best selling biographies 2022

• Craft and Criticism
• Fiction and Poetry
• News and Culture
• Lit Hub Radio
• Reading Lists

• Literary Criticism
• Craft and Advice
• In Conversation
• On Translation
• Short Story
• From the Novel
• Bookstores and Libraries
• Film and TV
• Art and Photography
• Freeman’s
• The Virtual Book Channel
• Behind the Mic
• Beyond the Page
• The Cosmic Library
• The Critic and Her Publics
• Emergence Magazine
• Fiction/Non/Fiction
• First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
• The History of Literature
• I’m a Writer But
• Lit Century
• Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre
• Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
• Write-minded
• The Best of the Decade
• Best Reviewed Books
• BookMarks Daily Giveaway
• The Daily Thrill
• CrimeReads Daily Giveaway

The Best Reviewed Memoirs and Biographies of 2022

Featuring buster keaton, jean rhys, bernardine evaristo, kate beaton, and more.

We’ve come to the end of another bountiful literary year, and for all of us review rabbits here at Book Marks, that can mean only one thing: basic math, and lots of it.

Yes, using reviews drawn from more than 150 publications, over the next two weeks we’ll be calculating and revealing the most critically-acclaimed books of 2022, in the categories of (deep breath): Fiction ; Nonfiction ; Memoir and Biography; Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror; Short Story Collections; Essay Collections; Poetry; Mystery and Crime; Graphic Literature ; and Literature in Translation .

Today’s installment: Memoir and Biography .

Brought to you by Book Marks , Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.”

1. We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole (Liveright) 17 Rave • 4 Positive • 1 Mixed • 1 Pan

“One of the many triumphs of Fintan O’Toole’s We Don’t Know Ourselves is that he manages to find a form that accommodates the spectacular changes that have occurred in Ireland over the past six decades, which happens to be his life span … it is not a memoir, nor is it an absolute history, nor is it entirely a personal reflection or a crepuscular credo. It is, in fact, all of these things helixed together: his life, his country, his thoughts, his misgivings, his anger, his pride, his doubt, all of them belonging, eventually, to us … O’Toole, an agile cultural commentator, considers himself to be a representative of the blank slate on which the experiment of change was undertaken, but it’s a tribute to him that he maintains his humility, his sharpness and his enlightened distrust …

O’Toole writes brilliantly and compellingly of the dark times, but he is graceful enough to know that there is humor and light in the cracks. There is a touch of Eduardo Galeano in the way he can settle on a telling phrase … But the real accomplishment of this book is that it achieves a conscious form of history-telling, a personal hybrid that feels distinctly honest and humble at the same time. O’Toole has not invented the form, but he comes close to perfecting it. He embraces the contradictions and the confusion. In the process, he weaves the flag rather than waving it.”

–Colum McCann ( The New York Times Book Review )

2. Thin Places: A Natural History of Healing and Home by Kerri Ní Dochartaigh (Milkweed)

12 Rave • 7 Positive • 2 Mixed

“Assured and affecting … A powerful and bracing memoir … This is a book that will make you see the world differently: it asks you to reconsider the animals and insects we often view as pests – the rat, for example, and the moth. It asks you to look at the sea and the sky and the trees anew; to wonder, when you are somewhere beautiful, whether you might be in a thin place, and what your responsibilities are to your location.It asks you to show compassion for people you think are difficult, to cultivate empathy, to try to understand the trauma that made them the way they are.”

–Lynn Enright ( The Irish Times )

3. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)

14 Rave • 4 Positive

“It could hardly be more different in tone from [Beaton’s] popular larky strip Hark! A Vagrant … Yes, it’s funny at moments; Beaton’s low-key wryness is present and correct, and her drawings of people are as charming and as expressive as ever. But its mood overall is deeply melancholic. Her story, which runs to more than 400 pages, encompasses not only such thorny matters as social class and environmental destruction; it may be the best book I have ever read about sexual harassment …

There are some gorgeous drawings in Ducks of the snow and the starry sky at night. But the human terrain, in her hands, is never only black and white … And it’s this that gives her story not only its richness and depth, but also its astonishing grace. Life is complex, she tell us, quietly, and we are all in it together; each one of us is only trying to survive. What a difficult, gorgeous and abidingly humane book. It really does deserve to win all the prizes.”

–Rachel Cooke ( The Guardian )

4. Stay True by Hua Hsu (Doubleday)

14 Rave • 3 Positive

“… quietly wrenching … To say that this book is about grief or coming-of-age doesn’t quite do it justice; nor is it mainly about being Asian American, even though there are glimmers of that too. Hsu captures the past by conveying both its mood and specificity … This is a memoir that gathers power through accretion—all those moments and gestures that constitute experience, the bits and pieces that coalesce into a life … Hsu is a subtle writer, not a showy one; the joy of Stay True sneaks up on you, and the wry jokes are threaded seamlessly throughout.”

–Jennifer Szalai ( The New York Times )

5.  Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo (Grove)

13 Rave • 4 Positive

“Part coming-of-age story and part how-to manual, the book is, above all, one of the most down-to-earth and least self-aggrandizing works of self-reflection you could hope to read. Evaristo’s guilelessness is refreshing, even unsettling … With ribald humour and admirable candour, Evaristo takes us on a tour of her sexual history … Characterized by the resilience of its author, it is replete with stories about the communities and connections Evaristo has cultivated over forty years … Invigoratingly disruptive as an artist, Evaristo is a bridge-builder as a human being.”

–Emily Bernard ( The Times Literary Supplement )

1. Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

14 Rave • 4 Positive • 1 Mixed

“Rundell is right that Donne…must never be forgotten, and she is the ideal person to evangelise him for our age. She shares his linguistic dexterity, his pleasure in what TS Eliot called ‘felt thought’, his ability to bestow physicality on the abstract … It’s a biography filled with gaps and Rundell brings a zest for imaginative speculation to these. We know so little about Donne’s wife, but Rundell brings her alive as never before … Rundell confronts the difficult issue of Donne’s misogyny head-on … This is a determinedly deft book, and I would have liked it to billow a little more, making room for more extensive readings of the poems and larger arguments about the Renaissance. But if there is an overarching argument, then it’s about Donne as an ‘infinity merchant’ … To read Donne is to grapple with a vision of the eternal that is startlingly reinvented in the here and now, and Rundell captures this vision alive in all its power, eloquence and strangeness”

–Laura Feigel ( The Guardian )

2. The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland (Harper)

12 Rave • 3 Positive

“Compelling … We know about Auschwitz. We know what happened there. But Freedland, with his strong, clear prose and vivid details, makes us feel it, and the first half of this book is not an easy read. The chillingly efficient mass murder of thousands of people is harrowing enough, but Freedland tells us stories of individual evils as well that are almost harder to take … His matter-of-fact tone makes it bearable for us to continue to read … The Escape Artist is riveting history, eloquently written and scrupulously researched. Rosenberg’s brilliance, courage and fortitude are nothing short of amazing.”

–Laurie Hertzel ( The Star Tribune )

3. I Used to Live Here Once: The Haunted Life of Jean Rhys by Miranda Seymour (W. W. Norton & Company)

11 Rave • 4 Positive • 1 Pan

“…illuminating and meticulously researched … paints a deft portrait of a flawed, complex, yet endlessly fascinating woman who, though repeatedly bowed, refused to be broken … Following dismal reviews of her fourth novel, Rhys drifted into obscurity. Ms. Seymour’s book could have lost momentum here. Instead, it compellingly charts turbulent, drink-fueled years of wild moods and reckless acts before building to a cathartic climax with Rhys’s rescue, renewed lease on life and late-career triumph … is at its most powerful when Ms. Seymour, clear-eyed but also with empathy, elaborates on Rhys’s woes …

Ms. Seymour is less convincing with her bold claim that Rhys was ‘perhaps the finest English woman novelist of the twentieth century.’ However, she does expertly demonstrate that Rhys led a challenging yet remarkable life and that her slim but substantial novels about beleaguered women were ahead of their time … This insightful biography brilliantly shows how her many battles were lost and won.”

–Malcolm Forbes ( The Wall Street Journal )

4. The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

9 Rave • 5 Positive • 1 Mixed

“Grisly yet inspiring … Fitzharris depicts her hero as irrepressibly dedicated and unfailingly likable. The suspense of her narrative comes not from any interpersonal drama but from the formidable challenges posed by the physical world … The Facemaker is mostly a story of medical progress and extraordinary achievement, but as Gillies himself well knew—grappling daily with the unbearable suffering that people willingly inflicted on one another—failure was never far behind.”

5. Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life by James Curtis (Knopf)

8 Rave • 6 Positive • 1 Mixed

“Keaton fans have often complained that nearly all biographies of him suffer from a questionable slant or a cursory treatment of key events. With Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life —at more than 800 pages dense with research and facts—Mr. Curtis rectifies that situation, and how. He digs deep into Keaton’s process and shows how something like the brilliant two-reeler Cops went from a storyline conceived from necessity—construction on the movie lot encouraged shooting outdoors—to a masterpiece … This will doubtless be the primary reference on Keaton’s life for a long time to come … the worse Keaton’s life gets, the more engrossing Mr. Curtis’s book becomes.”

–Farran Smith Nehme ( The Wall Street Journal )

Our System:

RAVE = 5 points • POSITIVE = 3 points • MIXED = 1 point • PAN = -5 points

• Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Previous Article

Next article, support lit hub..

Join our community of readers.

to the Lithub Daily

Popular posts.

Follow us on Twitter

Between Shame, Desire, and Destiny: On the Genius of Annie Ernaux

• RSS - Posts

Literary Hub

Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature

Sign Up For Our Newsletters

How to Pitch Lit Hub

Advertisers: Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Support Lit Hub - Become A Member

Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member : Because Books Matter

For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience , exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag . Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

Become a member for as low as $5/month

The Best Biographies of 2022

Summer Loomis

Summer Loomis has been writing for Book Riot since 2019. She obsessively curates her library holds and somehow still manages to borrow too many books at once. She appreciates a good deadline and likes knowing if 164 other people are waiting for the same title. It's good peer pressure! She doesn't have a podcast but if she did, she hopes it would sound like Buddhability . The world could always use more people creating value with their lives everyday.

View All posts by Summer Loomis

The following are the best biographies 2022 had to offer, according to my brain and my tastes. And I know it might sound like something everyone says, but it was really hard to pick them this year. Like many people, I love “best of” lists for the year, even when I disagree with the titles that make the cut. There is something about narrowing the field to “the best” that makes me excited to read the list and see what I’ve read already and which gems I’ve missed that year. If you want to look back at some of the titles Book Riot chose in 2021, try this best books of 2021 by genre or best books for 2020 . Both will probably quadruple your TBR, but they’re super fun to read anyway.

For 2022 in particular, there were a ton of excellent titles to choose from, in both biographies and memoirs. I am not being polite here but let me just say that it was genuinely hard to choose. To make it easier on myself, I have included some memoirs to pair with the best biographies of 2022 below. If you don’t see your absolute favorite, it’s either because I didn’t like it (I don’t believe in spending time on books I don’t like) or because I ran out of space. And it was most likely the latter!

His Name is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa

Samuels and Olorunnipa are two Washington Post journalists who meticulously researched Floyd’s personal history in order to better understand not only his life and experiences before his death, but also the systemic forces that eventually contributed to his murder. While very interesting, this is also a harder read and very frustrating at times as there is so much loss wrapped up into this story. Definitely one of the best biographies of 2022 and one that I think will be read for years to come.

Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird by Gene Andrew Jarrett

This is one of those classic biographies that I think readers will just love diving into. Rich in detail and nuance, it drops readers into Dunbar’s life and times, offering a fascinating look at both the literary and personal life of this great American poet. If you are able to read on audio, you may want to check out actor Mirron E. Willis’s excellent narration.

Didn’t We Almost Have it All: In Defense of Whitney Houston by Gerrick Kennedy

Maybe you’re a huge fan or maybe you don’t know who Whitney Houston was, but either way, you can still read this and enjoy it. Kennedy is very clear that he didn’t set out to write a traditional biography. He wasn’t trying to dig up new “dirt” about the singer or to ask people in her life to reflect back on her now that she has been gone for 10 years. Instead, Kennedy tackles something deeper and possibly harder: to see and appreciate Houston as the fully-formed and talented human being that she was and to understand in full her influence over popular culture and music.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. By signing up you agree to our terms of use

Finding Me by Viola Davis

If you are also interested in reading a memoir from 2022, you could pair Whitney Houston’s biography with Viola Davis’s book. It was a title I saw everywhere in 2022, but didn’t pick up until the end of the year. My only two cents to add to this strong choice is that I was also just about the last person on earth who hadn’t heard about Davis’s childhood. Please don’t go into this without knowing at least something about what she had to overcome. However, despite all that, I still think it is an excellent and ultimately uplifting read. Content warnings include domestic violence, child endangerment, physical and sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, drug addiction, and animal death. And also the unrelentingly grinding nature of poverty.

Like Water: A Cultural History of Bruce Lee by Daryl Joji Maeda 

This is a much more academic presentation of Bruce Lee and the myriad of ways he can be “read” in his connections and contributions to American pop culture. If you or someone you know is itching to read an extremely detailed and deeply considered look at Lee’s life, then this is the book for you. If you read on audio, be sure to check out David Lee Huynh’s narration.

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu

If you want to read something much lighter but still connected to Asian representation in Western movies, you could do worse than Liu’s 2022 memoir. In comparison to other books on this list, this felt like a much lighter read to me, but it is not without some heavier moments. While I am not a superfan of Liu (because I’m not really a superfan of anyone), I did enjoy learning about Liu’s childhood and especially hearing little details like that his grandparents called him a nickname that basically translated to “little furry caterpillar” as a child. I mean, is there anything more adorable for a kid?

The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann by Ananyo Bhattacharya

This is another meaty biography that readers will just adore. Complex and fascinating, von Neumann’s curiosity was legendary and his contributions are so far-reaching that it is hard to imagine any one person undertaking them all. This is a good choice for readers who are fascinated by mathematics, big personalities, and intellectual puzzles.

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

This is another best biography of 2022 that many, many readers will want to sink into. The audio is also by the author so you may want to read it that way. Whether someone reads it with eyes or ears (or both!), this book is sure to interest many curious Christie fans. And if Worsley’s biography isn’t enough for you, you may also enjoy this breakdown of why Christie is one of the best-selling novelists of all time or these 8 audiobooks for Agatha Christie fans .

The School that Escaped the Nazis: The True Story of the Schoolteacher Who Defied Hitler by Deborah Cadbury

Cadbury writes a fascinating biography of Anna Essinger, a schoolteacher who managed to smuggle her students out of a Germany succumbing to Hitler’s rise to power and all the horror that was to follow. Essinger’s bravery and clear-eyed understanding of what was happening around her is amazing. This is a thrilling and fascinating biography readers will no doubt find inspirational.

The Escape Artist: The Man who Broke out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Freedland is a British journalist who has written this thoroughly engrossing book about Rudolf Vrba, a man who managed to escape from Auschwitz. It’s no surprise that this is a very important but difficult read. For those who can manage it, I highly recommend immersing oneself in this historical nonfiction biography about a man who survived some of the darkest events of human history.

That is my list of the best biographies of 2022, with a few memoirs for those who are interested. And now of course, I need to mention several titles I have yet to get to from 2022: Hua Hsu’s Stay True , Zain Asher’s Where the Children Take Us , Fatima Ali’s Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More , and Dan Charnas and Jeff Peretz’s Dilla Time , to name a few!

Also Bernardine Evaristo published Manifesto: On Never Giving Up in 2022 and somehow it slipped through the cracks of my TBR. I will have to make time for that one soon.

If you still need more titles to explore, try these 50 best biographies or 20 biographies for kids . And to that latter list, I might add that a children’s biography came out about Octavia Butler in 2022 called Star Child by Haitian American author Ibi Zoboi, so you might want to check that out too!

You Might Also Like

Best of the Year: The 15 Best Bios and Memoirs of 2022

From ruminations on addiction and recovery to genre-bending blends of biography and cultural criticism, these are 2022's best memoirs.

This list is part of our Best of the Year collection, an obsessively curated selection of our editors' and listeners' favorite audio in 2022. Check out The Best of 2022 to see our top picks in every category.

There are few stories more compelling or more intimately told than those soul-baring memoirs that seek not just to recount the experiences of one's own life but to draw some greater commentary on the big existential questions. What does it mean to be human? What is our purpose in being here? How much of who we are is purely self-determined? How much is an amalgamation of all those who have left an impact on us? Like all great autobiographies, the very best memoirs of 2022 muse on those questions, contemplating everything from the impact of art and culture on identity to navigating the labyrinthine worlds of grief and illness, addiction and recovery. Exceptional in both their prose and narration, these listens represent a few of the year's best memoirs.

Save this list to your Library Collections now.

Constructing a Nervous System

Audible's Memoir of the Year, 2022 To call Margo Jefferson’s exquisite Constructing a Nervous System a memoir is a bit of a misnomer. After all, this skillfully crafted autobiography dances between genres so fluidly, leaping from the personal to deft cultural analysis in a dazzling display of narrative choreography. Jefferson constructs this stunner of a memoir through a literary lens, one that all but embodies the artists she riffs off of and analyzes, developing a story of the self through the creations, personalities, and perspectives of other artists. In a totally unique style that splinters the form of memoir altogether and frequently sees the text in dialogue with itself, this sharp listen illuminates that so much of who we are is built upon what we love and the things we encounter—be it the lasting presence of a late family member or a voice rising from a turntable. — Alanna M.

Told through the perspective of his nine-year-old self, Javier Zamora’s Solito is a moving account of his perilous, exhausting solo journey from El Salvador to the United States, where his parents awaited him. Zamora was entirely reliant on the support and compassion of his fellow migrants to survive—a story that is both his own and shared by many. Zamora is a poet first, and his delivery is pitch-perfect, lending a lyrical cadence and a well of emotion to an already beautifully crafted memoir. His voice, at times quivering, small, or uncertain, much like his young self, is wielded as an instrument of the story, not an appendix, reminding the listener of the human beings behind the statistics and political platforms. — A.M.

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

There are some sounds I consider synonymous with my Irish heritage: the slap of ghillies and the clack of reel shoes, the melodic jaunt of lilting or swell of an accordion, and the entrancing lull of a good story. The latter is embodied in Séamas O’Reilly’s tender retrospective on grief, family, and childhood, all amidst the din of the Troubles. However, a dry tearjerker this is not. Instead, whether musing on his father’s unmatched haggling abilities or offering asides on the oddities of death’s theatrics, O’Reilly brings so much joy and soul into his story that it’s impossible not to smile along. There is simply so much love, life, and heart in this rich memoir that you can almost hear it breathing. — A.M.

The Invisible Kingdom

In this deeply researched and insightful memoir, author Meghan O’Rourke illuminates how chronic illness has become the defining medical mystery of our times, and the source of a painful dissonance between the promises of modern medicine and the lived experiences of so many. Drawing on her own health issues as well as her background as a poet, O’Rourke weaves insights from doctors, patients, researchers, and other experts into a captivating and lyrical narrative. The current spotlight that long COVID has thrown on autoimmune and other “invisible” conditions is a central focus of the memoir, and many people will feel seen—and hopefully heard—by the eloquent voice O’Rourke gives to a monumental challenge. — Kat J.

Lost & Found

I’ve always found something peculiar about “loss” as a euphemism for death. Even still, it feels so apt—that sense that something is missing, at first an acute awareness and in time, an understanding of that absence’s permanence. Kathryn Schulz pulls on this thread in her gorgeous memoir Lost & Found , an account of the universality and ubiquity of those two most human experiences—love and death—as filtered through the loss of her father and the life she built with her wife. As someone muddling through a similar grief journey while trying to nurture a relationship of my own, I found a resonant comfort and hope in Schulz’s thoughts on bereavement and all the life there is still left to lead. — A.M.

What My Bones Know

As someone with a mood disorder, I find solace in listens that take new avenues for exploring the complicated and often isolating side effects of mental health conditions. Reconstructing her experiences with guided meditation and using recordings from real therapy sessions, Stephanie Foo takes a highly journalistic approach to dissecting her CPTSD diagnosis in this vulnerable and intelligent memoir. Unpacking how and why her trauma affects her the way it does, What My Bones Know is not only uniquely suited for audio but constructs a creative audio experience that challenged me as a listener in unexpected and illuminating ways. — Haley H.

Quite the Contrary

This juicy and culturally significant listen, which happens to be the memoir of one of my Audible colleagues, is one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of gulping down. In Quite the Contrary, Yvonne Durant gradually unfurls the mother of all cocktail-party stories—the intimate account of her love affair with jazz legend Miles Davis—against her equally compelling career trajectory as a rare Black woman making waves in advertising’s competitive heyday. Witty, poignant, and funny, Durant lets us into secret spaces of celebrity, culture, and bygone New York, unforgettably brought to life by narrator Allyson Johnson. — K.J.

His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

This landmark biography from Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa is built on more than 400 interviews conducted in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, offering the most complete portrait of Floyd’s life and legacy to date. Star narrator Dion Graham pairs with the authors to create a powerhouse performance that moves from Floyd’s ancestral roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina to the housing projects of Houston and his death at the hands of Minneapolis police, paying homage to his life while revealing its deep intersections with America’s history of racism and inequality. — H.H.

To fans of Brandon Stanton's street photography project and bestselling book Humans of New York, Stephanie Johnson—better known as Tanqueray—is nothing short of a superstar. So, to finally hear the septuagenarian share more unfiltered, incredible stories about being a burlesque dancer in 1970s New York City—and many other necessary reinventions to survive life's ups and downs—in her own feisty, raunchy, badass way is a milestone storytelling event that is at times hilarious as well as heartbreaking. Millions fell in love with her indomitable spirit by reading about her life on social media, but listening to this legendary lady is unforgettable. As she says: "Make room for Tanqueray, because here I come." — Jerry P.

The Book of Baraka

Told in collaboration with renowned journalist Jelani Cobb, The Book of Baraka combines poetry and prose with the history that helped to shape Ras Baraka, the current mayor of Newark, New Jersey, into the man he is today. It’s the story of a young Black boy’s coming of age as the son of one of the most influential and controversial poets and revolutionaries of the era but also of how that boy would later shape his city—first as a poet, then as an educator, and now, as mayor. As a former resident of Newark myself, I have nothing but praise for Baraka’s accomplishments. But don’t just take it from me. His is a story you definitely don’t want to miss out on, and it should be heard from the mayor himself. — Michael C.

Full disclosure: I’m a sucker for any story involving animals, particularly when those little critters are of the motley variety. Needless to say, I was drawn to Laurie Zaleski’s Funny Farm immediately. An account of running a rescue for beasties ranging from cats to horses? That ridiculously cute cover? Sign me up. What I didn’t expect, however, was a truly affecting memoir that extended far beyond barnyard antics, exploring the depths of Zaleski’s difficult childhood, her mother’s remarkable strength, and carrying on a mission inherited. So sure, come for the adorable furry and feathered friends, but stay for the author’s graceful, heartrending tribute to her late mother and a testament to the redemptive power of caring for others, four-legged or otherwise. — A.M.

Fatty Fatty Boom Boom

If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts, you probably already know Rabia Chaudry’s euphonic voice—as host of both Undisclosed and Rabia and Ellyn Solve the Case , her skills behind the microphone are well documented. Chaudry's gifts for performance and storytelling shine the clearer in her deeply personal debut memoir. So named in reference to Chaudry’s childhood nickname, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom is an immensely relatable listen for anyone who has ever battled body image issues, a rumination on those most complicated relationships (with both food and family), and a love letter to Pakistani cuisine. — A.M.

Also a Poet

A true blend of biography and memoir, Ada Calhoun’s Also a Poet is a fascinating gem of a listen. Calhoun, the author behind nonfiction listens like Why We Can’t Sleep and St. Marks Is Dead , turns her eye toward a subject matter far closer to home. In examining her strained, complicated relationship with her father, the acclaimed art critic Peter Schjeldahl, Calhoun comes across an unexpected connection between them: the late bohemian poet Frank O’Hara. Twisting in its exploration of family, legacy, and art, this Audible Original—which features exclusive archival audio of artistic giants—is an evocative act of catharsis. — A.M.

Corrections in Ink

Journalist Keri Blakinger has dedicated much of her career to shining a light on the stark realities of criminal justice in America. Her ongoing work with nonprofit news collective The Marshall Project aims to provide a better quality of life for prisoners, with Blakinger advocating for inmate safety and well-being while underscoring their oft-disregarded humanity. But Blakinger’s focus isn’t merely academic—as detailed in Corrections in Ink , she’s lived through the prison system herself. Employing well-crafted, blazing prose and narration marked by an uncommon frankness, she recounts her battle with addiction and subsequent incarceration. Listening to her story is sometimes difficult, painful even, but that’s part of its power—this is a courageous, contemplative memoir poised to change the conversation. — A.M.

Dirtbag, Massachusetts

Kidlit author Isaac Fitzgerald rocketed into the capital-L literary landscape with this astounding memoir-in-essays, its instantly iconic title matched by an unforgettable voice. With his origins firmly in Massachusetts, Fitzgerald grew up with a love of literature and a bohemian sensibility that transcended his rough-and-tumble background and its narrow presentation of masculinity. That foundation serves him well in this fiercely honest, vulnerable, and rowdy collection of reminiscences that range from Boston to Burma (now Myanmar), connecting the dots from Fitzgerald’s former lives as an altar boy, fat kid, and small-time criminal to lightning-bolt musings on religion, race, body image, and family. Both literally and literarily speaking, his voice is one to savor. — K.J.

Best of the Year: The 14 Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2022

Best of the Year: All Genres

The birth of "Quite the Contrary"

• Best of 2022
• Best of the Year

• NONFICTION BOOKS
• BEST NONFICTION 2023
• BEST NONFICTION 2024
• Historical Biographies
• The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
• Philosophical Biographies
• World War 2
• World History
• American History
• British History
• Chinese History
• Russian History
• Ancient History (up to 500)
• Medieval History (500-1400)
• Military History
• Art History
• Travel Books
• Ancient Philosophy
• Contemporary Philosophy
• Ethics & Moral Philosophy
• Great Philosophers
• Social & Political Philosophy
• Classical Studies
• New Science Books
• Maths & Statistics
• Popular Science
• Physics Books
• Climate Change Books
• How to Write
• English Grammar & Usage
• Books for Learning Languages
• Linguistics
• Political Ideologies
• Foreign Policy & International Relations
• American Politics
• British Politics
• Religious History Books
• Mental Health
• Neuroscience
• Child Psychology
• Film & Cinema
• Opera & Classical Music
• Behavioural Economics
• Development Economics
• Economic History
• Financial Crisis
• World Economies
• Investing Books
• Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
• Data Science Books
• Sex & Sexuality
• Death & Dying
• Food & Cooking
• Sports, Games & Hobbies
• FICTION BOOKS
• BEST NOVELS 2024
• BEST FICTION 2023
• New Literary Fiction
• World Literature
• Literary Criticism
• Literary Figures
• Classic English Literature
• American Literature
• Comics & Graphic Novels
• Fairy Tales & Mythology
• Historical Fiction
• Crime Novels
• Science Fiction
• Short Stories
• South Africa
• United States
• Arctic & Antarctica
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
• Netherlands
• Kids Recommend Books for Kids
• High School Teachers Recommendations
• Prizewinning Kids' Books
• Popular Series Books for Kids
• BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
• Ages Baby-2
• Books for Teens and Young Adults
• THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
• BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2023
• BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2023
• Best Audiobooks for Kids
• Environment
• Best Books for Teens of 2023
• Best Kids' Books of 2023
• Political Novels
• New History Books
• New Historical Fiction
• New Biography
• New Memoirs
• New World Literature
• New Economics Books
• New Climate Books
• New Math Books
• New Philosophy Books
• New Psychology Books
• New Physics Books
• THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
• Actors Read Great Books
• Books Narrated by Their Authors
• Best Audiobook Thrillers
• Best History Audiobooks
• Nobel Literature Prize
• Booker Prize (fiction)
• Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
• Financial Times (nonfiction)
• Wolfson Prize (history)
• Royal Society (science)
• Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
• Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
• Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
• The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
• Audie Awards (audiobooks)

Make Your Own List

Nonfiction Books » Best Biographies » The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies

The best memoirs: the 2022 nbcc autobiography shortlist, recommended by marion winik.

Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin

Autobiography is evolving; increasingly we find the field dominated by 'genre-fluid' books that plait memoir together with strands of cultural criticism, history, journalism or even poetry. Here, Marion Winik , the memoirist and critic, talks us through the five books that have been shortlisted in the National Book Critic's Circle autobiography category—and describes the face of memoir in 2022.

Interview by Cal Flyn , Deputy Editor

A Little Devil in America: Notes In Praise Of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes: A Son's Memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha by Rodrigo Garcia

A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes by Albert Samaha

1 A Little Devil in America: Notes In Praise Of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

2 gay bar: why we went out by jeremy atherton lin, 3 a farewell to gabo and mercedes: a son's memoir of gabriel garcía márquez and mercedes barcha by rodrigo garcia, 4 a ghost in the throat by doireann ní ghríofa, 5 concepcion: an immigrant family’s fortunes by albert samaha.

W hat an exciting shortlist for this year’s National Book Critics Circle autobiography award category. As the chair of the judges, can you give us an overview—what does autobiography and memoir look like in 2022?

Yes, I think ‘a blend of memoir and cultural criticism’ is probably a reasonable way of describing the first book that made the shortlist. This is Hanif Abdurraqib’s A Little Devil in America: Notes In Praise Of Black Performance.

I think I can reveal that this book was considered by more than one committee at the NBCC, because—yes—it is as much cultural criticism as it is autobiography. One of the things that’s important to us is not to let books like that fall through the cracks. We might say, well, it’s not really a memoir, and they might say, well, it’s not really criticism. So we’ve made it our job to embrace those hybrid books. I mean, there was almost a little turf war over this one.

Abdurraqib’s voice is so powerful and personal that even when he’s writing about Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson, it still reads as personal storytelling. It’s certainly not what we ordinarily think of as music criticism. His discussion of each entertainer is very much in terms of his culture and life story.

There was one essay that the committee went crazy for: ‘It Is Safe to Say I Have Lost Many Games of Spades.’ It’s about playing cards in a van with a group of other writers traveling to an event down South. It’s about the different rules and traditions for the game in black communities all over the country. It’s also about friendship. He says that the way each of his friends plays Spades brings out the thing he most loves about each of them. That’s a lovely piece of memoir right there.

Get the weekly Five Books newsletter

As both a writer and reader of this genre, I’m obsessed with interesting formal constraints and decisions about language. Abdurraqib is a poet, and brings a lyricism and often a sort of incantatory style to his writing. One essay is based on a kind of poem called a ‘crown of sonnets’, where the last line of each sonnet becomes the first line of the next one. He did that with sections of an essay about Mike Tyson. That enchanted me. He also has five essays with the same title: ‘On Times I Have Forced Myself to Dance.’ And ‘Sixteen Ways of Looking at Blackface’ clearly gets its spinal column from Wallace Stevens.

That makes sense. The second shortlisted title is Jeremy Atherton Lin’s Gay Bar: Why We Went Out . It’s described as “a transatlantic tour of the hangouts that marked his life, with each club, pub and dive revealing itself as a palimpsest of queer history.” What did you admire about this book?

Oh, it’s really good. First of all, it’s very brave and candid. It has a lot of raw sex writing in it, which is attention-grabbing and very well handled. It’s a love story, really; he describes how he met his partner, whom he calls ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ or just ‘Famous’, in a bar when they were really very young. It’s the story of him and Famous, their coming of age, and their sex life over decades, threaded all through the book. So it’s the furthest thing from a dry history of gay bars. It’s very experiential, and takes you inside gay culture in a rare way. He evokes the settings so powerfully. It’s a great way of telling history.

Do you remember the Alia Volz book we talked about last year , Home Baked ? About her mother selling hash brownies in San Francisco?

So the cities featured in this book, London, Los Angeles and San Francisco, come to life in a similar way as in that book. You feel there’s a really vivid capturing of those cultural centers at certain times in their history.

The author came of age in the 1990s, but Aids plays a smaller role in the book than I might have expected or feared. It’s put in its place by all that’s happened before and since. It’s put in a historical context, and that’s kind of liberating I think

I know when people are selling nonfiction books at the moment, publishers often want a personal link to the story. I suppose this is where the trend towards genre fluidity might come in, and I guess it also reflects the way that so-called ‘lived experience’ is increasingly respected and prioritised.

Thanks. The third book is Rodrigo García’s A Farewell To Gabo And Mercedes: A Son’s Memoir. Rodrigo Garcia is Gabriel García Márquez’s son; this is a short but well-formed memoir about the deaths of his parents.

We talked a lot about two aspects of this book. First: is it a handicap that it’s so short? Or is it beautifully compressed, and perfect at this length? Obviously we decided it was the latter. We also talked about whether this book is important because his father was so famous—is that why we liked it?—or was it because it captured something universal about losing both parents? Again, we decided the latter, though Garcia does honor the loss to the world and to his father’s many fans, as well as his own.

Next up, we have Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat . I do love this strange little book. It weaves the story of how she subsumes herself in early motherhood with a parallel story of an Irish noblewoman and poet. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

People really can’t decide what genre this book is in, probably more so than any of the other books. They even tried to say it was fiction! Turf war, part two! I think there’s no doubt it belongs in autobiography. Ní Ghríofa interweaves the earthbound realities of her life as a young mother with her literary obsession with an 18th-century poem. It’s quite remarkable.

She explains that she knew this poem from it being taught to her at school, and then she encountered it at a different time in her life. She had never realised before that the woman poet was a young mom at the time she was widowed; I think she says that this was the detail that pushed her over the edge into obsession. She has a xeroxed copy under her pillow that she pulls out and reads in stolen moments. She researches everything that can be known about this woman’s life (which is both more than you’d think and less than she wants), and she makes her own translation from the Irish, which is included in the book.

“‘Autobiography’ is a pretty old-fashioned word for this category. I think it’s closer to what people now call ‘creative nonfiction’”

The poem itself is almost kind of goth in its details. She drinks her dead husband’s blood, she takes his dead horse’s skull and buries it in her fireplace. It’s also unbelievably romantic, quite in contrast to the diaper pails and floor-mopping and everything else she has going on. But the thing is that she embraces both. She is not downtrodden by her duties as a mother.

There’s an interesting discussion over whether this is a feminist book, because she does kind of love her dishwashing and breast-pumping and such. It has been more traditional in feminism to package up domestic duties as part of female oppression. That’s not really Ní Ghríofa’s approach at all. She finds a beauty in the duties of care. She’s a romantic in the traditional sense. She finds an intensity and romance in her own life.

It has this echoing refrain: “This is a female text.” She applies it to real texts, like the book itself and the poem that she translates, but also to other less obvious tasks. She talks about the idea of the fruits of female labour disappearing, or undoing themselves as fast as you do them—the clean becoming unclean, and so on. I felt this book very powerfully, although I find it hard to sum up the thrust of its ‘argument’.

You know how there was a turn in feminist thinking about sex? Instead of being exploited or ashamed or whatever, you could be  ‘sex positive’ and proud of it. This book is, like, housework positive.

I love that. There’s a bit about how she donates her breast milk until she’s too ill to continue. She’s sapping herself dry for a baby she’s never met. It’s a very pure image of femininity as self-abnegation.

Maybe that brings us to the final book on the shortlist: Albert Samaha’s Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes. It’s the story of the author’s Filipino-American family, and it traces his ancestry back through Filipino history.

There’s a lot we admired about this book. It’s an undertold story. Someone on the committee described it as a collective memoir, shared by unheard people from this background. In addition to the complicated history of the islands starting with Magellan, he includes several wonderful personal stories.  His uncle Spanky who was literally a rock star in the Philippines became a baggage handler at the airport in California. His mother who darts in and out of the story, is a Trumper and a QAnon follower. She gets catfished by a guy from an online dating site. So all these different narrative threads energize each other, and benefit from the contrast.

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount .

In some ways it’s like Gay Bar , in that it is a long cultural history mixed with a personal story. And it succeeds because the writing is so personal and powerful and vivid. It’s part of a more general flowering of Filipino writers right now.

How would you characterise his literary style?

I’d say he writes in a very accomplished narrative nonfiction style—longform journalism laced with personal storytelling—including moments of high irony and humor. He’s not as lyrical as the poets Abdurraqib and Ní Ghríofa, but the task he sets himself makes that an asset. There’s a lot of actual information and education delivered by this book, more like what you’d expect from a title on the nonfiction list—and there’s that hybrid thing again, the leitmotif of this list.

Fantastic. What happens next?

So now the members of all six NBCC committees are reading all the shortlisted books from every category. Then we will meet on Zoom, and at that point it’s all about hearing the voices of the people who weren’t involved in the shortlisting process. As the chair of the autobiography committee, I’m very interested to see how the five books are going to roll with the larger group. Those final discussions are so interesting and important. The best part of being on the NBCC, really. Then we will vote on the winners, and the ceremony will be on the 17 March , preceded by a finalists reading where we will hear two minutes each of all 37 books! I’m particularly excited about that.

February 18, 2022

Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]

Marion Winik

University of Baltimore professor Marion Winik  is the author of The Big Book of the Dead and winner of the 2019 Towson Prize for Literature. Among her ten other books are First Comes Love and Above Us Only Sky . Her essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine and The Sun . A board member of the National Book Critics Circle, she writes book reviews for People, Newsday, The Washington Post , and Kirkus Reviews . She was a commentator on NPR for fifteen years; her honours include an NEA Fellowship in Creative Nonfiction.

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

The 20 Best Memoirs of 2022

From marriage to medicine to masculinity, the year's best memoirs dig deep into thorny topics.

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links.

Still, our favorite memoirs of 2022 elevate the form to new heights. They tackle personal, psychological, and philosophical concerns through topics ranging from ancestry to medicine to marriage. With guts and grace, these authors dive deep into their loves and losses, and come ashore with these dazzling treasures for you to read. (Or give ! What better gift than that of a remarkable true story?)

Stay True, by Hua Hsu

When Hsu arrived at Berkeley in the 1990s, a rebellious undergrad obsessed with creating zines and developing “a worldview defined by music,” he made an unexpected friend. At first, Hsu wrote his fraternity brother Ken off as “mainstream,” thinking they had nothing in common beyond their Asian American identities—but soon, an unlikely friendship blossomed, with the two young men penning a screenplay together and discussing philosophy late into the night. It all came crashing down when Ken was murdered in a carjacking, sending Hsu into a decades-long spiral of grief and guilt. Ever since, Hsu has been trying to write Stay True , a wrenching memoir about who Ken was and what Ken taught him. At once a love letter, a coming-of-age tale, and an elegy, it’s one of the best books about friendship ever written.

The Man Who Could Move Clouds, by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

“They say the amnesias were a door to gifts we were supposed to have,” Rojas Contreras muses in this poetic memoir. After a head injury afflicted the author with amnesia, she learned that this had happened before: decades ago, her mother took a fall that left her with amnesia, and when she recovered, she gained access to “the secrets.” The first woman to know “the secrets,” Rojas Contreras’ mother inherited them from her father, known to the family as Nono, a Colombian community healer renowned for his ability to communicate with the dead, predict the future, heal the sick, and move the clouds. After Rojas Contreras’ accident, she and her mother traveled to Colombia to disinter Nono’s remains and tell his story. That quest, recounted here with mesmerizing prose and bracing insight, sent the women on a journey through the brutal colonial history that shaped their family and their nation. Rich in personal and political history, The Man Who Could Move Clouds is an effervescent read.

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, by Paul Newman

After six decades of Hollywood superstardom, it’s difficult to imagine that anything could remain unknown about Paul Newman . But that’s the particular magic trick of this memoir, assembled by way of a literary scavenger hunt. Between 1986 and 1991, Newman sat down with screenwriter Stewart Stern for a series of soul-baring interviews about his life and career. With the actor’s encouragement, Stern also recorded hundreds of hours worth of interviews with his friends, family, and colleagues. The whole enterprise was destined to become Newman’s authorized biography, but his feelings on the project soured; in 1998, he gathered the tapes in a pile and set fire to them. Luckily, Stern kept transcripts—over 14,000 pages worth. Now, those transcripts have been streamlined into this honest and unvarnished memoir, in which the actor speaks openly about his traumatic childhood, his lifelong struggle with alcoholism, and his tormenting self-doubt. But the highs are there too—like his 50-year marriage to actress Joanne Woodward—as well as the mysteries of making art, and the “imponderable of being a human being.” All told, the memoir is an extraordinary act of resurrection and reimagination.

Bad Sex, by Nona Willis Aronowitz

When Teen Vogue ’s sex columnist decided to end her marriage at 32 years old, chief among her complaints was “bad sex.” Newly divorced, Aronowitz went in search of good sex, but along the way, she discovered thorny truths about “the problem that has no name”—that despite the advances of feminism and the sexual revolution, true sexual freedom remains out of reach. Cultural criticism, memoir, and social history collide in Aronowitz’s no-nonsense investigation of all that ails young lovers, like questions about desire, consent, and patriarchy. It’s a revealing read bound to expand your thinking.

The High Sierra: A Love Story, by Kim Stanley Robinson

A titan of science fiction masters a new form in this winsome love letter to California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. Constructed from an impassioned blend of memoir, history, and science writing, The High Sierra chronicles Robinson’s 100-plus trips to his beloved mountains, from his LSD-laced first encounter in 1973 to the dozens of ​​“rambling and scrambling” days to follow. From descriptions of the region’s multitudinous flora and fauna to practical advice about when and where to hike, this is as comprehensive a guidebook as any, complete with all the lucid ecstasy of nature writing greats like John Muir and Annie Dillard.

Year of the Tiger, by Alice Wong

In this mixed media memoir, disability activist Alice Wong outlines her journey as an advocate and educator. Wong was born with a form of progressive muscular dystrophy; as a young woman, she attended her dream college, but had to drop out when changes to Medicaid prevented her from retaining the aides she needed on an inaccessible campus. In one standout essay, Wong recounts her struggle to access Covid-19 vaccines as a high-risk individual. The author's rage about moving through an ableist world is palpable, but so too is her joy and delight about Lunar New Year, cats, family, and so much more. Innovative and informative, Year of the Tiger is a multidimensional portrait of a powerful thinker.

My Pinup, by Hilton Als

Has any book ever roved so far and wide in just 48 pages as My Pinup ? In this slim and brilliant memoir, Als explores race, power, and desire through the lens of Prince. Styling the legendary musician in the image of his lovers and himself, Als explores injustice on multiple levels, from racist record labels to the world's hostility to gay Black boys. “There was so much love between us,” the author muses. “Why didn’t anyone want us to share it?” These 48 meandering pages are difficult to describe, but trust us: My Pinup is a heady cocktail you won’t soon forget.

Novelist as a Vocation, by Haruki Murakami

In this winsome volume, one of our greatest novelists invites readers into his creative process. The result is a revealing self-portrait that answers many burning questions about its reclusive subject, like: where do Murakami’s strange and surreal ideas come from? When and how did he start writing? How does he view the role of novels in contemporary society? Novelist as a Vocation is a rare and welcome peek behind the curtain of a singular mind.

Bloomsbury Publishing Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional, by Isaac Fitzgerald

In this bleeding heart memoir, Fitzgerald peels back the layers of his extraordinary life. Dirtbag, Massachusetts opens with his hardscrabble childhood in a dysfunctional Catholic family, then spins out into the decades of jobs and identities that followed. From bartending at a biker bar to smuggling medical supplies to starring in porn films, it’s all led him to here and now: he’s still a work in progress, but gradually, he’s arriving at profound realizations about masculinity, family, and selfhood. Dirtbag, Massachusetts is the best of what memoir can accomplish. It's blisteringly honest and vulnerable, pulling no punches on the path to truth, but it always finds the capacity for grace and joy. “To any young men out there who aren’t too far gone,” Fitzgerald writes, “I say you’re not done becoming yourself.”

Pretty Baby, by Chris Belcher

As a financially strapped PhD student in Los Angeles, Belcher fell into an unusual side hustle: she began working as a pro-domme, fulfilling the fantasies of male clients aroused by feelings of shame and weakness. Belcher found unique power in the work as a queer woman, writing, “My clientele wanted a woman who would never want them in return, and at that, I excelled." But as she illuminates in this discerning memoir, the work had its drawbacks—namely, the brutality and blackmail of men. In a lucid examination of power, sexuality, and class, Belcher tells a gripping story about the performance of identity, inside and outside of the dungeon.

Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me, by Ada Calhoun

When Calhoun once went looking for a childhood toy, she stumbled upon a far greater treasure: dusty cassette tapes of interviews recorded by her father, art critic Peter Schjeldahl, who started but never completed a biography of the gone-too-soon poet Frank O’Hara. As a lifelong O’Hara fan, Calhoun gleefully committed to finishing what Schjeldahl started, but the task proved to be anything but easy. Like her father before her, Calhoun was stonewalled by Maureen O’Hara, the poet’s prickly sister and executor; the project also revealed the faultlines in her complicated bond with Schjeldahl, whom she longs to impress. In this heartfelt memoir, Calhoun recounts how going in search of O’Hara revealed so much more—like the painful complexities of parents, children, art, and ambition.

Because Our Fathers Lied, by Craig McNamara

How do we reckon with the sins of our parents? That’s the thorny question at the center of this moving and courageous memoir authored by the son of Robert S. McNamara, Kennedy’s architect of the Vietnam War. In this conflicted son’s telling, a complicated man comes into intimate view, as does the “mixture of love and rage” at the heart of their relationship. At once a loving and neglectful parent, the elder McNamara’s controversial lies about the war ultimately estranged him from his son, who hung Viet Cong flags in his childhood bedroom as a protest. The pursuit of a life unlike his father’s saw the younger McNamara drop out of Stanford and travel through South America on a motorcycle, leading him to ultimately become a sustainable walnut farmer. Through his own personal story of disappointment and disillusionment, McNamara captures an intergenerational conflict and a journey of moral identity.

The Unwritten Book, by Samantha Hunt

One of our most gifted practitioners of the short story makes her first foray into nonfiction with this shapeshifting volume. Hunt’s many-feathered subject is the things that haunt: art, the dead, the forest, things left unfinished. Her investigation centers on an unfinished novel written by her late father, a Reader's Digest editor; “the dead leave clues, and life is a puzzle of trying to read and understand these mysterious hints before the game is over,” she writes. As she considers the novel, she sifts through her relationship with her father, characterized as it was by his alcoholism and their shared love of story. Eerie, profound, and daring, this is a book only the inimitable Hunt could write.

Roc Lit 101 Shine Bright, by Danyel Smith

Memoir, criticism, and cultural history meet in this masterful study of the brilliant Black women who shaped American pop music, enriched by the author's own experiences and memories. Some of the figures here will be familiar, like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, while others are long overdue for the reckoning Smith provides, from the Dixie Cups, a gone-too-soon sixties girl group, to the enslaved poet Phyllis Wheatley, who cleared a path for generations of descendants by singing her poems. In this soulful, enriching portrait of these extraordinary artists’ struggles and triumphs, Smith widens the canon to usher in new luminaries.

Lost & Found, by Kathryn Schultz

Eighteen months before Schultz’s father died after a long battle with cancer, she met the love of her life. It’s this painful dichotomy that sets the foundation for Lost & Found , a poignant memoir about how love and loss often coexist. Braiding her personal experiences together with psychological, philosophical and scientific insight, Schultz weaves a taxonomy of our losses, which can “encompass both the trivial as well as the consequential, the abstract and the concrete, the merely misplaced and the permanently gone.” But so too does she celebrate the act of discovery, from finding what we’ve mislaid to lucking into lasting love. Penetrating and profound, Lost & Found captures the extraordinary joys and sorrows of ordinary life.

Ecco Press South to America, by Imani Perry

The American South is often cast as a backwater cousin out of step with American ideals. In this vital cultural history, Perry argues otherwise, insisting the South is, in fact, the foundational heartland of America, an undeniable fulcrum around which our wealth and politics have always turned. Fusing memoir, reportage, and travelogue, Perry imparts Southern history alongside high-spirited interviews with modern-day Southerners from all walks of life. At once a love letter to “a land of big dreams and bigger lies” and a clarion call for change, South to America will change how you understand America’s past, present, and future.

Admissions, by Kendra James

When James enrolled at Connecticut’s prestigious Taft School at fifteen years old, she had no idea that, as the predominantly white boarding school’s first “Black American legacy student to graduate since 1891,” she would become its involuntary poster child for diversity. James’ hopes for a positive high school experience were dashed by “a swamp of microaggressions,” ranging from a student who accused her of stealing $20 to an article in the student newspaper blaming students of color for the segregation of campus. Determined that students after her wouldn’t suffer the same fate, she became an admissions officer specializing in diversity recruitment, but soon felt that she was “selling a lie for a living.” Frank and devastating in its candor, as well as incisive in its critique of elite academia, Admissions is a poignant coming-of-age memoir.

The Invisible Kingdom, by Meghan O'Rourke

“I got sick the way Hemingway says you go broke: ‘gradually and then suddenly,’” O’Rourke writes in The Invisible Kingdom , describing the beginning of her decades-long struggle with chronic autoimmune disease. In the late nineties, O’Rourke began suffering symptoms ranging from rashes to crushing fatigue; when she sought treatment, she became an unwilling citizen of a shadow world, where chronic illness sufferers are dismissed by doctors and alienated from their lives. In this elegant fusion of memoir, reporting, and cultural history, O’Rourke traces the development of modern Western medicine and takes aim at its limitations, advocating for a community-centric healthcare model that treats patients as people, not parts. At once a rigorous work of scholarship and a radical act of empathy, The Invisible Kingdom has the power to move mountains.

Read an exclusive interview with O'Rourkre here at Esquire.

Ancestor Trouble, by Maud Newton

Who are our ancestors to us, and what can they tell us about ourselves? In this riveting memoir, Newton goes in search of the answers to these questions, spelunking exhaustively through her frustrating and fascinating family tree. From an accused witch to a thirteen times-married man, her family tree abounds with stories that absorb and appall, but taxonomizing her family history doesn’t satisfy Newton’s hunger for meaning. Just what do the facts of a life tell us about who we are or where we come from, and what can our personal histories tell us about our national past? Carefully blending memoir and cultural criticism, Newton explores the cultural, scientific, and spiritual dimensions of ancestry, arguing for the transformational power of grappling with our inheritances.

Foreverland: On the Divine Tedium of Marriage, by Heather Havrilesky

No one writes about the agony and ecstasy of relationships with as much gutsy grace as Havrilesky, who has long counseled troubled lovers under the guise of Ask Polly . In Foreverland , Havrilesky turns the microscope on her own relationship, illuminating the joys and exasperations of her fifteen-year marriage. From parenting to quarantining together to bristling at her husband’s every loud sneeze, Havrilesky proves that forever is hard, wonderful work.

Read Havrilesky’s column about her husband here at Esquire.

@media(max-width: 73.75rem){.css-1ktbcds:before{margin-right:0.4375rem;color:#FF3A30;content:'_';display:inline-block;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1ktbcds:before{margin-right:0.5625rem;color:#FF3A30;content:'_';display:inline-block;}} Best of 2022

The Best Documentaries of 2022

The Best Books of 2022

The 10 Best TV Shows of 2022

The 25 Best Albums of 2022

The Best Nonfiction Books of 2022

The 23 Best Action Movies of 2022

The Best Comedy Specials of 2022

The Best Movies of 2022

The 45 Best Songs of 2022

The 2022 Esquire Spirit Awards

The Best Video Games of 2022 (So Far)

12 New 2022 Memoirs to Add to Your TBR Pile

From Kendra James's 'Admissions' to Viola Davis's 'Finding Me.'

Sometimes the best way to feel seen is by reading an incredible memoir and realizing, through another person's story, we're not alone in our thoughts and feelings. This year's exciting new memoirs can help us do just that. From Viola Davis's Finding Me to Selma Blair's Mean Baby , find Marie Claire 's running list of highly-anticipated 2022 memoirs to order, below. Bookmark this page for updates throughout the year!

Kathryn Schulz, a staff writer at  The New Yorker  and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wrote a moving memoir about loss and discovery. In Lost & Found , she traces some of the important relationships in her life—and illustrates simultaneous feelings of grief, love, and heartbreak—after meeting the person she would marry 18 months before her father died.

If you need further proof of the elitism that plagues the education system, read Kendra James’s Admissions, where James reflects on the years she spent at The Taft School as the first African-American legacy student.

In Miss Me With That , Rachel Lindsay shares her full story for the first time, letting readers inside her world both inside and outside of The Bachelor franchise.

In an expansion of her New York Times piece , Tiffanie Drayton explores the Black American experience and the nuances of the American Dream as she details her early memories of moving from Trinidad and Tobago to the States—and what life entailed after that.

Following the highly-acclaimed release of Girlhood , Melissa Febos returns with Body Work . Here, Febos explores the art of writing about ourselves—quite a meta topic, if we do say so ourselves!—and how it impacts our lives.

Where are my Drake and Josh fans at?! Josh Peck is set to release Happy People Are Annoying that explores his coming of age story—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and how he’s finally living the life he’s always wanted.

Delia Ephron—sister of the late Nora Ephron and a You’ve Got Mail screenwriter—tackles grief, love, and loss in a moving memoir that details her experience losing her sister and her husband, then being diagnosed with leukemia.

In Hello, Molly! Molly Shannon opens up about how she became the celebrated, hilarious actress she is after an early life filled with tragedy and grief.

The highly-anticipated memoir from Viola Davis will tell the award-winning actress' life story in her own words. “This is my story...straight, no chaser,” she said in a statement, per  the Associated Press , so you can expect this to be a good one.

Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person elected to U.S. state legislature, takes readers inside her political journey and the challenges she’s overcome.

Minnie Driver fans will want to pick up this memoir immediately to learn more about the actress’ upbringing, career path, and family.

If you thought you knew Selma Blair, think again. Here, the actress opens up about being a “mean baby” and the evolution of her life throughout the years.

Stay In The Know

Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.

Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire , where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop. 

If you've got 'em, flaunt 'em. (Curls, that is.)

By Sophia Vilensky Published 31 July 24

The shade has become a staple in the actress's street style rotation.

By Julia Gray Published 31 July 24

This line is the hardest secret beauty editors have ever had to keep.

By Samantha Holender Published 31 July 24

From nonfiction deep dives about brands to memoirs by style icons.

By Andrea Park Published 31 July 24

These memoirs and nonfiction titles will inspire you to focus on your personal ambitions.

By Andrea Park Published 16 July 24

Your beach bag isn't complete without one of these page-turners.

By Sadie Bell Published 9 July 24

Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Jessica Simpson, and more drop some serious bombshells in these pages.

By Andrea Park Published 28 June 24

The actress and best-selling author spoke to editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike for 'Marie Claire' podcast "Nice Talk."

By Sadie Bell Published 20 June 24

The author and showrunner discusses turning her acclaimed 2019 novel into a Hulu miniseries.

By Quinci LeGardye Published 7 June 24

From boy-meets-girl beach reads to queer retellings of classic lit.

By Andrea Park Published 6 June 24

You won't be able to put down these moving memoirs and touching romances.

By Bianca Rodriguez Published 3 June 24

• Contact Future's experts
• Advertise Online
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Cookies policy

Marie Claire is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

• The Top 10 Best Books of 2023, as chosen by Amazon editors
• Our Best Books of the Year yearbook
• Best biographies and memoirs of November, as chosen by Amazon editors
• Best Nonfiction of 2023, as chosen by Amazon editors

More articles like this

Best books of august 2024, as chosen by the amazon editors.

Check out the August Sarah Selects book club pick

Excellent animal books for the dog days of summer

About the Editor

Al woodworth.

Latest articles by editor

Best debuts of 2024 so far, as chosen by the amazon editors.

What to read next: A juicy memoir, the latest from Tomi Adeyemi, a perfect summer romance, and more

Best biographies and memoirs of the year so far, as chosen by the Amazon Editors

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Things you buy through our links may earn  Vox Media  a commission.

The Best Memoirs of 2022

Personal history meets a careful analysis of the cultural forces that inform it in these standout books..

In 2022, we continued to expand our idea of what a memoir can be. Call it hybrid memoir, memoir-plus, researched memoir — the industry hasn’t quite decided — but the blending of personal history with careful analysis of the cultural forces and institutions that inform it has exploded the genre with possibility. What better way to learn about issues like the immigration crisis, the effects of gentrification, the long-lasting repercussions of colonialism, or the function of art in human connection than through the stories of those who live within them? Here are some of the year’s best.

10. Solito, Javier Zamora

On April 6, 1999, 9-year-old Javier Zamora traveled with his grandfather from his home in El Salvador to Guatemala, where his grandfather would say good-bye and send him off on a seven-week journey to his parents in San Francisco. Solito reads like a diary of the trek, recounting the strange, immediate intimacy born from sharing the experience with other immigrants, the physical and emotional toll of daily slogs through dangerous terrain and waters, the disorientation of never really knowing who to trust. Choosing to tell a childhood story from the perspective at the time can go horribly wrong, but Zamora nails the tone and mind-set of his youth. His vulnerability, yearning, insecurities, and hope are vivid. It’s a journey that would test anyone’s mettle, let alone that of a child on his own, but during those seven weeks Zamora sees some of the best humanity has to offer: solidarity, bravery, sacrifice. He’s created something quite rare here — an account of the high-stakes journey to a better life as experienced, moment to moment, by one of the most vulnerable travelers. It’s a story told by the person who owns it , from a point in time where he’s able to understand just how precarious the endeavor was and how afraid his family must have been.

9. The Man Who Could Move Clouds, Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Ingrid Rojas Contreras’s memoir is as much about her grandfather as it is about herself. After a bicycle crash throws her into weeks of amnesia, she relies on her family to piece her memory back together. Through this lens, Rojas Contreras brings us along as she is guided through the mesmerizing journey of her family history, which is defined both by the guerrilla warfare that eventually drove them out of Colombia when she was 14 and the lineage of supernatural gifts that she traces back to her grandfather, a curandero, or shaman. Rojas Contreras’s talent as a fiction writer comes through in her lyrical prose and her ability to craft clear scenery and narratives. She juggles colonial criticism, explorations of marginalized cultures, and intricate analyses of family dynamics and makes it look easy.

8. Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School, Kendra James

Kendra James’s memoir recounting her experience as the first Black legacy student at a prestigious Connecticut boarding school is as juicy as it is enlightening. It’s also as infuriating as anyone who lives outside those rarefied circles might expect — years of dealing with wealthy white teens who would balk at the idea of their privilege, an administration that doles out discipline with bias, clueless (but well meaning … maybe?) teachers who diversify their syllabi but then alienate students of color in their execution, countless microaggressions and belittling assumptions. It isn’t until James leaves the school — and, years later, becomes an admissions officer doing outreach with Black and Latinx families, selling them the dream and potential of prep schools — that she really starts to process and grapple with the racism she experienced.

7. This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown, Taylor Harris

Taylor Harris’s debut is as much about motherhood as it is about our broken health-care system. Harris identifies a clear divider in her life — there’s before she woke up one morning to find her son Tophs, two months shy of 2 years old, awake but unresponsive, and then there’s after. Harris connects the two eras in unexpected ways, jumping back and forth between the onset and development of her generalized anxiety disorder and her experience navigating Tophs’s mysterious illness. She carries the tools that were necessary for her survival from the before to the after — her faith in God, her trust in those who love her, her willingness to advocate for herself and her family, her ability to sit in discomfort while “feeling out the boundaries of fear” — and we’re with her as she endures a mother’s worst nightmare, grappling with the inevitable mom guilt that comes with it. It’s an illuminating and empowering story, beautifully rendered.

6. Feral City: On Finding Liberation in Lockdown New York, Jeremiah Moss

Jeremiah Moss arrived in the East Village in the early 1990s as a transgender man searching for his people. In the 20-odd years since, he’s watched as his home turned hostile, distorting to accommodate the super-wealthy “hypernormal” transplants — he calls them New People — and sterilizing everything that made the city open, liberating, and a haven for outsiders. When 2020 hits and the city goes into lockdown, something changes. The New People flee, the others stay, and the New Yorkers who truly consider the city home reclaim it. Moss describes a complicated ambivalence as he bikes from neighborhood to neighborhood, reveling in the sense of unity and resilience, while grieving for everything and everyone lost. Feral City is often exuberant, but the reading experience is bittersweet, knowing that the city is by and large rushing past the freedom of that “feral” moment and back to soaring rents and inhumane policing. But these forces are being challenged by many of the groups Moss describes so lovingly. His academic background comes through in his integration of psychoanalysis, sociopolitical theory, and queer theory. This is a must-read for New York transplants — newcomers to any city really — who want to support their new community rather than displace it.

5. Essential Labor: Mothering As Social Change, Angela Garbes

Angela Garbes’s 2019 debut, Like a Mother , was an intimate, feminist analysis of pregnancy. Essential Labor is the follow-up, building on the themes of the first book, so it’s no surprise it’s been a best seller. Part personal history, part sociopolitical analysis, part manifesto, the genre-bending memoir examines the role and work of motherhood as revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In all the discourse about essential workers, mothers have largely been ignored, and Garbes investigates the reasons — why do we resist the classification of motherhood, and caretaking in general, as labor? Garbes places the American treatment — and devaluing — of motherhood in context with the culture of motherhood around the world. Pulling from her Filipino family’s history, she highlights the profound responsibility and power of motherhood, especially as a tool toward creating a better, more empathetic and community-based future.

4. I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy

No one anticipated the overwhelming response to child actor Jennette McCurdy’s provocative memoir — all major retailers sold out within a day of its release — and the hype proved to be warranted. You never know what you’re going to get with celebrity memoirs, but McCurdy’s is beautifully executed — poignant, illuminating, and well crafted at the line level. Her recollection of growing up with an abusive mother intent on making her a star (and succeeding) balances dark humor with heartbreak. You feel McCurdy yearning for a relationship with her mother that you know, as an outside observer, is just impossible, and the pain is palpable. My guess is I’m Glad My Mom Died will be a pivotal text in the increasingly relevant discussion of the ethics of child celebrity, from Hollywood to TikTok.

3. Lost & Found, Kathryn Schulz

Pulitzer Prize winner Kathryn Schulz’s New Yorker essay “ When Things Go Missing ” nestled into some far corner of my brain when I read it in 2017 and has come back to mind every now and then ever since. How exciting, then, to learn she had expanded her investigation into the many connected definitions and experiences of loss into this deeply affecting memoir. Schulz seamlessly weaves philosophy, psychology, and history with the death of her father, keeping the heart of the story close at all turns. Most impressive is her ability to describe her father’s decline as both traumatic and mundane, walking a tightrope between emotions that shift as arbitrarily as the directions in which one might stumble. That merging of seemingly conflicting experiences — lightness and heaviness, significant and trivial — is a consistent theme throughout the book, handled masterfully.

2. Stay True, Hua Hsu

Hua Hsu’s writing in his debut memoir flows gracefully, hypnotically, propulsively. His ode to his college friend Ken, and the specificity of college friendships in general, shifts into meditations on selfhood and identity, and how art and family history inform both. That this transformative friendship was cut short by Ken’s murder during a hijacking before they’d even graduated lends a poignancy to the lessons Ken helped him realize, the lessons that stayed with him as he figured out who he was. Decades later, Hsu shares those lessons with us. We see the way his comfort zone expands as his worldview does, too. In welcoming someone who seemed at first to embody everything he resented about American culture — Ken loved baseball, Hua wrote zines; Ken’s Japanese family had spent generations assimilating, Hua was the son of Taiwanese immigrants and he still felt like an outsider although he was born in the US — Hua slowly broadens his definition of meaning. It’s a story about art, America, and what it was like to be Asian American in the Bay Area in the ’90s, but more than that, it’s about human connection.

1. Easy Beauty , Chloé Cooper Jones

Pulitzer Prize finalist, doctor of philosophy, and general multi-hyphenate Chloé Cooper Jones’s debut shifted my understanding of a world I’ve only experienced while able-bodied. Easy Beauty follows the author — who was born with a rare congenital condition known as sacral agenesisa, a disability that visibly sets her apart from the general population and which has caused a lifetime of underlying pain— through a year of traveling in pursuit of meaning, both personal and existential. This narrative propels the book while providing detours for exploration of her coming-of-age, family history, motherhood, and theories about beauty, a concept that has defined the bulk of her life. It’s heady but accessible. The through line of this story is the titular theory and its opposite — i.e., easy versus difficult beauty; i.e., beauty that is obvious versus beauty that makes you work for it — and the genius of Easy Beauty is in its functioning as the latter. Cooper Jones puts us through the wringer a bit, trusting us to keep up with her analyses and forcing us to stay close to her physical and emotional pain, but the result is extraordinary.

• best of 2022
• chloe cooper jones
• jennette mccurdy

Most Viewed Stories

• Cinematrix No. 128: August 1, 2024
• Four Friends, Two Marriages, One Affair — and a Shelf of Books Dissecting It
• Want Just Gymnastics? Here’s Your Schedule.
• Who Are Claim to Fame ’s Celeb Family Members?
• What’s Going On in Olympic Boxing?

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

What is your email.

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

• Lower case letters (a-z)
• Upper case letters (A-Z)
• Numbers (0-9)
• Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

The 19 Best Memoirs to Curl Up With on the Couch This Fall

Here are our absolute favorites.

Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

There’s nothing like digging into a good memoir and immersing yourself in someone else’s story. Memoirs are a slightly different genre than autobiographies, which often span an entire life—instead, they build the narrative around a specific moment or series of defining events in the writer's life. And while some of our favorites in these genres are by writers who aren't household names, it's always fun to curl up with the recollections of a celebrity A-lister, especially if they happen to be Hollywood royalty, such as the sublime Finding Me (an OBC pick), by Viola Davis.

In full appreciation of the genre, we’ve curated a list of a few recent releases intermixed with titles that have already established themselves in years past. Crying in H Mart is a must-read—it's like nothing else in the category. If you missed it during its first wave of attention, what are you waiting for? Another essential is Born a Crime, from 2016, by Trevor Noah. Yes, it's got Noah's signature hilariousness (snark aplenty!), but mostly it's an ode to his mother and an exploration of what it was like to grow up in South Africa in apartheid's twilight.

The very best memoirs will leave you feeling deeply connected with the author, even if your own coming-of-age story was completely different from theirs. That's because these writers have delved deeply into their hearts and experiences to untangle the riddles of their childhoods and generously share those learnings with us. The very best memoirs feature prose that sings and lifts us into worlds that feel intimate and familiar, that we can relate to no matter the geography, ethnicity, or gender.

Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt

Autobiography of a Face, by Lucy Grealy

Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, by Jacki Lyden

There's a chance this lauded 1996 memoir was on your high school reading list, and even so, it deserves a reread and a spot on your bookshelf. Frank McCourt and his Irish-Catholic clan bounce between Depression-era Brooklyn, New York, and Limerick, Ireland, throughout his childhood, living in poverty (the kids wore rags for diapers and gathered coal from roadsides to light fires) but finding joy in small moments—not to mention loads of black humor. Throughout his father's struggle with alcoholism and his mother's experience with depression and grief, McCourt somehow grows up to be a role model for his younger siblings, a beloved teacher, and later a #1 bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner. At the time, one reviewer described it this way: " Angela's Ashes is a chronicle of grown-ups at the mercy of life and children at the mercy of grown-ups."

Poet Lucy Grealy, a survivor of Ewing's sarcoma, a rare but serious form of jaw cancer, narrates the story of her diagnosis and the resulting disfigurement of her face from a series of surgeries. She was in fourth grade at the time, with many years of school, crushes, and social events ahead of her. It wasn't until she indulged her passion for poetry in college that she came closer to self-love and was able to embrace the challenges of opening up to the possibility of love with others. A brave and beautiful classic.

We've come a long way in regard to how we discuss mental health, which might inspire you to go back and read this 1997 memoir with fresh eyes. Jacki Lyden describes her mother's experience with what we now know as bipolar disorder. During manic episodes, Dolores transformed into iconic historical figures like Marie Antoinette and the Queen of Sheba in her mind. Lyden had to find a way to coexist with these delusions and not be frightened by them, which was even more difficult in their small Midwestern town, where Dolores was considered "crazy." Over time, Lyden came to see the episodes as aspects of her mother's extraordinary energy and creativity, and as a signal that she, too, could transcend her circumstances and aim high. Lyden suggests that her unpredictable childhood may have prepared her to later thrive as a war correspondent for NPR.

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

In 2005's The Glass Castle —a modern class—Jeannette Walls unflinchingly recalls the nitty-gritty of her traumatic childhood. Her father was an alcoholic dreamer who couldn't hold a job. Her mother was a wannabe artist who conveniently believed kids were better off largely unattended. Walls and her three siblings paid for her parents' neglect and dysfunction: At 3, Jeanette was cooking her own hot dogs and was so badly burned she had to be taken to the hospital, but because her father wanted to dodge the medical bills, he "rescued" her in the midst of her treatment. They moved from "home" to home, including to what Walls's dad termed the "glass castle," though in truth it was no more than an unfinished shack.

Ultimately, Walls and her sisters and brother do escape, finding a fresh start in New York City, where Walls, for one, becomes a writer for New York Magazine. Every now and then, though, she spots her parents, also now in New York, living on the streets.

Blood, Bones & Butter, by Gabrielle Hamilton

Warning: This gorgeously written memoir might make you hungry. You'll go on a culinary adventure with Chef Gabrielle Hamilton, whose mother first turned her on to a love of French food in her childhood kitchen, and who got her first restaurant job at age 12 by lying about her age. She eventually opens an award-winning restaurant in New York City, Prune, and gives you a peek into some of the less glamourous aspects of being a NYC restauranteur.

And yes, while Hamilton does wax poetic about food (yum!) she also opens up about her idyllic childhood, which implodes after her parents separate. She is traumatized but also resilient, finding ways, despite her youth, to collect a paycheck and continue her culinary education. Hamilton earned an MFA in fiction writing, which may in part explain the luminous beauty of her prose.

Lost & Found, by Kathryn Schulz

This 2022 memoir from a Pulitzer Prize–winning New Yorker staff writer captures the nuance of loss and discovery. A year and a half before Schulz's father dies, she meets the woman who would become her wife. Amid grief, there is love. This humane, wondrous rumination on all the people and things we lose, yet unexpected joy seeps in anyway, offers a balm in times of darkness, and a companion in times when we just want to be grateful.

All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles

The story centers around a small sack containing simple possessions that main character Ashley receives from her enslaved mother, Rose, when she is sold into slavery at age 9. Ashley continues to pass the keepsakes down to future generations of Black women, including her granddaughter Ruth, who embroiders "It be filled with my love always" on the bag.

From those seven words, historian Tiya Miles weaves the memoir around the journeys of her subjects, with information drawn largely from the archives of the historical period of slavery and onward, starting from the 1850s, but also supplemented by Miles's thoughtful and informed conjecture. In her intro she writes: "This is not a traditional history. It leans toward evocation rather than argumentation, and is rather more meditation than monograph."

Miles, who specializes in the history of African Americans, Native Americans, and women, has written a triumphant and compassionate ode to a modest cotton sack containing the remarkable story of how generations of women survived chattel slavery and...persisted.

Rough Draft, by Katy Tur

You may know her as the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC anchor who Donald Trump openly criticized on the 2016 campaign trail. But in her 2022 memoir—revelatory, surprising, and altogether delightful—Katy Tur opens up about the wild ride that was her childhood. Her helicopter-journalist parents were adrenaline junkies who responded at all hours to breaking news, regularly pulling their small kids out of bed to chase down a story. Those experiences were alternately entrancing and terrifying to Tur and her brother, who were also witness to the dangerously volatile dynamic between their parents. Despite it all, including the rift that developed between Tur and her dad after he transitioned, it's clear that her passion for reporting is a family legacy, and that clear-as-a-bell truth-telling is among the virtues she wants to pass down to her young children.

Know My Name, by Chanel Miller

This is one of the most moving, immersive memoirs you will ever read. Chanel Miller (formerly referred to as Emily Doe) revealed her identity right before her book was published in 2019, reclaiming her name and her strength by offering her own account of her sexual assault while unconscious by Brock Turner on the grounds of Stanford University, as well as its devastating aftermath. You’ll hear about Miller’s relationship with her family before and after the trial, her survival of another tragedy in her college days, and the mental health effects she suffered. But what makes this work a standout is how we witness Miller taking back her power, even as the judge in charge of her case deems the perpetrator's life more potentially impacted by his crime than Miller's, and gives him a light sentence. In response, Miller wrote, in part: "I want the judge to know that he ignited a tiny fire. If anything, this is a reason for all of us to speak even louder." Amen.

Pro tip: Listen to this as an audiobook if you can. Miller reading her testimony will give you full-body chills on your morning commute.

Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

This multitalented author is also a singer and guitarist of the musical project Japanese Breakfast, and her literary debut has been flying off shelves ever since its release in 2021. The book expands on a heartrending piece Zauner wrote for The New Yorker in 2018, in which she mourns the death of her Korean mother and relates that grief to her with memories of Korean food as a kind of defining principle. She writes: "Every time I remember that my mother is dead, if feels like I'm colliding into a wall that won't give." She doesn't sugarcoat the loss: She writes that the "immutable reality" is that "I will never see her again." If you missed this book when it first took the book world by storm, now's the time!

The Beauty in Breaking, by Michele Harper

As an emergency room physician, Michele Harper has some tales to tell. It's a gift to us that she has written a remarkable book detailing her ER experiences with patients, especially the marginalized, which she blends with a chronicle of her father's domestic abuse, and later, her own divorce. We can feel the pulse of the ER and its "quiet" and "chaos," and how the patients Harper encounters help nurture her own healing. And by the way, we could all use this reminder that healthcare workers are our heroes.

This Will All Be Over Soon, by Cecily Strong

Cecily Strong exhibits a different side of herself than we're used to seeing in her SNL sketches in this reflective, ruminative, and yes, often funny memoir. At its center is the loss of Strong's cousin, Owen, early in 2020 to brain cancer, and how, in the depths of the pandemic, the comedian processes her grief over her cousin's death along with the strangeness of the Covid era. A powerful meditation filled with life lessons and a splash of humor.

Unbound, by Tarana Burke

Activist and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke's memoir is a haunting story of liberation. Attacked as a child, she grappled with self-blame and fear of damaging her family. Here, in her memoir, she highlights her journey of healing in supporting marginalized women and her realization of the need to confront her own past trauma to effectively help others. Burke's courage and self-empathy culminated in the powerful #MeToo movement. Unbound is not only about her resiliency and quest for healing but also a beacon of empathy, power, and leadership, inviting all to embark on their own paths of healing.

Somebody's Daughter, by Ashley C. Ford

Ford's radiant coming-of-age memoir highlights something that's touched so many Black families: the impact of incarceration on the people outside prison's walls. As a 4-year-old living with her mother, brother, and grandfather, Ford recalls missing her father, who's been in prison for her entire life, though she doesn't know what his crime was. Her mother is a tower of strength but not always a nurturer. Ford dreams of reuniting with her dad but must later come to terms with the fact that what he was convicted of was the rape of two women. And Ford bravely reveals her own rape.

By sharing her story—even the most difficult, intimate parts—Ford emerges transcendent, and gives us permission to also be courageous about telling our own truths.

Finding Me, by Viola Davis

In 2022, Oprah named this powerful and empowering memoir an Oprah's Book Club pick, at the time saying, "There are so many lessons to be learned from this breathtaking memoir about triumphing over adversity and trauma. Viola Davis leaves it all on the page...."

And she does. The first Black actor to earn the so-called Triple Crown of Acting—an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy—describes a childhood in which extreme poverty, violence, racism were ever-present. And yet, Davis triumphed...and then some. We bow down to The Woman King .

Untamed, by Glennon Doyle

Have you ever felt like you were too much for someone else, either too strong, too loud, or too much of a presence? In Glennon Doyle's Untamed , she'll help you banish those thoughts and convince you of exactly why you should embrace your inner "untamed, wild cheetah." The supernova literary and podcast star, who's also author of Love Warrior , an Oprah's Book Club pick, offers a glimpse into how she fell in love with the fierce U.S. Women's National Team soccer player Abby Wambach, how she and her family came to terms and came to embrace this new chapter, as well as what pushed her to get involved with racial justice activism and other urgent issues, often breaking with Christian tradition to do so. Untamed is a memoir/manifesto with the power to set you free.

Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah

The late-night host known for his witty political quips has a whole backstory you need to read about. Trevor Noah, from apartheid era South Africa, details that his very existence, as the product of an interracial relationship between his Black mother and white father, was illegal at the time. His family spent years essentially hiding him in order to not be found out, and you'll read story after story about how the tenacity of Noah's mother formed him into a public figure who's very much not hidden away.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb

Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb is both doctor and patient in this singular memoir about what people talk about when they take the couch. Gottlieb describes the moment she decided to seek therapy (the guy she was crazy about and thought she'd marry suddenly breaks it off) and interweaves that journey with those of her clients (names and identities altered for privacy). And one of the book's great attractions is that the reader gets to be voyeur, sitting in on sessions as some of her stickier patients insist on presenting versions of themselves that are clearly only a small part of the whole picture. But she's onto them. It's also apparent that Gottlieb knows a little something about plot as a former television writer: The windows we get into her psyche and those of her clients are unexpectedly thrilling, as well as illuminating.

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The 2006 book that put its author on the map is a wondrous tale of turning lemons into lemonade. When Elizabeth Gilbert's marriage breaks up, she responds not by pulling the covers over her head, but by setting out to see the world. Her travels and learnings make for one of the most beloved memoirs of modern times. The perfect hint of escapism for an ongoing pandemic, Eat Pray Love is bound to reactivate the wanderlust you may have lost these past few years. The vicarious thrills are many: pasta in Italy, meditation in India, and yes, nirvana aka Bali, Indonesia (and love!). And if your book club is having a movie night, there’s a 2010 film to accompany the book.

Culture & News

Michelle Obama Announces Her New Book

Gayle King Has a New Movie Recommendation

"GMA" Fans Learn Robin Roberts' Olympic Connection

The Best Nonfiction of the Past Two Decades

Simone Biles Leads Team USA to Gold Victory

Celine Dion Gets Choked Up Over Fan's Gesture

These Ultra-Long Books Are Worth Every Page

Celine Dion Returns to the Stage in Paris

Lady Gaga Brings the Glamour to 2024 Olympics

Splashy Novels for Summer Days By the Pool

These Historical Romances Will Sweep You Away

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

41 Celebrity Memoirs That Are Actually Worth Reading

Products are independently selected by our editors. We may earn an affiliate commission from links.

Anyone who has glanced at a bestseller list lately can tell you that we are in the midst of (yet another?) celebrity memoir boom. From Britney Spears to Prince Harry, it seems like just about everyone is spilling their secrets via book deal —meaning ’tis the season for pages upon pages of Hollywood gossip, rock-and-roll road drama, and the darker sides of show business.

At their best, celebrity memoirs provide unusually candid portraits of the “real person” behind the public persona—and they don’t skimp on the dirty details. At worst, they can be ghostwritten fluff.

 Ahead, Vogue rounds up the best of the genre for your reading pleasure.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Britney Spears

“Emerging from the shadows of a past marked by paparazzi harassment and betrayal by the people she trusted, Britney Spears finally speaks her truth in this highly anticipated—and then much celebrated—memoir. With a blend of deep sincerity and good humor, Spears fearlessly asserts her autonomy, leaving no doubt about who is truly in control of her life.” —Gia Yetikyel

Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

Spare by Prince Harry

“Even for those who don’t keep up with the Royal Family, the central themes of grief, love, and creating a home apart from everything you’ve known in Prince Harry ’s shockingly intimate Spare make it a story very much worth reading.” —G.Y.

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

“ Paris Hilton’s 336-page book takes an in-depth look at the many labels she’s adorned and shed over the decades. Unpacking her childhood, episodes of teenage rebellions, and experience with verbal and physical abuse, she creates a place for readers to understand the origins of her pink paradise—and the strength it took to withstand years of extraordinary public pressure.” —G.Y.

One Life by Megan Rapinoe

“Olympic medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe shows a whole new side of herself in this memoir, in which she recounts coming out as gay in 2011—well before ‘inclusivity in sports’ was widely discussed, let alone prioritized—as well as her experience of taking a knee alongside former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality. For those who prefer their celebrity memoirs with a side of romance, Rapinoe also dishes on her courtship with now-wife, WNBA champion Sue Bird.” —Emma Specter

Becoming by Michelle Obama

“For months after reading this, I had to stop myself from thinking of Michelle as my friend. After spending a week (or, let’s be honest, an entire weekend under a blanket) reading a celebrity’s memoir, you feel as though you’ve spent time with them. It makes them more accessible and reminds you that at the end of the day, everyone is still human. I’m coming to grips with the fact that Michelle Obama is not actually my friend Michelle, but Becoming is still one of the best books I’ve read.” —Grace Atwood, founder of TheStripe.com

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy  

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

“This bestselling memoir is hardly lighthearted fare, revolving as it does around child star McCurdy’s years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her fame-obsessed mother, but the rush to purchase it was no empty fanfare; it really is that good.” —E.S.

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl

“Whether you’re a fan of food, legacy media gossip, or writer Ruth Reichl herself, you'll find plenty to dine out on in this account of Reichl’s time serving as the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. Reichl freely admits that the glamorous world of New York publishing was a new one to her at the start of her Gourmet tenure, but I think it’s safe to say we could use a little more of her independence, irreverence and commitment to genuine creativity in the industry. (Bonus: her descriptions of meals are effortlessly mouth-watering, so make sure to eat with a delicious snack at the ready.)” —E.S.

The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

“Perhaps more of a memoir of brushes with celebrity than actual celebrity memoir, Tina Brown’s Vanity Fair Diaries is nonetheless a phenomenal read, for the journalism nerd or anyone else who is interested in the inner workings of glossy magazine-making in its heyday. The book recounts the British editor's years as the editor in chief of the storied magazine, the feathers she unapologetically ruffled in pursuit of a more lively publication (the rates she paid Martin Amis for a single story would make a 2020s editor swoon!), the glamor of the gig, the grind of being a working mother. Brown kept meticulous notes when she occupied this role, and it shows; this is a book in which the delicious dirt is in the details.” —Chloe Schama

My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

My Name Is Barbra

“Ruminative and dishy, funny and smart, Barbra Streisand’s nearly 1,000-page memoir deftly captures the voice that first bewitched American audiences in the early 1960s—plus her weird dynamic with Marlon Brando, the nightmare of making Yentl with Mandy Patinkin, her lifelong fondness for baked potatoes, and other delicious bits.” —Marley Marius

Love, Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth by Pamela Anderson

“With Pamela Anderson’s memoir, readers meet the woman behind the va-va-voom persona—she is, in fact, just a shy girl from Vancouver Island—through childhood memories and reflections on pursuing her dreams. Blending prose and poetry, it’s a refreshing and empowering read.” —G.Y.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

“If you haven’t read Fey’s 2011 memoir yet, you’re sleeping at the wheel. It follows her journey to stardom and is filled with amazing behind-the-scenes stories from her time on Saturday Night Live . Candid, self-deprecating, funny (duh): the perfect before-bed read.” —Christian Allaire

Just the Funny Parts by Nell Scovell

“The second female Letterman writer and creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch , Scovell brings all the humor of Bossypants but with the added bite of coming up in the mighty sexist man’s world of TV. Scovell names names and calls it like she sees it.” —Michelle Ruiz, Vogue.com contributing editor

Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang

“This memoir by the celebrity chef behind New York’s Baohaus inspired the ABC show of the same name—but the book version is far less fuzzy. Huang gives an unapologetically real look at his upbringing in a hardworking and often strict Chinese-American family. And his sumptuous descriptions of food make you really, really hungry.” —M.R.

Finding Me by Viola Davis

“A Rhode Island childhood marked by trauma and abuse gives way to an adulthood in the spotlight as one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood, and Davis relays the topsy-turviness of her life’s circumstances with a compelling mix of emotional honesty and grace.” —E.S.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

“Mindy Kaling holds a rarefied position in Hollywood these days, but the writer, actress and director's bestselling 2011 memoir proves that her ascent to the top wasn’t always an easy one. In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? , Kaling recounts her growth from the shy, bookish child of immigrants to off-Broadway sensation to the youngest writer on the staff of the hit NBC sitcom The Office ; what’s most notable about the memoir, though, is the way Kaling's singular voice shines through, lending even the wildest of L.A. tales a crucial degree of relatability.” —E.S.

Open Book by Jessica Simpson

“I went into Open Book expecting a light, fun read from one of my favorite reality stars (remember Newlyweds ?) of all time—instead, I was blown away by an honest, funny, and touching memoir, which is so rarely the case with celebrity ‘tell-alls.’ Simpson candidly discusses her recovery journey after years of struggling with drugs and alcohol abuse; she also examines the darker side of her early-fame days as a singer, when she was constantly—and at times, brutally—compared to her counterparts like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. It was my favorite book of 2020, and I recommend it to any pop culture fan, Simpson fans or not.” —C.A.

This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps

“A pitch-perfect example of the genre, Philipps serves up a funny and unflinching look at being a woman in Hollywood. She dives into her days as a Barbie spokes-kid and, bravely, her abortion as a teen, before moving on to her best friendship with Michelle Williams, details of James Franco’s douchey-ness on Freaks and Geeks , and struggles in her marriage. The best celebrity memoirs are as unsparingly honest as Philipps’ is.” —M.R.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry

“In his book, the late actor delves into his early life and rise to fame amidst an intense struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is written in such a way that you can imagine Perry speaking it to you—his voice is comforting, heartbreaking, and oh-so-familiar to the many of us who grew up watching him in the 1990s and early 2000s.” —G.Y.

Life by Keith Richards

“You might not think of Keith Richards as an elegant truth-teller, but his Life is a bracing tonic—straightforward but exciting, glamorous but heartfelt. I’m not a regular rock memoir reader, but this is a book that transcends whatever you might think the genre entails. Just go along with the music and don’t think too hard about it.” —Chloe Schama

You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again by Julia Phillips

“Not sure she’s a straight-up A-list celeb, but Phillips made the A-list celebs. The Hollywood producer’s story is so full of wild pleasures and OMG moments that it’s easy to overlook the sheer brilliance that’s on offer.” —Lauren Mechling, Vogue contributor and author of How Could She

Horror Stories by Liz Phair

“The first of a planned two-part set (the second of which will be titled Fairy Tales ), Horror Stories is less of a traditional memoir and more of a series of vignettes that tackle some of the ‘small indignities that we all suffer daily, the silent insults to our system, the callous gestures that we make toward one another.’ Most of us won’t suffer the indignities of an anesthesiologist asking for our autograph during labor (we’re not all Gen X rock stars, after all), but we can wince at the, yes, horror, and relate to the rest of Phair’s not-so-tall tales .” —Danny Feekes, former managing editor at Goodreads

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

“Not to stereotype straight white men over 30, but all the ones I know happen to love Dave Grohl, making this memoir—which focuses on the Nirvana and Foo Fighter musician’s years on the road—an absolutely smashing birthday or holiday gift when another coffee mug just won’t do.” —E.S.

Open by Andre Agassi

Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

“We’ve all read (or carefully avoided) the triumphal sports-star memoir: The thousands of solitary hours spent in pursuit of excellence while stoically avoiding everything else, leading up to that magical breakthrough when everything was deemed to be Worth It. This isn’t that memoir: Agassi, arguably the best player of his generation and certainly the flashiest and most-visible, is remarkably frank here about how much he seemed to loathe the entire experience, which was foisted on him by a kind of ur-Tennis Dad. Thankfully, we also get the other side of that: A late- career resurgence, followed by a blissful second marriage and a philanthropic turn that’s both heartfelt and, for the underprivileged children it focuses on, life-changing. For the king of neon and acid-washed jeans who became even more famous for saying ‘image is everything,’ this book is a tragic opera with a happy ending.” —Corey Seymour

Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker

"Parker’s 2015 memoir has really stayed with me. Written as a series of letters to men she’s encountered, imagined, or loved, it’s a formal experiment, a wonderful portrait of an established artist claiming new territory. She’s not really in the tell-all business, but what she’s written reveals plenty.” —Julia Felsenthal, Vogue contributor

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

“When Noah was born under apartheid in South Africa, his parents’ interracial union was, literally, a crime, punishable by five years in prison. That’s just the beginning of The Daily Show host’s remarkable story. At turns harrowing and hilarious, it’s perhaps best consumed via audiobook , read by the author.” —M.R.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

“Based on decades’ worth of his own diary entries (which also included poems, photographs, prescriptions, and many, many bumper stickers), Matthew McConaughey’s memoir discusses his personal philosophy for handling life’s challenges, and what it means to keep catching the green lights through hardships.” —G.Y.

Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

“The world rightfully knows Obama as a brilliant orator. But even before he was president (or even state senator), he wrote the hell out of this 1995 memoir (later re-released to great fanfare) about his upbringing in Hawaii and Kansas; his solitary, scholarly Columbia years; and his distant relationship with his dad. Now I spend my days waiting for his presidential memoir-in-the-works.” —M.R.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut by Jill Kargman

“As a fellow native New Yorker and NYC mom, Kargman’s dishing on ‘the city’ has always been hilarious and spot-on, even before her show Odd Mom Out came out. The essays in this book are so Jill : Honest, irreverent, slightly dark. full of curse words—yet imminently likable and, in fact, addictive.” —Zibby Owens, host of the Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast

The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

The Office BFFs: Tales of ‘The Office’ from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and and Angela Kinsey

“ The Office stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey may have been rivals on the show, but in real life, their sweet and silly bestie-dom is contagious, making this recollection of working on one of history’s most popular sitcoms a genuine pleasure to read.” —E.S.

The Dirt by Motley Crue

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee

“I never thought that one of my favorite books of all time would have a cover featuring a lady in a G-string whose disembodied form we see dancing inside a whiskey bottle. But at least you’ve been warned: What you see is what you get in this group memoir from the glam metal band. The sheer magnitude of debauchery at their peak in the 1980s is too compelling to look away.” —Maris Kreizman, host of The Maris Review podcast

In Pieces by Sally Field

“Sally Field took her sweet time with In Pieces , her first memoir, written over seven years without the assistance of a ghostwriter. To call Field’s writing vulnerable doesn’t give enough credit to the way she recounts with crippling honesty the highs and lows of her personal and professional lives. She’s always been beloved as a performer, but In Pieces shows there’s so much more to admire about Field than the trophies on her mantle.” —Keaton Bell

I.M. by Isaac Mizrahi

“Mizrahi is well-known as a man of many talents, so adding ‘writer’ to the list isn’t a stretch. Still, the quality of his memoir, I.M. , is notable. He talks schmattas and sex with typical sass, but what makes this book memorable is that Mizrahi’s coming-of-age and coming-to-terms tale is bigger than fashion. —Laird Borelli-Persson, Vogue archive editor

Making a Scene by Constance Wu

“Often told that ‘good girls don’t make scenes,’ the TV and film star writes about finding an outlet for her feelings through community theater and how it eventually led to her pursuing an acting career. Authentic and very moving.” —G.Y.

Touched by the Sun: My Friendship With Jackie by Carly Simon

“Simon’s first book, Boys in the Trees , is what all celebrity memoirs should aspire to be, toggling between childhood struggles, musical stardom, and a highly publicized marriage to James Taylor with plenty of wit and revelations sprinkled throughout. Touched by the Sun is more scaled back, focusing on the iconic singer-songwriter’s unlikely but enduring friendship with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Detailing the lunches, movie dates, and nights out on the town that the two women shared before Onassis’s death in 1994, Simon highlights the woman beneath the public persona.” —K.B.

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

“If you’re a completist, start with Drew’s first memoir, the propulsive Little Girl Lost (out of print but easy to find secondhand), which she wrote when she was 14. It recounts a young Barrymore’s stratospheric rise and quick drug-fueled descent, while Wildflower finds an older, more assured Barrymore looking back at a larger-than-life existence, one in which she emancipated from her parents, forged out on her own, and paved her distinctive path. As Drew writes, “I wanted to rescue myself. And I did.” —D.F.

Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton

“Before picking up Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics , take a peek at Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business from the 1990s. Get to know the rhinestone-studded, smooth-talking country singer as she discusses her personal philosophies, marriage, and her transformation from a music-loving teenager into one of the world’s most iconic women.” —G.Y.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

“Smith’s National Book Award–winning memoir is a portrait of a place and time—New York, Summer of Love—and a love letter to a bygone era that produced two iconoclasts: poet and musician Smith, and late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The story follows the duo’s trials and tribulations as they traverse Brooklyn, Coney Island, and Times Square, before settling at the infamous Chelsea Hotel. Smith has said that she didn’t write the book to be cathartic, but to fulfill a vow she made to Mapplethorpe on his deathbed. Ultimately, it’s the reader who reaps the rewards of that request.” —D.F.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

“It’s over 10 years later, and I’m still crushed by Sam Seaborne’s departure from The West Wing , so I couldn’t resist Lowe’s memoir. It’s packed with plenty of sordid stories from his wild days as part of the Brat Pack, but also has so many great behind-the-scenes memories from some of my favorite TV shows and movies. While it probably won’t win a Pulitzer, any fan of ’80s rom-coms will still find this delightful!” —Becca Freeman, co-host of the Bad on Paper podcast

Me by Elton John

“Honest, charming, and all too real, Me follows the extraordinary life of Elton John from his origins in a London suburb to his rise to fame, legendary friendships, struggles with drug addiction, and philanthropy work.” —G.Y.

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

“I’ve been reading this in fits and starts for about a decade, and I’ve still yet to encounter another life story so dutifully (and beautifully) re-examined. It’s easy to take Fonda’s cool self-assuredness—even in handcuffs!—for granted these days, but before Firebrand Jane there was “plain Jane,” woefully uncomfortable in her skin and desperate for outside validation. To chart her path from then until now (and to think of all that’s still to come) is something I wouldn’t mind doing for another 10 years.” —M.M.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

“All three of Fisher’s memoirs reflect her trademark cool demeanor and self-deprecating nature, but her final release is my favorite. The beating heart of the book is the story of teenage Fisher’s secret three-month-long affair with Harrison Ford, then 33 and married with two kids. Fisher was hopelessly, naively in love with him, and Ford took advantage of the situation. You won’t find much behind-the-scenes Star Wars intel, but you will find an honest, painful account of Fisher’s experience as a young woman in love and at the mercy of so many patriarchal forces.” —Cristina Arreola, senior publicity and marketing manager, Sourcebooks

More Great Culture Stories from Vogue

Why So Many People (Myself Included) Are Experiencing Family Estrangement

The Best Books of 2024 So Far

Everything We Know (So Far) About And Just Like That Season 3

The Best Documentaries of 2024

Listen to The Run-Through with Vogue , a weekly podcast featuring the most exciting stories and hot takes from the worlds of culture, politics, sports and–of course–fashion

Never miss a Vogue moment and get unlimited digital access for just $2 $1 per month.

Vogue Daily

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Vogue. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

Best Picture-Book Biographies of 2022

CHILDREN'S

JAN. 18, 2022

by Tracey Baptiste ; illustrated by Tonya Engel

An engaging profile of an inspiring civil rights hero whom readers will enjoy learning about and cheering for. Full review >

OCT. 4, 2022

by Tonya Bolden ; illustrated by Eric Velasquez

A richly layered, powerful introduction to an entrepreneur and the problems he solved. Full review >

NOV. 1, 2022

by Tameka Fryer Brown ; illustrated by Nina Crews

As powerful as the woman it profiles. Full review >

SEPT. 6, 2022

by Angela Joy ; illustrated by Janelle Washington

A devastating, uniquely told story that will resonate. Full review >

JUNE 7, 2022

by Jacqueline Briggs Martin & June Jo Lee ; illustrated by Julie Wilson

Inspiring and “kraut-chi-licious.” Full review >

JULY 5, 2022

by Cory McCarthy ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

A reverent invitation to an enduring classic for new audiences. Full review >

MARCH 1, 2022

by Christine McDonnell ; illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov

A worthy social justice story about a compassionate woman who dedicated her life to helping others. Full review >

by Andrea Davis Pinkney ; illustrated by Keith Henry Brown

This eloquent tribute is a must-read. Full review >

MAY 17, 2022

by Phyllis Root & Gary D. Schmidt ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet

A splendid introduction to a lesser-known nature poet and the landscapes that inspired her. Full review >

SEPT. 20, 2022

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bryan Collier

A soaring portrait of a “Black girl whose voice / chased away darkness, ushered in light.” Full review >

JAN. 11, 2022

by Carole Boston Weatherford ; illustrated by Laura Freeman

Pays due honor to Elijah Cummings’ memory and his dedication to the people he served. Full review >

MAY 3, 2022

by Kelly Yang

A radiant tribute to groundbreakers to inspire the next generation. Full review >

More Book Lists

Recent News & Features

• Perspectives

• Book to Screen

• Seen & Heard

• 20 Best August Books for Young Readers
• 20 Best Books To Read in August
• 20 New Books From Our Favorite Authors
• Best Indie Books of July
• Episode 383: Kyle Lukoff
• Episode 382: J. Courtney Sullivan
• Episode 381: Stacey D'Erasmo
• Episode 380: Claire Messud

The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews

Featuring 358 reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and YA books; also in this issue: interviews with Lev Grossman, Ellen Atlanta, Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston, and Jen Wang; and more

The Kirkus Star

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

The Kirkus Prize

The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.

Great Books & News Curated For You

Be the first to read books news and see reviews, news and features in Kirkus Reviews . Get awesome content delivered to your inbox every week.

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

The New York Times Best Sellers - August 04, 2024

Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre..

This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only.

• Combined Print & E-Book Fiction

New this week

THE BLACK BIRD ORACLE

by Deborah Harkness

The fifth book in the All Souls series. Diana faces her family’s dark past and determines to forge a different future.

• Apple Books
• Barnes and Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Bookshop.org

24 weeks on the list

by Kristin Hannah

In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.

130 weeks on the list

IT ENDS WITH US

by Colleen Hoover

A battered wife raised in a violent home attempts to halt the cycle of abuse.

54 weeks on the list

THE HOUSEMAID

by Freida McFadden

Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

15 weeks on the list

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

by Sarah J. Maas

After killing a wolf in the woods, Feyre is taken from her home and placed inside the world of the Fae.

• Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction

90 weeks on the list

HILLBILLY ELEGY

by J.D. Vance

The Yale Law School graduate and 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee looks at the struggles of the white working class through the story of his own childhood.

17 weeks on the list

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION

by Jonathan Haidt

A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

12 weeks on the list

THE DEMON OF UNREST

by Erik Larson

The author of “The Splendid and the Vile” portrays the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the beginning of the Civil War.

203 weeks on the list

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE

by Bessel van der Kolk

How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil

Twenty-five years after his death, an oral biography of John F. Kennedy Jr.

• Hardcover Fiction

6 weeks on the list

by Elin Hilderbrand

Nantucket residents are alarmed when a home, recently sold at an exorbitant price, goes up in flames and someone goes missing.

63 weeks on the list

FOURTH WING

by Rebecca Yarros

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

7 weeks on the list

by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

The Big Island of Hawaii comes under threat by a volcano at the same time a secret held by the military comes to light.

Advertisement

• Hardcover Nonfiction

3 weeks on the list

by Maureen Callahan

The author of “American Predator” puts forward a history of the Kennedy family that describes the abuse of women in its orbit.

5 weeks on the list

by Anthony S. Fauci

The physician-scientist and immunologist chronicles his six decades of public service, including his work during the AIDS crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Paperback Trade Fiction

65 weeks on the list

163 weeks on the list

THE HOUSEMAID IS WATCHING

The third book in the Housemaid series. Dangers lurk in a quiet neighborhood.

9 weeks on the list

THE HOUSEMAID'S SECRET

The second book in the Housemaid series. The sound of crying and the appearance of blood portend misdeeds.

• Paperback Nonfiction

67 weeks on the list

300 weeks on the list

4 weeks on the list

THE ART THIEF

by Michael Finkel

The author of “The Stranger in the Woods” tells the story of Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole art more than 200 times for the sake of admiring it.

57 weeks on the list

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE

by Dolly Alderton

The British journalist shares stories and observations; the basis of the TV series.

by Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring

A reassessment of events surrounding the murders committed by Charles Manson’s followers.

• Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous

243 weeks on the list

ATOMIC HABITS

by James Clear

225 weeks on the list

THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE

by Charlie Mackesy

THE NEW MENOPAUSE

by Mary Claire Haver

79 weeks on the list

THE CREATIVE ACT

by Rick Rubin with Neil Strauss

PRACTICING THE WAY

by John Mark Comer

• Children’s Middle Grade Hardcover

452 weeks on the list

by R.J. Palacio

A boy with a facial deformity starts school. (Ages 8 to 12)

by Alan Gratz

The friends Frank and Stanley give a vivid account of the Pearl Harbor attack. (Ages 8 to 12)

266 weeks on the list

Three children in three different conflicts look for safe haven. (Ages 9 to 12)

64 weeks on the list

THE SUN AND THE STAR

by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

The demigods Will and Nico embark on a dangerous journey to the Underworld to rescue an old friend. (Ages 10 to 14)

40 weeks on the list

WINGS OF FIRE: A GUIDE TO THE DRAGON WORLD

by Tui T. Sutherland. Illustrated by Joy Ang

A deeper dive into the legends of the 10 dragon tribes. (Ages 8 to 12)

• Children’s Picture Books

26 weeks on the list

BLUEY: SLEEPYTIME

by Joe Brumm

Bingo wants to do a big girl sleep and wake up in her own bed. (Ages 4 to 8)

451 weeks on the list

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS

by Adam Rubin. Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

What to serve your dragon-guests. (Ages 3 to 5)

402 weeks on the list

THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU WILL BE

by Emily Winfield Martin

A celebration of future possibilities. (Ages 3 to 7)

23 weeks on the list

THE SMART COOKIE

by Jory John. Illustrated by Pete Oswald

Cookie builds up her self-confidence. (Ages 4 to 8)

TAYLOR SWIFT

by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Illustrated by Borghild Fallberg

A biography of the mega pop star. (Ages 3 to 7)

• Children’s & Young Adult Series

THE POWERLESS TRILOGY

by Lauren Roberts

A story of forbidden love between Paedyn, an Ordinary, and Kai, an Elite, in the kingdom of Ilya. (Ages 14 and up)

147 weeks on the list

A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER

by Holly Jackson

Pippa Fitz-Amobi solves murderous crimes. (Ages 14 and up)

734 weeks on the list

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS

by Rick Riordan

A boy battles mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)

ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART

by Stephanie Garber

The story of Evangeline Fox, Jacks, the Prince of Hearts and the pursuit of true love. (Ages 13 to 18)

801 weeks on the list

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney

The travails and challenges of adolescence. (Ages 9 to 12)

• Young Adult Hardcover

DIVINE RIVALS

by Rebecca Ross

Two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection. (Ages 13 to 18)

2 weeks on the list

THE DARKNESS WITHIN US

by Tricia Levenseller

When Chrysantha's husband, the Duke of Pholios, dies, she believes she's the sole heir to his fortune. Until Eryx Demos arrives and claims to be the duke's estranged grandson. (Ages 13 to 18)

THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US

Alessandra plots to kill the Shadow King and take his kingdom for herself. (Ages 13 to 18)

16 weeks on the list

THE REAPPEARANCE OF RACHEL PRICE

Annabel Price's mother was presumed dead, until she reappears during the filming of a documentary about her disappearance. (Ages 14 to 17)

37 weeks on the list

by Alex Aster

In this sequel to "Lightlark," Isla must chose between her two powerful lovers. (Ages 13 and up)

Weekly Best Sellers Lists

Monthly best sellers lists.