Don't Miss Lists and Other Reading Resources

Thanks for the Memoirs

 

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Angelou, Maya. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. 1969.
The poet writes about her childhood and adolescence in rural Arkansas where she was raised by her grandmother.

Arana, Marie. AMERICAN CHICA: TWO WORLDS, ONE CHILDHOOD. 2001.
Arana’s beautifully written, humorous, and sometimes fantastical memoir is a combination of the personal and the historical, exploring her life growing up in the two cultures of Peru and America.

Armstrong, Lance. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE: MY JOURNEY BACK TO LIFE. 2000.
The Tour de France winner describes his battle with cancer and his return to bicycling.

Baker, Russell. GROWING UP. 1982.
The author traces his youth in the depression years in rural Virginia.

Beah, Ishmael. A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER. 2007.
Beah eloquently writes of how, at the age of 12, he was abducted into being a soldier in the horrific civil war in Sierra Leone.

Bourdain, Anthony. KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL: ADVENTURES IN THE CULINARY UNDERBELLY. 2000, 2007 (updated). 
The executive chef at the Brassierie Les Halles in Manhattan, brings us behind the scenes in restaurant kitchens.

Bragg, Rick. ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTIN''. 1997.
The author writes a tribute to his mother, who raised him, with little money, in rural Alabama.

Brown, Claude. MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND. 1965.
In this classic work, Brown brings to life the brutal realities of growing up desperately poor and black in the Harlem of the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Burroughs, Augusten. DRY. 2003.
In a follow up to the hilarious Running With Scissors, Burroughs continues with his black comedy when he describes his life as an alcoholic adman and his successful stint in rehab.

Conroy, Pat. MY LOSING SEASON. 2002.
The author recalls the losing basketball season he and his team endured during his senior year at the Citadel, 1966-1967.

Conway, Jill Ker. THE ROAD FROM COORAIN. 1989.
The author's life from a remote sheep station through her education at the University of Sydney in Australia.

Danticat, Edwidge. BROTHER, I’M DYING. 2007.
Danticat lovingly recounts the stories of her father and her uncle, alongside the violent history of Haiti.

Dawson, George. LIFE IS SO GOOD. 2000.
The grandson of a slave, 103-year-old Dawson learns to read at 98 and tells his life story.

Didion, Joan. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. 2005.
The author uses her spare prose to examine her grief, pain, and fear during a year in which her beloved husband of 40 years dies, and her daughter is severely ill.

Dillard, Annie. AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD. 1987.
Beautifully written, memories of growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.

Doerr, Anthony. FOUR SEASONS IN ROME: ON TWINS, INSOMNIA, AND THE BIGGEST FUNERAL IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. 2007.
Doerr spends a glorious yet sleep-deprived year in Rome with his wife and twin baby boys, while trying to write a novel.

Eggars, Dave. A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS. 2000.
A young man raises his 8-year-old brother after his parents die within five months of each other, while creating the satirical Might Magazine.

Feig, Paul. SUPERSTUD, OR, HOW I BECAME A 24 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. 2005.
In this account by the creator of the television series Freaks and Geeks and author of Kick Me, Feig explores his painfully embarrassing adventures in sexual frustration in 1970s Detroit, complete with roller-skating, feathered hair, and an REO Speedwagon concert.

Feraca, Jean. I HEAR VOICES: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, DEATH, AND THE RADIO. 2007.
Local poet and radio personality Feraca tells of growing up with her larger than life brother and mother, her unhappy first two marriages, and subsequent contentment in her writing, radio work, and current marriage.

Fuller, Alexandra. DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT: AN AFRICAN CHILDHOOD. 2001.
Fuller recalls growing up white in 1970s civil war-torn Rhodesia with her farmer parents, exposing racism and war through a child’s eyes.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. EAT, PRAY, LOVE: ONE WOMAN’S SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND INDONESIA. 2006.
Gilbert takes the reader along on her spiritual and physical trip through three countries on the way to self-healing.

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: A MEMOIR. 1997.
The Pulitzer-Prize winning historian looks back on her Long Island childhood enriched by baseball and reading.

Grealy, Lucy. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE. 1994.
With one third of her jaw removed as a result of cancer, Grealy writes of the challenges she faced dealing with a society that holds physical beauty in highest esteem.

Greenspan, Alan. THE AGE OF TURBULENCE: ADVENTURES IN A NEW WORLD. 2007.
Greenspan’s memoir is a mix of personal and economic history, including his work following 9/11 and his 18 years as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Grogan, John. MARLEY AND ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD’S WORST DOG. 2005.
Grogan chronicles his young family’s life and love with their boisterously destructive 100-pound yellow lab.

Hamill, Dorothy. A SKATING LIFE: MY STORY. 2007.
Hamill’s life since winning the 1976 gold medal has not been as easy as you might think; she reveals her personal, professional and financial struggles in this subtly charming memoir.

Heat Moon, William Least. BLUE HIGHWAYS: A JOURNEY INTO AMERICA. 1982.
This classic recounts a journey along the back roads of America and the ordinary people encountered along the way.

Hemingway, Ernest. A MOVEABLE FEAST. 1964.
Hemingway spent five years in Paris in the 1920s, where his days and nights were spent in cafés with many extraordinary people.

Ilibagiza, Immaculee. LEFT TO TELL: DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST. 2006.
Ilibagiza survived a terrifying 91 days in a Hutu pastor’s tiny bathroom alongside 7 other women, emerging with her life, faith, and the ability to forgive intact.

Jacobs, A. J. THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY. 2007.
In this entertaining and irreverent account of 12 months living strictly according to the Bible, Jacobs grows his spirituality as well as his beard.

Kalish, Mildred Armstrong. LITTLE HEATHENS: HARD TIMES AND HIGH SPIRITS ON AN IOWA FARM DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION. 2007.
Kalish simply and unsentimentally records the details of her childhood growing up on an Iowa farm during the Depression.

Karr, Mary. THE LIAR'S CLUB: A MEMOIR. 1995.
In this funny memoir, the author shares her troubled childhood in an East Texas refinery town.

Kaysen, Susanna. GIRL, INTERRUPTED. 1993.
This is the poignant memoir of two years spent in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s.

Kingsolver, Barbara. ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE: A YEAR OF FOOD LIFE. 2007.
The popular author recounts her family’s year of growing their own food and following Slow Food concepts.

Knapp, Caroline. DRINKING: A LOVE STORY. 1996.
A brilliant Massachusetts journalist has a 20-year love affair with alcohol.

Kopelman, Jay. FROM BAGHDAD, WITH LOVE: A MARINE, THE WAR, AND A DOG NAMED LAVA. 2006.
The Iraq veteran, Kopelman, and the journalist, Roth, tell the forbidden love story of a stray puppy and a Marine amidst the hell of war.

Lamott, Anne. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS: A JOURNAL OF MY SON'S FIRST YEAR. 1993.
The author shares her first year as a single mom and a recovering alcoholic, in a Northern California town.

McBride, James. THE COLOR OF WATER: A BLACK MAN'S TRIBUTE TO HIS WHITE MOTHER. 1996.
A Polish-born Southern-raised Jewish woman, marries a black man and raises 12 children in Harlem.

McCourt, Frank. ANGELA'S ASHES: A MEMOIR. 1996.
Leaving Brooklyn with his family during the depression for even worse poverty in Limerick, Ireland, the author recalls his difficult childhood.

Mah, Adeline Yen. FALLING LEAVES: THE TRUE STORY OF AN UNWANTED CHINESE DAUGHTER. 1998.
The author writes of her miserable upbringing in China under the control of her cruel stepmother.

Markham, Beryl. WEST WITH THE NIGHT. 1942.
This is the classic story of the British woman who became an African bush pilot and was the first to fly solo, east to west, across the Atlantic.

Menchu, Rigoberta. I, RIGOBERTA MENCHU: AN INDIAN WOMAN IN GUATEMALA. 1984.
Raised in poverty in the mountains of Guatemala, Menchu tells of her political struggles against a government determined to remove the Quiche Indians from their land.

Moehringer, J. R. THE TENDER BAR: A MEMOIR. 2005.
Moehringer grew up in a bar on Long Island, learning about life and how to be a man from the various characters who frequented the place.

Nesaule, Agate. A WOMAN IN AMBER: HEALING THE TRAUMA OF WAR AND EXILE. 1995.
Witnessing tortures and executions, the author escapes Europe during World War II only to be haunted by memories.

O'Faolain, Nuala. ARE YOU SOMEBODY?: THE ACCIDENTAL MEMOIR OF A DUBLIN WOMAN. 1998.
The Irish journalist tells of her choice to escape from the traditional role assigned to Irish women to find contentment.

Paesel, Brett. MOMMIES WHO DRINK: SEX, DRUGS, AND OTHER DISTANT MEMORIES OF AN ORDINARY MOM. 2006.

Paesel has her weekly sanity-saving evenings with four girlfriends to get her through the bane of parenthood: having to grow up, stop going to parties, and doing drugs and random guys.

Pelzer, David. A CHILD CALLED "IT" : ONE CHILD'S COURAGE TO SURVIVE. 1995.
Surviving horrific abuse inflicted by his mother, Pelzer tells of his will to overcome his past.

Poitier, Sidney. 2000. THE MEASURE OF A MAN: A SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The actor, an excellent storyteller, examines the major themes in his life that have made him the accomplished person he is today.

Reichl, Ruth. TENDER AT THE BONE: GROWING UP AT THE TABLE. 1998.
The New York Times restaurant critic recalls her early life defined by food.

Rusesabagina, Paul. AN ORDINARY MAN. 2006.
The movie Hotel Rwanda is based on this extraordinary and eloquent story of a humble hotel manager who saves hundreds of people from death by machete in the spring of 1994.

Ryan, Terry. THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO: HOW MY MOTHER RAISED 10 KIDS ON 25 WORDS OR LESS. 2001.
A woman supports her large family by entering every contest she comes across.

Salzman, Mark. IRON AND SILK. 1986.
Salzman captures post-cultural revolution China through his adventures as an English teacher/martial arts student in China.

Sarton, May. AT EIGHTY-TWO: A JOURNAL. 1996.
The award-winning poet and journal-writer confronts old age.

Satrapi, Marjane. PERSEPOLIS (graphic novel). 2003.
In bold black ink drawings, Satrapi lets us see her world as a privileged yet independently-minded girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

Savage, Dan. THE COMMITMENT: LOVE, SEX, MARRIAGE, AND MY FAMILY. 2005.
Syndicated columnist Savage and his partner Terry struggle with whether they should get married or get tattoos in this amusing and intelligent reflection on the meaning of commitment, marriage, and family.

Sebold, Alice. LUCKY. 1999.
The author relates in an unsparing account, her rape as a freshman in college and what it took to bring her case to court.

Sedaris, David. NAKED. 1997.
Sedaris writes frank, cynical, and funny essays on growing up gay in his crazy North Carolina family.

Spencer, Irene. SHATTERED DREAMS: MY LIFE AS A POLYGAMIST’S WIFE. 2007.
Spencer astonishes the reader in this emotional account of her marriage at age 16, and the 28 following years living in a polygamous relationship with 9 other wives, and 56 children.

Steinke, Darcey. EASTER EVERYWHERE: A MEMOIR. 2007.
The author tells of being raised by her depressed former Miss Albany mother and distant Lutheran minister father, and her constant search for some spiritual truth.

Tammet, Daniel. BORN ON A BLUE DAY: INSIDE THE EXTRAORDINARY MIND OF AN AUTISTIC SAVANT: A MEMOIR. 2007.
The 27-year old author has had an amazing life so far: growing up poor in England with his 8 siblings, learning Icelandic in a week, reciting pi up to the 22,514th digit, being a Christian, discovering he’s gay, and seeing numbers and letters as shapes, colors and emotions.

Tendo, Shoko. 2007. YAKUZA MOON: MEMOIRS OF A GANGSTER’S DAUGHTER.
Tendo reveals the bleak drug, sex, and death-filled life of growing up in the Japanese mob, the yakuza, and her work to move past it all and create her own life.

Walls, Jeannette. THE GLASS CASTLE: A MEMOIR. 2005.
MSNBC gossip columnist Walls somehow survived a childhood always on the move, filled with shocking neglect, abuse, and starvation by alcoholic, self-absorbed parents.

Weisskopf, Michael. BLOOD BROTHERS: AMONG THE SOLDIERS OF WARD 57. 2006.
The embedded journalist for Time relates his own story alongside those of 3 Iraq war soldiers, from Iraq to amputee Ward 57 of Washington's Walter Reed Hospital, showing the pain, frustration, and trauma of the Iraq war’s wounded.

Wiesel, Elie. NIGHT. 1960.
Wiesel tells the story of his experience in Auschwitz with simplicity and an eye towards bearing witness to the dead.

Wolff, Tobias. THIS BOY'S LIFE: A MEMOIR. 1989.
As a boy Wolff battled with his abusive stepfather.

Woodruff, Lee. IN AN INSTANT: A FAMILY’S JOURNEY OF LOVE AND HEALING. 2007.
The ABC news anchor Bob Woodruff and his wife take turns sharing their story, from their meeting at Colgate, all the way through his ongoing recovery from a massive head injury sustained while embedded in Iraq.

Wright, Richard. BLACK BOY. 1937.
Growing up in the 1940s, in rural Mississippi and Tennessee, this classic recounts the forces that shaped Wright as an author.

rev. 11/07 lm/ahs

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