Filmmaker Abel Ferrara tells his story of rising to cinematic fame while battling drug addiction. I found the raw, unvarnished street gangster narration hard to read, but perhaps it was simply Ferrara’s Italian heritage in New York that made him recount chilling experiences in a casual, matter-of-fact tone.

That said, I very much enjoyed Ferrara’s humility. Writing a memoir that doesn’t read self-centered is a skill I haven’t encountered often, and this made his main character instantly likeable.

In her memoir, the star from The Secret Life of Mormon Wives offers a candid account of growing up within the rigid structure of the Mormon Church and its stark collision with modern adulthood.

A tennis prodigy raised in an affluent, tightly knit community, Neeley seems destined for the traditional arc expected of young Mormon women: early marriage, motherhood, and quiet devotion. Instead, her journey leads her through trauma, domestic violence, and the kind of moral reckoning her faith conditioned her to avoid.

I thoroughly enjoyed Su Chang’s debut novel, The Immortal Woman —a generational saga set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution and its aftermath. It is a beautiful exploration of personal conflict at the intersection of family, politics, and culture, seen through the eyes of two remarkable women, Lemei and her daughter Lin.

After quitting competitive running in her twenties, Keira D’Amato became a mom and rediscovered running as self-care. She couldn’t run for more than ninety seconds at first, but then, against the odds, broke the American marathon record at age thirty-seven. Her story isn’t linear—it explores grief, motherhood, identity, and resilience.

This humorous, inspirational, and deeply relatable memoir urges women to prioritize their passions, especially those balancing ambition with family and emotional healing.

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s biography chronicling the life of Broadway icon Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of “Hamilton,” reaches into the depths of Miranda’s story, from his humble beginnings on the piano in childhood to award-winning fame on the international stage, the reader gets a detailed glimpse into the path that shaped Miranda’s career as an artist.

I really relished this story because it shows an artist who comes from a humble background, making his way towards global fame through passion and hard work.

In her memoir, Tilghman tells us about her ups and downs as a wellness influencer with over 200,000 followers.

Her singular focus on social media leads her to fame and a career but also an exacerbation of her history in addictive behaviors–specifically her eating disorder. It makes me so happy that Tilghman includes the recently coined orthorexia diagnosis in her writings.

A page turner for me, and I’m sure for many of us as we begin to understand the dangers of social media.

An Oral History of Atlantis by Ed Park is a quick but indulging read, hopping from one curious short story to the next. Park writes delightful literary prose that packs subtle humor and everyday societal malheurs.

An all-too familiar, subtle dread accompanies his pieces, and many of us will find ourselves in the faint hopelessness of Park's modern life depiction.

A beautiful read that deviates from the fictional norm. Well done!

From Jeff Hiller, comedian and leading actor in "Somebody, Somewhere," a stunning autobiography.

If you're like me, not all that enthused by gaudy celebrity memoirs, this one might hit home. Hiller has been through life, alright, and it made him into a multifaceted human being with a down-to-earth story to tell. In great humor, I might add!

What a treat to see him in his most authentic light on TV after reading what it took him to make it in front of those cameras.

Melissa Arnot Reid hasn't been up Everest just once, you know, like a “normal” person.

No. Everest was Reid’s backyard. Every single season. And then she was the first American to summit without oxygen.

In her memoir, she tells us how severe neglect led her to leave the world behind, looking at it from the most vertically removed point.

Thank you Melissa Arnot Reid for your powerful modesty, for being a woman who inspires us all.

In “Looking at Women, Looking at War”, writer-turned-war-reporter Victoria Amelina compiled a first-hand account of her war crime documentation in the recent Russo-Ukrainian war. A morbid irony has it that her book was unfinished as she became a victim of the very war she researched, succumbing to the aftereffects of a missile that hit the restaurant she visited. 

Since her death, her oeuvre d’art has been edited meticulously to form a comprehensive collection of stories, some as mundane as the mourning of a farmer’s goats, others detailing the atrocities in horrific narration.

I found myself engrossed in the countless short vignettes Amelina included. The confusion the many names and locations brought on soon became secondary to the overarching theme of despair, of resilience, of her dedication to telling the truth. Who knows if the book would have achieved a more concise narrative arc had the author survived? But one thing is clear–the version honoring her draft provides an almost encyclopedic reference documenting the endless cruelty against Ukrainians–and this book format is an accomplishment perhaps even greater than the expected outcome. An end result to celebrate and disseminate widely, posthumously.

In gratitude to St. Martin’s Press for the Advance Reader’s Copy.

In her celebrity memoir-in-essays with a twist, actress and singer-songwriter Lola Kirke weaves together anecdotes from her eventful childhood in an eccentric rockstar family to her present-day life to form an engaging and entertaining, almost weightless read.

Perhaps just that is what a contemporary reader needs when the market is flooded with stories of the bared hearts and souls of our world.

Well done Lola Kirke!

Just Gone is easily among my favorite non-fiction reads for the year, though that’s a sad thing to say when the book talks about violent trauma and torture. In her masterpiece, DeLuzio speaks with nine brave individuals who survived persecution for their sexual orientation in their home country, seeking refuge in Canada.

Lenz’s memoir recounts her innocent introduction into a religious group that soon morphs into a cult, leading to isolation from family and financial abuse as she hands over the reins of her bank accounts, and with them her hard earned cash from acting in a hit TV show. Despite her watchful eye, it is hard to pinpoint the group's toxic dynamic until massive damage has occurred.

This book is wonderfully written, raw and honest, eye opening, and a page turner.

The honor of reviewing Alvina Chamberland’s autofiction was all mine this summer. Hers is a book that makes you question the world. It makes you think, really think, it makes you step out of your comfort zone and into some of the realities that shape her life and that of so many other trans women who aren't seen for who they are but for their bodies instead.

White World by Saad T Farooqi is a book of violence. It is also a book of love, of family, of perseverance. Of a country divided, a country aflame in religious conflict, its reach ever increasing from Pakistan’s historical independence in 1947 to the dystopian future in 2083 that the book is set in.

Stephanie Kiser’s memoir on her time as a nanny for the New York elite transports us into the extravagant lives of the privileged few, to their Upper East Side residence with their designer baby wardrobes, their estates in the Hamptons too large to take in, and then some.

Kiser leaves us in awe of not only her courage, but also her exemplary writing, both on her personal journey and the many social issues this topic touches on.

Hollay Ghadery's poetry collection "Rebellion Box" spoke to me in so many ways. I've recently started to read more poetry, especially the kind that's sort of a memoir in verse. This beautiful work of art definitely touches on that theme and gives us glimpses into Ghadery's life from so many scintillating angles.

This intriguing memoir describes the author's time at an in-patient psychiatric treatment facility and intersperses this present day story with the past struggles that culminated in her hospital stay.

I applaud Tendler for her courage in writing this vulnerable memoir. It touches on so many points that are vital to mental health awareness, and I think that many people will be able to see themselves in these pages, as did I.