stomach at times. But it’s worth it to see how she ultimately takes back control of her life.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller (2019)
Know My Name by Chanel Miller (2019)
You might remember Chanel Miller as Emily Doe. After being sexually assaulted by Brock Turner on the Stanford University campus in 2015, she wrote a victim impact statement under this name that reverberated around the world. In this profound memoir, she reclaims her real name and reveals the frustrating truths surrounding victimhood and the criminal justice system. But her writing also divulges her incredible strength—it’s a powerful read that this writer finished in one sitting.
32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert (2016)
32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert (2016)
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Two memoirs on this list from acclaimed chefs? We couldn’t resist. For those who might’ve already enjoyed Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, might we suggest Eric Ripert’s 32 Yolks. Ripert is, as some will know, the famed French chef behind renowned New York City restaurant Le Bernardin. In this memoir, he chronicles his upbringing in a fractured family in the south of France and how food was always a great comfort. Equal parts fun, infuriating, and awe-inspiring, Ripert includes high-stakes stories from his days in culinary school and working the line at fine dining establishments in Paris.
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Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (2021)
Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (2021)
Actor Stanley Tucci’s memoir about, well, his life through food is a light read filled with succinct writing, his dry humor, and (of course) hunger-inducing recipes that button each chapter. It’s also very touching and essentially a love letter to his Italian-American parents and how those early meals together around the table shaped the course of his life. Don’t read on an empty stomach.
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (2013)
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (2013)
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For anyone who loves Jesmyn Ward’s renowned novels like Sing, Unburied, Sing or Salvage the Bones, her memoir should be next on your TBR list. Here, she chronicles her upbringing in rural Mississippi and remembers the five men in her life that she lost in the space of four years to suicide, drugs, and sheer bad luck. The most deeply felt is her brother, who was hit by a drunk driver. With beautiful, introspective prose, Ward delves into masculinity, poverty, survivor’s guilt, and loneliness.
Educated by Tara Westover (2018)
Educated by Tara Westover (2018)
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It can be hard at times to read Tara Westover’s bestselling memoir, Educated. Along with her incredible journey to becoming a scholar at Harvard and Cambridge without receiving any kind of formal education, she recounts the psychological and physical abuse she suffered while growing up with her survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho. But it’s an unforgettable story about her will to change the course of her life.
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The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson (2021)
The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson (2021)
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Reading actress and comedian Casey Wilson’s memoir is like sinking into a comfy couch with your favorite beverage, ready to hear all of your best friend’s exploits. You’ll be laughing out loud during some chapters—whether they’re about her affinity for the Real Housewives franchise or behind-the-scenes moments from the (cut much too short) ABC comedy Happy Endings—then shedding tears the next, as she mourns the death of her mother. This is a quippy, heartwarming addition to any bookshelf.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (2021)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (2021)
Maybe you know Michelle Zauner best as the lead singer of renowned alt-pop group Japanese Breakfast. But here, in this recently penned memoir, she recounts taking care of—and ultimately losing—her mother, who was given a terminal cancer diagnosis when Zauner was 25. It’s a complicated, very moving account of the experience that poetically touches on identity and grief. Interspersed within these memories are mouth-watering descriptions of Korean foods that only make readers more greatly feel both the love and the loss.
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