Sometimes there is nothing more insightful than reading about a person’s life. Whether that person is a celebrity or an ordinary person with a unique story to tell; memories often create the best writing. So, here are my recommendations for the best memoirs. Don’t worry, I shan’t be including Prince Harry’s “Spare”.
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
David Sedaris is one of America’s best humorists and, in one of his funniest collections of essays, he entertains us through his efforts to learn French after moving to France. Sedaris’s work details the hilarity of everyday life and provides us with an inner monologue to his amusing encounters and observations. The collection also shares some brutally honest stories of Sedaris’s unusual family and upbringing in North Carolina.
Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton
This novel has had a Bible-like effect upon its readers. Presented almost like a companion piece to people in their twenties, British writer and journalist Dolly Alderton shares anecdotes from the absurd to the sorrowful. Thought provoking and witty, this best-selling novel features stories which discuss dating, friendships, arguments, loss and even recipes!
Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
Comedian Trevor Noah tells of the inner and exterior conflict of growing up mixed race in apartheid South Africa in his best-selling memoir. Noah was born to a white father and a black mother during a time where relationships between different racial groups were outlawed in South Africa. The book is both a testament to the strength of his mother and a deconstruction of a system that categorised Noah himself as a “crime”.
Just Kids, Patti Smith
Before singer-songwriter Patti Smith rose to her status as a punk poet, she came to New York City in the late 1960s where she lived in squalor while trying to become an artist. Her novel Just Kids focuses upon her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the cultural scene in New York as they moved into the 1970s. The novel documents the grounding for Smith’s unique artistry and one of the most important relationships in her life.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou’s literary presence began in the first of her memoirs which detailed her childhood and adolescence. The novel delves into themes of racism, sexual assault and violence and is one of the most important novels published during the Civil Rights Movement. Whilst the novel was banned for these same themes, the honesty with which she portrays her life combined with the pure majesty of Angelou’s voice makes it one of the most powerful memoirs of all time.
“‘I know why the caged bird sings’ (undated)” by pellethepoet is licensed under CC BY 2.0