Biography and Memoir
December 2025

Recent Releases
Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts
by Margaret Atwood

In Book of Lives, Canadian author Margaret Atwood brings readers a long-awaited, “marvelously witty” (Kirkus Reviews) memoir. Writing as much about her craft as her life story, Atwood reveals how both have influenced one another, for instance explaining how the dystopian setting for The Handmaid’s Tale was in part inspired by a stint in 1980s Berlin. For another memoir that ruminates on the writing life, try Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami.
Fire in Every Direction
by Tareq Baconi

Queer Palestinian author Tareq Baconi presents a candid and emotional coming-of-age journey. Baconi confronts layers of trauma set in motion by the marginalization of his Lebanese refugee family, unrequited love for a childhood friend, and cruel abuse at the hands of homophobic peers. As an adult, he is eventually able to reconcile his queer and Arab selves, and his self-discovery will especially inspire readers navigating their own complex identities.
The Royal We
by Roddy Bottum

Gay punk rocker Roddy Bottum, famous as the keyboardist for Faith No More, offers a lively memoir about discovering music, queer culture, and high-energy night life in '80s and '90s San Francisco. Self-destructiveness notwithstanding (the author has had his share of risky sex and hard drug abuse), Bottum survived and owns it all, with no regrets and plenty of loopy anecdotes to boot. For more punk-tinged reminiscences, check out Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna.
The Uncool
by Cameron Crowe

In the 1970s, writer/director Cameron Crowe was an up-and-coming teenaged rock journalist, writing for Rolling Stone and touring with the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers. Although peppered with upbeat road stories, Crowe’s memoir seamlessly weaves in more emotional passages about close relationships, his older sister’s suicide, and his later fame as a filmmaker. For fans of: Going into the City: Portrait of a Critic as a Young Man by Robert Christgau; the Crowe-directed film Almost Famous.
Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard
by Robert M. Dowling

Robert M. Dowling’s well-researched biography of actor, playwright, and filmmaker Sam Shepard is an ode to restlessness. Dowling mines gossipy details from Shepard’s gritty, colorful, adventurous life while divulging the angst, trauma, and addiction that goaded him, keeping this creative, troubled soul from ever sitting still for long. For another haunting performing arts biography, try William J. Mann’s The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando.
Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer's Life
by Todd Goddard

Literature scholar Todd Goddard offers the first biography of writer Jim Harrison. Probably best known as a novelist (Legends of the Fall), his original and abiding love was writing poetry. Well-known for his bottomless appetites, Harrison was infamous for his habitual excess, but Goddard sensitively captures this complicated figure who was also an avid outdoorsman and widely regarded as a “writer’s writer” (Kirkus Reviews).
We Did OK, Kid
by Anthony Hopkins

Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins delights with a memoir that is “quiet and restrained but with some darker stuff going on underneath” (Booklist). The introverted only son of working-class Welsh parents who worried about his apparent aimlessness, Hopkins eventually found his way to amateur theater and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, all to his own great surprise. For such a venerated artist, his writing is as humble, candid, and thoughtful as the book’s title would suggest. Try this next: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man by Paul Newman.
John Candy: A Life in Comedy
by Paul Myers

Pop culture writer Paul Myers documents beloved comedian and actor John Candy’s life and career, moving through his tenure on the cult classic program SCTV, his film appearances (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Uncle Buck), and his “lifelong struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, and body image” (Publishers Weekly). Candy broke countless hearts upon his death by heart failure at age 43, but Myers’ book is a life-affirming, heartwarming tribute.
Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet
by Tochi Onyebuchi

Sci-fi and fantasy author Tochi Onyebuchi, in a series of autobiographical sketches, conjures memories of growing up as a Black American in the internet age, and where these experiences find him today. Dropping references ranging from literature to video games, Onyebuchi yearns for the early years of internet streaming before online culture became rampantly toxic, and offers readers food for thought on topics like racial violence, multiple realities, and how online identities shape our selves. For fans of: the anthology Black Futures, edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham.
The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir
by Roy Wood, Jr.

Comedian and television personality Roy Wood, Jr.’s memoir is filled with lessons he learned the hard way from various “father” figures, including his real father, who played a peripatetic but influential role in his son’s life. Some of these figures offered Wood wisdom and advice, while others gave him examples not to follow, but they all made enough of an impression to become comedy gold in a debut that is also “refreshingly earnest” (Kirkus Reviews). If you like this, check out Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond by Henry Winkler.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Villa Park Public Library
305 S. Ardmore Ave.
Villa Park, Illinois 60181
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