7 memoirs read by the author Archives

Congratulations, The Best Is Over!: Essays

by R. Eric Thomas

If I wasn’t already an R. Eric Thomas fan for life, this collection would have clinched it: I’m not sure I have words for what it meant to me. In his sophomore book of essays, the Here for It author tells hilarious, moving, and deeply insightful tales of love, adult friendship, family, and marriage, and also therapy, Zoom funerals, working alone, COVID isolation, middle age, and his home city of Baltimore. There’s no weak link in this collection: every story feels immediate, intimate, and real. I’ve thought of “Break Room Cake Communion” and “Jericho” nearly every day since reading them. I can’t stop talking about this book. For fans of Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You and Saeed Jones’s How We Fight for Our Lives..

How to Say Babylon

by Safiya Sinclair

This lyrical memoir, beautifully narrated by the author on audio, explores patriarchy, colonialism in Jamaica, and how she discovered her own power. Sinclair grew up in a strict Rastafarian home in Jamaica, where her father, a reggae musician, was obsessed with keeping the corruption of the Western world (that he called Babylon) at bay. Almost everything was forbidden to Safiya and her siblings: she wasn’t allowed to wear pants, make friends, or cut her hair, and any disobedience—perceived or real—was met with violence. In this moving story, she shares how she finds her voice and eventually, her escape, with the help of good books, teachers, and mentors. It took me a few chapters to get oriented in the story but once I did I couldn’t stop listening. 16 hrs 46 mins.

The Light of the World: A Memoir

by Elizabeth Alexander

In Alexander's words: "The story seems to begin with catastrophe but in fact began earlier and is not a tragedy but rather a love story." The author's husband died just four days after his fiftieth birthday. A few years later, Alexander looks back on their life together, their love, and the impact of that loss in her life. The author is a poetry professor at Yale, which is obvious in the story's richness and language. Her source material is fantastic: Alexander is an American, born in Harlem. Her husband was born in Eritrea, in East Africa, and came to New Haven as a refugee from war. Both were artists—that’s his painting on the cover of the book—and their home sounds like this amazing, vibrant, multicultural extravaganza with food and friends and music and art. I could barely put this down, and while sad, it exudes joy. Heads up for audiophiles: Alexander's narration of her own work is magnificent. Published April 15 2015.

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

by Dani Shapiro

This is Shapiro's story about how at age 54, she discovered a life-changing, identity-threatening secret about her family, and how Shapiro chooses to move forward. At the moment of discovery, Shapiro has no idea what to do. "I couldn't imagine what might come next,” she writes. “It turns out that it is possible to live an entire life — even an examined life, to the degree that I had relentlessly examined mine — and still not know the truth of oneself." If you have any inclination to pick this up, I recommend you avoid the spoiler-laden reviews (that specify what that family secret is) and dive right in. Inheritance reads like a twisty mystery, full of false starts and dead ends, but with a lot of help, some from unlikely places, she solves her case in the end.

The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Southern Table

by Rick Bragg

Part cookbook, part memoir, this collection is Bragg’s tribute to the south and his family in the form of stories and recipes. His mother cooks from memory; there aren’t any precise measurements or cooking times to be found but she peppers each recipe with tips and wisdom. Bragg’s writing is wistful, funny, and poignant, and his love for his material—both his mother and her cooking—is palpable throughout. His pitch-perfect narration adds even more to the stories.

How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir

by Saeed Jones

Winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir/Biography. Jones's remarkable coming-of-age memoir about being a Black gay man from the South is told in a series of moments and scenes from his childhood through young adulthood. My husband Will cited this one as a favorite in What Should I Read Next Episode 214: Deconstructing your best reading year yet because of Jones's storytelling. Note: the audiobook, read by the author, is excellent.

Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me

by Ada Calhoun

Regular readers know I adore sagas of complicated families. This new nonfiction work from Why We Can't Sleep author Ada Calhoun delivers all that and more. Thanks to the book's pre-release publicity, I discovered Calhoun is the daughter of art critic Peter Schjeldahl, who I've been quoting for YEARS (especially in MMD Book Club) about his approach to works that aren't "immediately hospitable." Calhoun's new genre-bending book is a memoir-ish look at their complex relationship—and also a profile-of-sorts about poet Frank O'Hara. I couldn't resist, devoured it in 36 hours, and put it straight on my Best of the Year list. By the time I closed the last page I'd googled a hundred things about NYC history and requested ten books from my local library. Fascinating, devastating, vexing, illuminating. Heads up for a handful of content warnings that aren't obvious from the publisher's description or reviews.

7 memoirs read by the author

Congratulations, The Best Is Over!: Essays

How to Say Babylon

The Light of the World: A Memoir

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Southern Table

How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir

Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me

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