Disclaimer: I included links to the books’ Amazon listings in case you’d like to purchase. I am NOT an affiliate. As with all books on my blog, please check parental guidelines and trigger warnings before reading.

Here are some of the best memoirs I’ve read to add to your TBR. I’ll add to this list as I read more.

There’s a reason memoirs sell so well…true stories hit different.

Girl Interrupted

Girl Interrupted (on Amazon here) is one of those books that was written a while ago, but could easily have taken place yesterday. It’s the story of Susana Kaysen’s stay at a mental hospital…and if you’ve already seen the movie (which is amazing) read it anyway, it’s that good. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. 

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In The Dream House

Unique in many many ways, this memoir doesn’t cover a large portion of the author’s whole life. It focuses on the time she spent in a relationship with a toxic abusive woman.

In The Dream House (on Amazon here) is written in short, poem-like chapters that wash the tale in poignancy and an almost-romance.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (on Amazon here) is poetry, one long letter to Little Dog’s mother who can’t read. It comforts you as it tells you all sorts of confusing horrible things: Like how the author’s mother hit him and cared for him at the same time, poverty, violence and the struggle to find a place growing up as an immigrant in the US. It’s all matter of fact.

I’m Glad My Mom Died

This book (on Amazon here) brings us into the fascinating and heartbreaking childhood of Jeanette McCurdy, a Nickelodeon star many of us remember from iCarly. And it’s just as worth reading even if you haven’t seen her shows.

The writing style is very easy to digest, what to see is what you get, which makes for a fresh, immersive reading experience.

The Girl With No Name

I read The Girl With No Name (on Amazon here) years ago and it always stuck with me. Who wouldn’t be fascinated by an 100% true Tarzan story?

Our author was kidnapped at age 5 and then abandoned in the jungle where a group of monkeys took her in. She lived that way for years!

Kafka Was The Rage

This book was recommended to me at a Strand book stand in midtown when I asked for a book like Eileen (more here). I hear no one talking about it but I love it so much.

It’s a memoir but the author takes a back seat in his life, kind of like the narrator in The Great Gatsby (on Amazon here). Kafka Was The Rage (also on Amazon here) is one of the first “weird women” books I read.

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