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Biography and Memoir December 2025 |
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| Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret AtwoodIn 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. |
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| Fire in Every Direction by Tareq BaconiQueer 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. |
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Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home
by Brittany Penner
By the time Brittany Penner is seven years old, she has loved and lost twenty-one foster siblings who have come into her family and left—all of them Indigenous like her. "When will it be my turn?" she asks her mother time and time again. "When will I be taken away?" You won't be, she is told. You're adopted. You're here to stay. You're the lucky one. Children Like Us asks difficult questions about family, identity, belonging and cultural continuity. What happens when you find what you're looking for, but it can't offer you everything you need? What does it mean to belong when you feel torn between cultures?
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| The Uncool by Cameron CroweIn 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. |
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| Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard by Robert M. DowlingRobert 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. |
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| We Did OK, Kid by Anthony HopkinsOscar-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. |
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| John Candy: A Life in Comedy by Paul MyersPop 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. |
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| Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet by Tochi OnyebuchiSci-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. |
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