Today is We Love Memoirs Day and here at the library, we definitely do! Check out these staff favorites:
Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner
An unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.
Solito
Javier Zamora
When Javier Zamora was nine, he traveled unaccompanied by bus, boat, and foot from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents. This is his memoir of that dangerous journey, a nine-week odyssey that nearly ended in calamity on multiple occasions. While Solito is Javier’s story, it’s also the story of millions of others who have risked so much to come to this country.
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls
T Kira Madden
A memoir about coming of age and reckoning with desire as a queer, biracial teenager amidst the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida. As a child, Madden lived a life of extravagance, but under the surface was a wild instability. The only child of parents continually battling drug and alcohol addictions, Madden confronted her environment alone.
The Wives
Simone Gorrindo
When her new husband joins an elite Army unit, Simone Gorrindo is uprooted from New York City and dropped into Columbus, Georgia. With her husband frequently deployed, Simone is left to find her place in this new world, alone until she meets the wives. Gorrindo gives us an intimate look into the inner lives of a remarkable group of women and a tender, unflinching portrait of a marriage. A love story, an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, and a bracing tour of intractable divisions, this memoir offers a rare and powerful gift.
Educated
Tara Westover
Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, the family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when an older brother became violent. When another brother got himself into college and came back with news of the world beyond the mountain, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. She taught herself enough to take the ACT and was admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
The Night Parade
Jami Nakamura Lin
Jami Nakamura Lin spent much of her life feeling monstrous for reasons outside of her control as a young woman with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. As she grew and learned to manage her episodes, Lin became frustrated with the familiar pattern she found in mental illness and the focus on recovery. She sought comfort in the stories she’d loved as a child–tales of ghostly creatures known to terrify in the night. Through the lens of the yōkai and other figures from Japanese, Taiwanese, and Okinawan legend, she set out to interrogate the very notion of recovery and the myriad ways fear of difference shapes who we are as a people.
Or are you interested in writing your own memoir? Find helpful tips and prompts in these library resources:
The Memoir Essay
Part of the Writing Great Essays series from The Great Courses studio, this 30-minute video helps you recreate your memories and turn them into fascinating pieces of writing.
Access for free on Kanopy using your WNPL library card.
How to Write Your Life Story
A complete guide to creating your personal memoir.