non-fiction memoir
149 books.
read
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
by: Fredrik Backman
"4.5"
- katelynn
09/06/2022
- katelynn
09/06/2022
read
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by: Bryan Stevenson
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Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science
by: Mike McHargue
"I cannot believe how quickly I read this book, especially considering my usual pace with non-fiction. It was incredibly engaging and beautifully written. The author was honest and humble, presenting his story and his resulting conclusions about faith and science clearly and compellingly.
I think I would have to read the book again a few times to fully grasp everything presented. It's probably controversial to even read a book like this, but I feel edified. I don't know if I agree with where he landed, but I believe he is genuine and that he truly respects the traditions he came from. He's presented a lot to chew on! Also side-note: I think the title is a bit misleading about what to expect from his journey back to faith. It gave me a vision of a Louie-Giglio-type conversion... that is not what happened. Just a heads up!"
- katelynn
03/07/2018
I think I would have to read the book again a few times to fully grasp everything presented. It's probably controversial to even read a book like this, but I feel edified. I don't know if I agree with where he landed, but I believe he is genuine and that he truly respects the traditions he came from. He's presented a lot to chew on! Also side-note: I think the title is a bit misleading about what to expect from his journey back to faith. It gave me a vision of a Louie-Giglio-type conversion... that is not what happened. Just a heads up!"
- katelynn
03/07/2018
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint
by: Nadia Bolz-Weber
Just Kids
by: Patti Smith
Me, Myself & Bob: A True Story about God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables
by: Phil Vischer
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What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
by: Stephanie Foo
The Year of Magical Thinking
by: Joan Didion
read
An Age of License: A Travelogue
by: Lucy Knisley
"What a fun medium for a travel log! It was so easy - took me maybe 2 hours to read. I really felt like I was traveling along with her!
I love the way the comic style allowed her to express complex thoughts in a way that made sense, that brought clarity to emotions I have myself. "
- katelynn
06/28/2019
I love the way the comic style allowed her to express complex thoughts in a way that made sense, that brought clarity to emotions I have myself. "
- katelynn
06/28/2019
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner Saint
by: Nadia Bolz-Weber
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Bossypants
by: Tina Fey
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Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime
by: Maggie Downs
Heart Berries
by: Terese Marie Mailhot
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The Glass Castle
by: Jeannette Walls
"This story really sat in the tension of love and dysfunction. People are complicated. The author did not hide or white-wash any of the gritty, hard things that she went through. But she also showed the love and wonder and excitement she felt in her growing up years. She gave another perspective on poverty, the fight for dignity and the effects of addiction."
- katelynn
11/13/2019
- katelynn
11/13/2019
Coming Clean
by: Kimberly Rae Miller
read
The Diary of a Young Girl
by: Anne Frank
read
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
by: Maya Angelou
"I think coming-of-age might be a genre I need to leave alone for a while. I feel bad giving lower stars to someone’s true story.. I guess I just don’t get what the author was trying to say. I know more was meant than just to tell her story, but I’m not getting it. More discussion is needed!
Overall it’s three stars because of some really poignant, important moments and the overall poetic voice to the writing."
- katelynn
09/28/2019
Overall it’s three stars because of some really poignant, important moments and the overall poetic voice to the writing."
- katelynn
09/28/2019
Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family
by: Katherine Willis Pershey
The Light of the World
by: Elizabeth Alexander
A House in the Sky
by: Amanda Lindhout
A Circle of Quiet (Crosswicks Journals #1)
by: Madeleine L'Engle
You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life
by: Eleanor Roosevelt
Heating Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs
by: Beth Ann Fennelly
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All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir
by: Beth Moore
"I am reeling. Just reeling. "
- katelynn
06/18/2024
- katelynn
06/18/2024
read
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos
by: Lucy Knisley
"I expected this to be good, but wow. I devoured this - I could NOT put it down. Lucy is so honest in all of her books, but this one is especially tender and vulnerable. It's mostly a memoir but it also has a good bit of research about fertility and pregnancy and the history around the treatment of women's bodies. I learned a lot - and it wasn't all great. The personal side of it is what sets this book apart as great.
I cried through the end. Of a comic book. Yup.
This art form is so amazing. I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover them. More graphic novels, please!"
- katelynn
02/22/2020
I cried through the end. Of a comic book. Yup.
This art form is so amazing. I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover them. More graphic novels, please!"
- katelynn
02/22/2020
Between the World and Me
by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Broken (in the best possible way)
by: Jenny Lawson
Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World
by: Anthony Doerr
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We're Going to Need More Wine
by: Gabrielle Union
Eat Cake. Be Brave.
by: Melissa Radke
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Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love
by: Dani Shapiro
"What an incredible story! All the more fascinating because it's true. This book definitely left me considering medical conception ethics differently. "
- katelynn
10/12/2019
- katelynn
10/12/2019
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life
by: Ali Wong
Three Little Words
by: Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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The Puma Years
by: Laura Coleman
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The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
by: Corrie ten Boom
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
by: Jenny Lawson
Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer
by: Micha Boyett
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My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
by: Gerald Durrell
"This was just wonderful. I was completely in love with the setting and people by the end. From beginning to end, the book is filled with humor and beauty and the wonder of childhood exploration."
- katelynn
07/23/2020
- katelynn
07/23/2020
Educated
by: Tara Westover
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
by: Masaji Ishikawa
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Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York
by: Elizabeth Passarella
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Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
by: Allie Brosh
"This was both laugh out loud funny and soberingly insightful. The antics of her dogs had me in stitches. And her reflections on identity had me really thinking... about myself, how I view my own morality and worth, and how incredibly grateful I am for the Gospel. "
- katelynn
08/16/2019
- katelynn
08/16/2019
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
by: Patrisse Khan-Cullors
What We Carry: A Memoir
by: Maya Shanbhag Lang
My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories
by: David Lebovitz
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How to Say Babylon
by: Safiya Sinclair
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
by: Alexandra Fuller
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Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss
by: Margaret Renkl
"Beautiful writing, but just didn't engage me. "
- katelynn
02/22/2022
- katelynn
02/22/2022
Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture
by: Emma Dabiri
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by: Anne Lamott
I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are
by: Rachel Bloom
Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride
by: Lucy Knisley
The Sound of Gravel
by: Ruth Wariner
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The Unlikely Thru-Hiker: An Appalachian Trail Journey
by: Derick Lugo
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Glitter and Glue
by: Kelly Corrigan
"3.5"
- katelynn
12/03/2022
- katelynn
12/03/2022
The Complete Persepolis (Persepolis, #1-4)
by: Marjane Satrapi
Men We Reaped
by: Jesmyn Ward
Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level
by: Laura Tremaine
In the Land of Blue Burqas
by: Kate McCord
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by: Joan Didion
The Comfort Book
by: Matt Haig
Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs
by: Beth Ann Fennelly
Coming Clean: A Story of Faith
by: Seth Haines
H is for Hawk
by: Helen Macdonald
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Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
by: Roxane Gay
"Beautiful written, heartbreaking yet hopeful. This work felt important. I think it will take some chewing on and reflection for the importance to really since in."
- katelynn
09/24/2019
- katelynn
09/24/2019
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Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me
by: Ada Calhoun
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.
by: Samantha Irby
Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family (The Young Clergy Women Project)
by: Katherine Willis Pershey
All You Can Ever Know
by: Nicole Chung
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Finding Home: An Imperfect Path to Faith and Family
by: Jim Daly
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My Life in France
by: Julia Child
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The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan
by: Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future
by: Elizabeth Esther
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Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between)
by: Lauren Graham
"Just okay. I thought it was sweet and the reflections on her Gilmore Girls / Parenthood experiences were interesting... I just wanted MORE. I found myself bored a lot.
But I like her, so it's a three."
- katelynn
02/03/2020
But I like her, so it's a three."
- katelynn
02/03/2020
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by: Barbara Kingsolver
Homesick: My Own Story
by: Jean Fritz
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by: David Sedaris
read
The Best We Could Do
by: Thi Bui
"What an amazing story- drawn so beautifully! I learned a lot."
- katelynn
09/29/2019
- katelynn
09/29/2019
Spinning
by: Tillie Walden
Know My Name
by: Chanel Miller
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
by: Molly Wizenberg
Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me
by: Karen Swallow Prior
Old School
by: Tobias Wolff
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
by: Anne Fadiman
read
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
by: Suleika Jaouad
"Deeply moving. The vulnerability connected me with the author and allowed me to enter into her experience in ways I didn't always want to, but it helped me go on the journey with her and reach the conclusions she reached. This book is filled with wisdom and poetry and heartbreak."
- katelynn
02/09/2023
- katelynn
02/09/2023
SantaLand Diaries
by: David Sedaris
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
by: Maria Konnikova
Heavy
by: Kiese Laymon
Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue, and Redemption
by: Vinh Chung
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I’m Glad My Mom Died
by: Jennette McCurdy
read
My Mrs. Brown
by: William Norwich
"Sad and sweet, bordering a bit on the sickly sweet. But overall a heart-warming read that had a lot to say about fashion and culture and growing older. "
- katelynn
11/25/2018
- katelynn
11/25/2018
A Circle of Quiet (Crosswicks Journals, #1)
by: Madeleine L'Engle
All Over But the Shoutin'
by: Rick Bragg
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The Son and Heir: A Memoir
by: Alexander Münninghoff
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
by: Jean-Dominique Bauby
Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
by: Gabrielle Hamilton
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Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story
by: Bess Kalb
"3.5"
- katelynn
01/23/2021
- katelynn
01/23/2021
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
by: Nabeel Qureshi
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
by: Ruth Reichl
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by: Ruth Reichl
Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder: A Memoir
by: Julia Zarankin
Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level
by: Laura Tremaine
El Deafo
by: Cece Bell
read
Gift from the Sea
by: Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"Like poetry! So many beautiful metaphors to chew on and explore. Definitely one that needs discussing, that will sit completely differently at different stages of life. Adding it immediately to my shelf of books to re-read!"
- katelynn
03/16/2024
- katelynn
03/16/2024
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
by: Robyn Davidson
West with the Night
by: Beryl Markham
read
In the Company of Men: A Woman at the Citadel
by: Nancy R. Mace
The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City
by: David Lebovitz
Brown Girl Dreaming
by: Jacqueline Woodson
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
by: Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
by: Lucy Knisley
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
by: Trevor Noah
End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood
by: Jan Redford
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Becoming Duchess Goldblatt
by: Duchess Goldblatt
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I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
by: Maggie O'Farrell
"Oh my goodness, this writing! Memoir perfection. She is brilliant.
The ending had me weeping and also fist pumping. "
- katelynn
01/19/2022
The ending had me weeping and also fist pumping. "
- katelynn
01/19/2022
Men We Reaped: A Memoir
by: Jesmyn Ward
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Bird by Bird
by: Anne Lamott
Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir
by: Tyler Feder
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The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus (Plough Spiritual Guides: Backpack Classics)
by: Dorothy Day
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I Miss You When I Blink: Essays
by: Mary Laura Philpott
"This collection seemed.. disjointed. I didn't feel a cohesion or any general point.
I liked some of the individual essays - I definitely have a lot in common with the author."
- katelynn
07/29/2019
I liked some of the individual essays - I definitely have a lot in common with the author."
- katelynn
07/29/2019
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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
by: Patrick Radden Keefe
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage
by: Ann Patchett
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Displacement: A Travelogue
by: Lucy Knisley
"Read this in one hour. So sweet and reflective. I’m interested to read her book about baby care because the emotions she went through seem so similar to what happens when caring for children."
- katelynn
04/02/2020
- katelynn
04/02/2020
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The Book of Delights: Essays
by: Ross Gay
"I mean, is there a better description than: DELIGHTFUL! This, in combination with One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, lifted me out of a dark place. I've started my own delight list (which is also a gratitude list in a way) and it's been transformational.
Ross Gay made me laugh out loud and kept a smile on my face throughout."
- katelynn
08/22/2024
Ross Gay made me laugh out loud and kept a smile on my face throughout."
- katelynn
08/22/2024
read
Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
by: Jennifer Pharr Davis
"Fantastic! The author was so real and relatable – although to be fair I already had a lot in common with her before starting the book. But she communicates with a rawness and humility that is so refreshing. Her experiences definitely challenged me to seek adventure, develop deeper relationships, and reflect on how the opinion of others effects my view of myself."
- katelynn
03/02/2016
- katelynn
03/02/2016
Crying in H Mart
by: Michelle Zauner
The Complete Persepolis
by: Marjane Satrapi
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While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
by: Meg Kissinger
Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race
by: Debby Irving
Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time, and Mine
by: Emily Bernard
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments
by: David Foster Wallace
Dream More
by: Dolly Parton
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A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
by: Masaji Ishikawa
Not My Father's Son
by: Alan Cumming
My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes)
by: Luisa Weiss
Travels
by: Michael Crichton
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
by: Lindy West
Kisses from Katie
by: Katie Davis Majors
Lab Girl
by: Hope Jahren
Blankets
by: Craig Thompson
read
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
by: Mindy Kaling
"As I do in all of my interactions with Mindy's work, I find her completely charming, relatable and hilarious. Best friend material all the way. This book was a fun, breezy read - great for audio!"
- katelynn
11/15/2018
- katelynn
11/15/2018
Dust Tracks on a Road
by: Zora Neale Hurston
Dancing at the Pity Party
by: Tyler Feder
read
Life Among the Savages
by: Shirley Jackson
"This was so much fun - I couldn’t believe how much I related to it even though this was written by a mom so long ago. The struggles transcend time! The differences were interesting as well.
Funny and light, reminiscent of Cheaper by the Dozen - I give my hearty recommendation to all young parents! (And anyone else who wants to understand them)"
- katelynn
10/02/2019
Funny and light, reminiscent of Cheaper by the Dozen - I give my hearty recommendation to all young parents! (And anyone else who wants to understand them)"
- katelynn
10/02/2019
