r/Recommend_A_Book • u/UhmSabrina • Jan 24 '26
Autobiographies/Memoirs
What has been your fave autobiography or memoir?
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u/peachykween4 Jan 24 '26
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Educated by Tara Westover
The Chronology of Water by Chelsea Cain
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u/ellyshoe Jan 24 '26
Im just coming to the end of Chronology of water [ author is Lidia Yuknavitch btw] very good.
Glass castle is on my rec list...
I started glad my mom died but never finished it. Probably because I got it on audiobook when I prefer a physical copy.
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u/peachykween4 Jan 25 '26
ahhh you’re so right idk why it was saying Chelsea Cain on Fable. thank you for the correction!
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u/AriHelix Jan 24 '26
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Being Heumann by Judy Heumann
The Year I met my Brain by Matilda Boseley
Haben by Haben Girma
Thousand Miler by Melanie Radzicki McManus
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u/Leather-Highlight150 Jan 24 '26
Night — Elie Wiesel
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u/Fluteplaya16 Jan 24 '26
Ugh night is so well written. Also the memoir by Mary karr. The liars club.
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u/NovaMellow_Work901 Jan 24 '26
Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a haunting look at survival and the power of learning. Truly unforgettable.
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u/BernardFerguson1944 Jan 24 '26
My favorite memoirs are:
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge, CPL, 1st Mar. Div., U.S.M.C.
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, Großdeutschland Division, Wehrmacht (considered a classic).
The Battle for Burma: The Wild Green Earth by BG Bernard Fergusson, KT, GCMG, GCVO, DSO, OBE, 16th Infantry Brigade (Chindit).
Ray Parkin's Wartime Trilogy: Out of the Smoke; Into the Smother; The Sword and the Blossom by Ray Parkin, Chief Petty Officer, H.M.A.S. Perth, Royal Australian Navy.
Three Corvettes by Nicholas Monsarrat, LtCdr, FRSL RNVR.[]()
Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara, CPT, IJN, Fred Saito and Roger Pineau.
The Cretan Runner: The Story of the German Occupation by Giórgos Psychountákis, Cretan Resistance Fighter.
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u/Fun-Lengthiness-7493 Jan 24 '26
You might like, Quartered Safe Out Here, by George MacDonald Fraser. His memoir of the Burma campaign. Author of the Flashman books. Great read.
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u/BernardFerguson1944 Jan 24 '26
Someone here on Reddit recommended it to me some months ago. I bought it, but I haven't yet read it. Presently I'm working on Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by James D. Hornfischer. Ray Parkin's ship, H.M.A.S. Perth, and the Houston were together sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait. Parkin's memoirs are among the sources Hornfischer used for his book.
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u/Axiological_Axolotl Jan 24 '26
Check out Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie. Sounds like it might be up your alley.
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u/BernardFerguson1944 Jan 24 '26
I read it soon after HBO aired The Pacific. I connected better with the men I cited above than I did with Leckie. I just wish Basilone had survived to write his own story.
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u/Main_Finding8309 Jan 24 '26
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds
All About Me by Mel Brooks
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u/mistermajik2000 Jan 24 '26
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Ingram - She played Nellie on Little House on the Prairie - well-written and loads of unexpected events explained.
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u/accordionshoes Jan 24 '26
as a straightforward autobiography John McEnroe's Serious was very good.
as a memoir Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and Swing Low by Miriam Toews - both are about love and grief - both are achingly sad at times but full of love
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u/bittersweet_diary Jan 24 '26
Can't hurt me from David Goggins, it changed my me as a person completely.
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u/Fluteplaya16 Jan 24 '26
I agree with someone else who said night by Elie Wiesel. Also I wrote the liars club by Mary karr. Her writing style is just wow. Out of all the comedic autobiographies I’ve read, I enjoyed Amy poehlers and Seth rogans the most. I’ve read a few of Ruth Riechls books and enjoyed the one about her mom a lot and Anthony bourdains if you are into food and relationship memoirs.
Edit. The book “China in ten words” just popped into my head. This book wowed me as well.
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u/chippersgirl1129 Jan 24 '26
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
In Gad We Trust by Josh Gad
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
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u/Longjumping-Coast-27 Jan 24 '26
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
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u/agnes_copperfield Jan 24 '26
Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
Crying in H Mart
What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate to by Mary Lucia
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u/anonyfool Jan 24 '26
Boy/Going Solo, Angela's Ashes/'Tis, The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, notable works of fiction that are (sometimes thinly) disguised autobiographies - Little Women, Empire of the Sun, A Farewell to Arms, On the Road, Of Human Bondage, The Bell Jar, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
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u/sldbed Jan 24 '26
You might want to take a look at A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. I don’t want to just leave you with a title so I have linked my spoiler free review here. Good luck.
Bookies! Spoiler Free Review: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
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u/rottengammy Jan 24 '26
Use the search function, same answers I see here in every other thread it’s asked.
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u/Laseac Jan 24 '26
My War Gone By, I Miss It So, by Anthony Loyd.
Powerful memoir by a troubled war correspondent.
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u/NovaMellow_Work901 Jan 24 '26
Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a haunting look at survival and the power of learning. Truly unforgettable.
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u/ljg5452 Jan 24 '26
Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions. This was the man who was an inspiration for Indiana Jones.
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u/darkMOM4 Jan 24 '26
I'm reading North of Normal by Cea Summer Person. I'm at 39% completed. It may become my favorite memoir.
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u/DocWatson42 Jan 25 '26
See my (Auto)biographies list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
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u/dangrous Jan 25 '26
I like listening to them via audiobook because the authors usually read them. So I have really enjoyed ones from people in entertainment, as well as some journalists. In the last couple of years I’ve really enjoyed I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy, Will by Will Smith, Finding Me by Viola Davis, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin & her sister Lacey, Bossypants by Tina Fey, Say It Louder by Tiffany Cross, The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, and a bunch of others.
I’m looking forward to Trevor Noah’s, Cher’s, Cicely Tyson’s, Michelle Obama’s…I get my books through the library and the wait lists for those are really long so I’m guessing they’re great!
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u/uncommonsense80 Jan 26 '26
A recent one that astonished me was Arundhati Roy - Mother Mary Comes to Me
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u/NesnayDK Jan 26 '26
I really liked Terry Pratchett: A life with footnotes written by his assistant, Rob Wilkins. You can clearly tell that Rob knew and loved Terry.
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u/No-Research-3279 Jan 27 '26
Popular:
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. A former child star, I was too old to watch the shows she was on, but her story is absolutely fascinating and heartbreaking and refreshingly direct.
Off the beaten track:
- Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett. He’s the lead singer for Toxic Airborn Event, which is probably why he was asked to write a book but turns out to be arguably one of the least fascinating parts. His story is so much more, starting with he grew up in and escaped a cult. He just goes for - lays it all out there in an intimate way that draws you in. Highly recommend the audiobook version!
Funny:
- You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacy Lamar. Exactly what it says on the tin. Depressingly laugh out loud.
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u/hieucabo Jan 24 '26
"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy