What it's about: playwright David Adjmi's coming-of-age as a gay Syrian Jewish kid in 1980s Brooklyn.

Read it for: a dramatic and richly detailed narrative fit for the stage, featuring crackling dialogue and larger-than-life characters.

Try this next: For another candid memoir written by a gay Brooklynite in the arts, try fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi's I.M. 

What it is: poet Molly McCully Brown's heartwrenching and lyrical memoir in essays exploring the challenges of living with cerebral palsy.

Topics include: sexuality; spirituality; isolation.

Want a taste? "...in poetry, I found a form that not only mirrored my own slowness, but rewarded the careful attention with which I had to move through the world." 

What it's about: In 1990, shortly after her fifth birthday, Wayétu Moore and her family fled the First Liberian Civil War, eventually settling in Texas, where Moore grappled with her identity as a black immigrant and feelings of displacement. 

For fans of: heartrending and reflective immigration stories like Thi Bui's illustrated memoir The Best We Could Do.  

About the author: Moore is the author of She Would Be King, a Booklist Editors' Choice Best Fiction Book of 2018.

What it is: a haunting exploration of the Trump administration's family separation policy, as experienced by one Guatemalan family. 

What happened: Fleeing Guatemala after her husband's murder, asylum seeker Rosayra Pablo Cruz and her two sons traveled more than 2,000 miles to the southern U.S. border. Once they arrived, Pablo Cruz spent 80 days detained in an Arizona facility, and her children were placed with a foster family in the Bronx.

Read it for: a searing account of the lingering effects of separation.

How it began: Journalist Janice Kaplan vowed one New Year's Eve to practice being grateful for one full year. 

How she did it: Kaplan kept a "gratitude journal," surveyed experts including psychologists and medical doctors, and interviewed people who have overcome adversity.

Try this next: For another humorous memoir of embracing a new outlook on life, read Shonda Rhimes' inspiring Year of Yes. 

What it is: a witty chronicle of author David Litt's five-year tenure as a speechwriter for President Obama.

Read it for: an engaging behind-the-scenes look at some of the highs (writing four White House Correspondence Dinner speeches) and lows (making careless diplomatic gaffes) of an illustrious gig. 

Author alert: Litt's latest book, the optimistic political history Democracy in One Book or Less, hit bookshelves in June. 

What it is: an inspirational guide that urges readers -- and the medical establishment -- to reevaluate stereotypical ideas about what autism looks like, especially the ways gender can affect the expression of autistic traits.

Why it's important: Author Jennifer Cook O'Toole encourages readers to view autism as more of a difference than a "disease," and reveals how her diagnosis at age 34 came as a relief instead of something negative.

What it's about: Anna Quindlen's examination of her changing family dynamics as she goes from parent to grandparent and must recalibrate her relationship with her child and her own understanding of herself.

Want a taste? "Those who make their opinions sound like the Ten Commandments see their grandchildren only on major holidays and in photographs."

About the author: Pulitzer Prize winner Quindlen is also known for her fiction, including Still Life with Breadcrumbs and Object Lessons.

What it's about: MasterChef star Aaron Sanchez's culinary coming-of-age and influences, including legendary New York restaurateur Zarela Martinez (his mother), and New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme.  

Recipes include: Bacalao-Stuffed Sweet Plantains with Crema Mexicana; Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Seed Mole; Seafood Stew with Coconut and Chipotle.

Reviewers say: "Sánchez's fans will relish this richly told life story of a chef celebrating his roots" (Publishers Weekly).