Memoir Recs for Non-Fiction November

This was intended to go out in late October/ early November but life had other plans — similar to the stories that I’ll be recommending below.

For me, memoirs have been an easy way to step my toe into the non-fiction reading space. Hearing a first person account of someone’s life, has opened by eyes to lives outside my own in a open and safe way. If you feel like you lack understanding of identities, cultures, or spaces different from yours, try a memoir. It’s a privilege to be able to read a story by someone who has been vulnerable and brave enough to share the intimate details of their lives.

It’s important to remember (and reading a memoir can serve as this reminder), that groups are not a monolith and you can’t take a single person’s story as a whole truth or as the representative of a collective. It’s a gentle reminder that more work is needed to understand and bridge gaps. So if you read one, keep going and read more!

A few other reasons I love memoirs is that they often feel like having a conversation with a friend. I read many of these on audio and they are often read by the author. I hope this list helps you find your next read or encourage you to try a memoir! Once you start, I hope you are inspired to pick up more and perhaps stretch out to other non-fiction! Happy reading and may your next read by five stars!

_{Additional Notes:}

• _{Books are linked here on bookshop.org. Although some of the books were not on bookshop. These are non-affiliated and I will not profit off any purchases made.}
• _{I did my best to categorize these memoirs in a way that would be helpful as you’re looking for a particular book but the truth is some of these books belong to multiple categories! Humans are complex and cannot be put in one box. If you have any questions or concerns about the content of these books before reading them, reach out!}

Table of Contents:

1. Memoirs by Filipino authors that helped me as a daughter of an immigrant from the Philippines
2. Memoirs that helped me deal with the loss/death of a loved one
3. Memoirs where the author processes and heals from past trauma
4. Memoirs where the author had a different upbringing than my own
5. Memoirs by LGTBQIA+ authors
6. Memoirs by celebrities in the music industry
7. Memoirs by celebrities in the film or TV industry
8. Memoirs by comedians
9. More Memoirs:

Memoirs by Filipino authors that helped me as a daughter of an immigrant from the Philippines

1. The Body Papers by Grace Talusan
2. Fairest by Meredith Talusan

Memoirs that helped me deal with the loss/death of a loved one

1. Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
2. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
3. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
4. Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley
5. After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry
6. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
7. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
8. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Memoirs where the author processes and heals from past trauma

1. Know My Name by Chanel Miller
2. Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
3. What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
4. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
5. Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora, Natasha Lehrer (Translator)
6. Mercy: A Memoir of Medical Trauma and True Crime Obsession by Marcia Trahan
7. Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot
8. So Much I Want to Tell You: Letters to My Little Sister by Anna Akana
9. The Other Side by Lacy M. Johnson
10. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
11. Lucky by Alice Sebold

Memoirs where the author had a different upbringing than my own

1. Educated by Tara Westover
2. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
3. How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
4. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
5. Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C Ford

Memoirs by LGTBQIA+ authors

1. Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
2. Over the Top: My Story by Jonathan Van Ness
3. Here for It: How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas
4. The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
5. All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
6. Pageboy by Elliot Page
7. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
8. We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
9. A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston by Robyn Crawford
10. Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim by Leah Vernon
11. Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Chava Stein
12. Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
13. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
14. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
15. Mean by Myriam Gurba

Memoirs by celebrities in the music industry

1. Over the Influence by Joanna “Jojo” Levesque
2. Open Book by Jessica Simpson
3. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
4. The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl*

_{*Please don’t have me for including this book. I did find his story fascinating especially the Nirvana parts, but I understand if you don’t want to support this man!}

Memoirs by celebrities in the film or TV industry

1. Finding Me by Viola Davis
2. Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) by Lauren Graham
3. Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham
4. Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!) by Bethany Joy Lenz
5. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
6. The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally*
7. Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work by Chrishell Stause
8. The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton
9. Grimoire Girl: Creating an Inheritance of Magic and Mischief by Hilarie Burton Morgan
10. The Answer Is . . .: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek
11. We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True by Gabrielle Union
12. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

_{*This is the book that turned on the lightbulb that I should listen to audiobooks while working on puzzles since this is something this couple does together}

Memoirs by comedians

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
2. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
3. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
4. Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson
5. Bossypants by Tina Fey
6. I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff by Abbi Jacobson
7. You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
8. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
9. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
10. Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
11. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
12. The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

Uncategorized memoirs (I know I could have found a way to categorize these if I had more stamina but to be honest, I got tired.) Many of these are political and I read as a result of the 2016 presidential election. There’s a lot here and I’m happy to chat about any of them more specifically!

More Memoirs:

1. Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein
2. Night by Elie Wiesel
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. Becoming by Michelle Obama
5. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
6. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
7. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
8. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself by Harriet Jacobs
9. Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
10. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
11. How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
12. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein*
13. Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby
14. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors and Asha Bandele
15. Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Pete Buttigieg
16. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
17. What Happened Hillary by Rodham Clinton
18. This Fight Is Our Fight by Elizabeth Warren
19. Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
20. Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip
21. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
22. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
23. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
24. You Had Me at Pet-Nat: A Natural Wine-Soaked Memoir by Rachel Signer

_{*while typing out this list I’m realizing this should have been listed under the music industry one}

If you made it to the end thank you! I hope you found a memoir to read!