The best memoirs you've never read

[@AdyGrafovna]

Just getting started… but you can wear red lipstick. It looks very nice on you and there is no age limit for it.

[@TheBookBully]

Thank you ❤️

[@Steffi74ify]

I just finished Invisible Boy, by Harrison Mooney. A black boy, adopted as a baby by a white, evangelical Christian family in BC. Exploring systemic racism and white supremacy, Harrison's heartbreaking journey through abuse and rejection leaves him confused about identity and angry at how his family (mostly his adoptive mother) dismissed and downplayed his blackness and the covert and overt racism he faced in their mostly white community, in the name of "colourblindness" (in her view). I have feelings. At the end, his pain and anger still feel raw, but there is optimism. My favourite from last year was Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation, by Hannah Gadsby. I also recommend her Netflix specials, Douglas and Nanette. I just loved it so much. I can't do it justice trying to review/describe it here. You may need tissues, for the tears of laughter AND pain/fear/sadness. OH! Just occured to me that if you love Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal (which I did), you would probably enjoy this one too! She has the same knack of bringing humour and lightness to very heavy subject matter.

[@TheBookBully]

I read Nanette in 2022 and I also loved it! You were right! I thought it was such an interesting insight into how an autistic brain thinks and feels. I love her comedy shows, too!

[@WWS322]

I recently started reading memoirs after years of reading fiction. I choose a memoir or biography at the section in the library where they keep them, at random. I read a memoir about a blind opera singer named Laurie Rubens. Now I'm reading a memoir about a child actress named Mara Wilson. I already feel close to her! I plan on reading memoirs exclusively for a while.

[@bookofdust]

Of the 235 books I read last year, 53 were memoirs. I actually had a challenge to read one a month that I obviously did not need as a prompt. Yes, a bad memoir is very bad, but a good one can be some of the best writing ever. The most remarkable ones usually come from people who have excellent intrapersonal intelligence, if you’re familiar with the concept of Multiple Intelligences. It’s a diary, but I think Anne Frank is one of the best examples having ability to put personal thoughts into words linked to the intrinsic attribute of self reflection. Winterson is one of my favorite authors and the memoir is phenomenal, especially as a key to tease apart what’s reality embedded in her fictional Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and the reveal that life is stranger than fiction. Perhaps my favorites are memoirs of childhood that capture that sense of being young perfectly. Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy and An American Childhood by Annie Dillard are definitely my front runners. Just now I realize they are polar opposites - one the most ordinary, carefree, secure and loved of childhoods versus one of brutally to the the body, soul and spirit, isolated and neglected. Memoirs can be spun out of the most perfect lives and the most extraordinarily difficult and broken lives and both be exemplary. Alexandra Fuller is definitely up there too, with her double header Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. And I’d be remiss not to mention Bechdel’s Fun Home, Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming and Jill Ker Conway’s Road From Coorain. Late to it, but last year I read Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House, which broke new ground in the subject matter it covered and in the format it used, just brilliant. I began the year with one memoir by comic actor Rob Delaney and ended it with another by him, both told of some of the darkest, brutal, devastating experiences, but made them bearable and hilarious wrapped in some of the darkest, sardonic comedy writing yet. I think in 2023 I’m going to pull back on memoir and switch over primarily to biography for the year. I think I need a bit more of detached observation then all of what I consumed last year.

[@TheBookBully]

Wow 53 memoirs!!! You really have a huge catalogue to draw from. I am curious about Rob Delaney's books because when I've heard him talk about the loss of his child it's always been extremely touching and interesting. I think you commented about In the Dream House on another video and you certainly made some very important points and helped me see how important that book is. The writing just didn't work for me on that one but I am glad it's out there in the world and that people are reading and loving it.

[@Fubar2024]

Thank you! I just picked up Untamed and started reading it tonight. Well-written and engaging so far.

[@getbookish]

I agree about Unfollow! Megan did such a good job of showing us her thought process that made her go from 'loving' to 'leaving'. The scripture was a bit rough to go through at the beginning, but I got used to it. I actually gave the book to my mom for her birthday in December and she's reading it right now. -Becks

[@NotTheFlag1]

I just released a memoir. During my time in the Iranian military, I became addicted to opiates and had to serve (they suspected I was a spy since no one born in Italy and raised in the US would go there at 17). After becoming a big Wall Street broker, I lost it all in 2008. In 2019, I became sober and have not seen my family since. I am looking forward to seeing them in person for the first time in a long time due to covid shutting down consulates. The book is called Not The Flag. You might enjoy it and I loved your recommendations, especially Jeanette Winterson's "Why be happy when you could be normal"

[@amyb3737]

I just read Why be Happy When You Could be Normal on your recommendation and i LOVED it! It both moved me to tears and made me laugh, which makes for a good memoir, in my opinion. It was EXCELLENT. Thank you!

[@TheBookBully]

❤️❤️

[@satishvarshney8202]

Oh My God, I Can't believe I too read ' Why be happy when you could be normal' in 2022, and it became my favourite book of all time, I just love it❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@TheBookBully]

I am so thrilled to hear this!

[@sewalot1897]

Great video -- thanks for the recommendations! I love memoirs!

[@SpringboardThought]

I don’t read a heck of a lot of memoirs but I’ve read most of these, so that made me happy. Some of my favourites are people I actually was already interested in though, which I think is a big bias with them. Like I really enjoyed Kate Mulgrew, Gabriel Byrne, Tegan &Sara’s High school; but also liked Why Fish Don’t Exist, A Mind Spread Out Out on the Ground, The Skin We’re In, Gay Bar, and I didn’t know anything about those people or the books going in.

[@Tutankhamun18Reads]

One of my favourite memoirs is Unreconciled by Jesse Went, its about his career as a Native Film Ciritic in Canada and its AMAZING

[@TheBookBully]

Ooh I haven't heard much about this one. I'll look into it!

[@recentlyseenreading]

On the memoir front, I often point people to Diana Athill’s work. “Stet”, her account of several decades working in publishing industry, is great with lots of pointed comments about authors needing a certain kind of coddling. “After a Funeral” is more on the grim side with its account of one of her lovers/lodgers decline into mental illness. Athill wasn’t much for conventional living or sentimentality. Her books are going through a new round of reprints and pop up in used bookstores fairly often. The work she produced in her 80s and 90s isn’t at all twee but I think the memoirs from her 60s and 70s are more satisfying as books. - Heather

[@unboundbookishnotions7373]

Ummm, keep wearing the red lipstick 💄 I love it! FYI, Jeanette Winterson's memoir is available on Scribd via audio. Great recommendations Jill!

[@TheBookBully]

Oh I'm so glad to know it's on Scribd!

[@unboundbookishnotions7373]

@@TheBookBully Me too!!

[@samsadri4108]

your hair is so good

[@foxedfolios]

Great list-thanks for sharing. I LOVE Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal. Especially as a companion piece to Winterson’s Oranges….

[@TheBookBully]

Agreed, the two of them together are amazing.

[@smittenforfiction]

Memoirs I've loved: On Writing by Stephen King, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, This Is Me by Chrissy Metz, I've Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy, Split Tooth (which does have magical realism, but I think it's still a memoir right?) by Tanya Tagaq, and The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole.

[@kalikokid7289]

Why didn't you like "I'm glad my mom died" by Jeanette Mccurdy? Or did you actually like it but didn't want everyone mentioning it because it went viral? I'm just curious.

[@kimwilliams3088]

More red, not less!

[@LisaJF]

Of course you can wear red lipstick! This puzzles me. It looks great on you! Also I’m adding this Tomson Highway book to my TBR! And I loved Unfollow as well. Very interesting! It’s kind of hard to believe the ways that even smart, successful humans can be brainwashed.

[@TheBookBully]

I hope you love the Tomson Highway book! ❤️

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

A memoir that’s had a lot of praise here is We Do not know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole I hope to read it this year. My favourite memoir read in 2022 was War Doctor by David Nott I recently learned that a friend who worked for years in areas of conflict and famine, was trained by Dr Nott. I tend to be drawn to memoir/biography when it’s linked to medicine/mental health/human psychology. Happy Valley Road Henrietta Lacks I’ve forgotten the titles of so many. I’ll have to trawl through reading journals.

[@TheBookBully]

I have the softcover of We Do Not Know Ourselves on pre-order! I'm really looking forward to it.

[@greyemk]

This is great! Ghost in the Throat was on my tbr but it just shot up, and I’m super interested in the Tomson Highway book as well. I recently read “What My Bones Know” by Stephanie Foo which yes, is a trauma book, but I thought it was excellent. She does the thing - looking at not just her experiences but contextualizes them with science and culture. It’s another “you can see the work on the page” book. Highly recommend.

[@TheBookBully]

I've had What My Bones Know on my periphery for a little while. I'm glad to know it was good! I will add it to my TBR

[@evamarina2045]

Thanks for the recs. I already had a few of the books on my list, but will now bump them up. I don't know that I'd categorize this book as a memoir, but the author's interviews are interspersed with her own personal history and her experience researching the book. The full title is All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work by Hayley Campbell. Though maybe not for everyone, I thought this book was interesting, thought-provoking, and at times even touching. I listened to the audiobook, which the author reads herself, and thought it was great.

[@paigeobrien5709]

Loved these recommendations! I just finished Inferno and loved it also. Happy to say I have a copy of Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?...I will bump it up my TBR now due to your recommendation! I really enjoyed The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie, would recommend if you haven't read it.

[@TheBookBully]

I haven't heard of it but I have added it to my TBR. I would love to hear what you think of WBHWYCN if/when you get to it! Thanks for watching 🩷

[@FullyBookedMelissa]

I'm a sucker for a memoir. Some of these have been on my radar but haven't heard of a few! I'm not sure I have an all-time favourite memoir but I've loved Born a Crime, Between Two Kingdoms, Heavy, and Know My Name.

[@TheBookBully]

Know My Name is indeed excellent! I have thought about picking up Two Kingdoms so I will keep my eyes peeled for a used copy. I do want to read Heavy, too.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

Great video. The lipstick looks great! there are lots I'll have to look more into. My favorite memoir...hmm I do love Maya Angelou's but I think Being Mortal probably resonated the most and the longest if any memoir I've read.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

Oh, Night and Hunger are both top contenders too.

[@TheBookBully]

I mean, Night is an all time classic! I should re-read it .

[@hazabee]

My favorite memoir is Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, but everyone has heard of that one. My second-favorite memoir is Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner, which takes a subtly but bitingly critical look at the tech start-up culture of the first half of the 2010s. I loved the writing style, but possibly the reason it's number two for me is because I live near Silicon Valley and have a personal connection to the topic.

[@TheBookBully]

Ive read Uncanny Valley. It was definitely interesting!

[@gracea8366]

I haven’t really read memoirs (huge hole in my reading I intend to fix) but I just finished In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado and it absolutely blew me away. I’ve just put A Ghost in the Throat on hold at my library and so excited to read it! Excellent video

[@TheBookBully]

❤️

[@PawsAndPages81]

You are gorgeous with red lipstick

[@TheBookBully]

☺️💄

[@Ihearbooks]

Wonderful video. Chop Suey Nation sounds so delicious. My favorites are Don't lets Go To The Dogs Tonight by Fuller and The Honey Bus by Meredith May. I do love a good memoir though I did not like Ghost in the Throat as much as you I thought the writing was excellent.

[@TheBookBully]

Wow I've never heard of these! I will look into them

[@glendaw5221]

Hey there. First, you look great. I like the hair and the lipstick! I loved this video because I love memoirs. Chop Suey Nation and the book by Tompson Highway are now both on my TBR for this year. The others all sound good too. I’m doing the Reading Across Canada challenge with Jolene so those fit. I think the most entertaining memoirs I’ve read are by Tina Fey and Elton John. I definitely need to read more of the meaty ones! I have NOT read the McCurdy book and don’t plan to.

[@TheBookBully]

Oh yes hopefully these fit for the Reading Across Canada challenge. I loved Tina Fey's and Elton John's memoirs!!

[@louisduplessis2075]

The last book's name was mentioned so fast I couldn't catch it

[@jorvikreads]

I love a good memoir! Three that stick out to me are Sigh Gone by Phuc Tran, My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland and Notes Made While Falling by Jenn Ashworth - all of which I think you'd love, especially the last one 🥰

[@TheBookBully]

Added Notes Made While Falling to my list!

[@Graceandres3]

Unfollow was very thought provoking. I couldn’t put it down. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is an amazing memoir, although the heavy religious content would not suit some people. Still it, more than anything else I have ever read, gave me a real sense of what life was like for good people who witnessed the evil of Anti-Semitism and, eventually, the full-blown horrors of the Holocaust.

[@TheBookBully]

Oh wow, you're the only other person I've ever heard who has read The Hiding Place! I was given it as a gift by a teacher when I was in grade 5 and I read it so many times it fell apart. It is a remarkable book!

[@sandra7319.]

Here are some great memoirs you may have never heard of : "One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life..".by Bliss Broyard, In Pieces, Sally Field, Not My Father's Son, Alan Cummings.

[@TheBookBully]

Yes I love Sally Field and Alan Cummings!

[@heroicrockstar]

🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍