7 underrated memoirs Archives

You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

by Eleanor Roosevelt

Roosevelt penned this book--part memoir, part advice manual--in 1960, when she was 76 years old. It’s striking how fresh and wise her insight seems today, over fifty years later. Roosevelt offers an interesting perspective on history, unique insights into her life (which contained a surprising amount of personal tragedy), and a good bit of wisdom you might just apply to your own life.

A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, And The Things That Really Matter

by William Deresiewicz

Deresiewicz had zero interest in reading Jane Austen—he thought it was chick-lit, fluffy and boring. But then as a young grad student he was forced to read Emma for class, and actually reading Austen shattered his preconceptions. A Jane Austen Education is part memoir, part literary criticism: Deresiewicz reflects on the path of his own life through each of Jane Austen’s novels in turn. It works.

Any Day A Beautiful Change: A Story Of Faith And Family

by Katherine Willis Pershey

Marriage, ministry, and motherhood may not sound like riveting beach reading material, but hear me out: the author is a pastor and a wife and a mom, and she writes beautifully about the places where those things collide–and sometimes those collisions are pretty bumpy (and hilarious). This 114-page collection of bite-sized essays is genuine, inspirational, and moving, with enough laugh-out-loud moments to make it beach reading material.

An American Childhood

by Annie Dillard

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

by Lauren F. Winner

Of all Winner's books, this one has the lowest rating on Goodreads. I understand why: there are more than a few lackluster chapters breaking up the good parts. But the good parts are so good this book is well worth the effort, especially if you've resonated with Lauren's previous works.

The Getaway Car

by Ann Patchett

Patchett realized she wanted to be a writer about the same time she learned to ride a tricycle. In this mini-memoir, Patchett sketches a path from childhood all the way to the completion of her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. Stops along the way include her college years (complete with fabulous teachers), a failed marriage, the Iowa writing program, and a waitressing stint at TGIFriday’s. You’ll come away inspired to sit down at your keyboard and write.

When We Were on Fire: A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over

by Addie Zierman

Addie’s gift is to make you feel the emotional weight of the seemingly no-big-deal yet simultaneously life-altering events common to Christian adolescence and young adulthood. A brilliant debut. (I wrote more about When We Were on Fire here.)

7 underrated memoirs

You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, And The Things That Really Matter