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Biography and Memoir September 2026 |
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| Unsayable: A Life in Writing by Michael CunninghamIn his memoir, acclaimed novelist Michael Cunningham (The Hours) continually returns to the concept of articulation, claiming that writing is simply finding a way to express that which resists being put into words. Cunningham cannily pinpoints moments from his early life -- bouncing a ball, or watching his mother bake a cake -- as opportunities to fall in love with and ponder our relationship with language. Unsayable is a book for “readers hungry for gorgeous prose” (Publishers Weekly). |
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| A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival by Virginia EubanksIn 2015, journalist Virginia Eubanks’ partner, J., was the victim of two separate assaults near their home, one of which resulted in serious injuries. The PTSD that J. suffered over the ensuing years was soon passed along to Eubanks, as she became J.’s primary (unpaid) caregiver. She found a way of coping by immersing herself in lifesaving and wilderness survival, and her book reveals striking parallels between emergency rescue and care work, which too often falls to loved ones. For another exploration of the costs of unpaid labor, try Everyone but Myself by Julie Chavez. |
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| All That's Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir by Emilee HackneyAfter a devastating betrayal that called her Pentecostal faith into question, debut memoirist Emilee Hackney left her small Appalachian town in Virginia for Harvard. Amidst the culture shock, Hackney realized that leaving home was the right move for her. But it also made her see that home in a new light, and she found herself defending the land of her birth against those quick to dismiss and stereotype the South and its people. For another coming-of-age memoir about feeling pulled in opposite directions, try Between Two Trailers by J. Dana Trent. |
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| Stranded in the Future by Robyn HitchcockBritish expat musician Robyn Hitchcock presents the 2nd volume of his memoirs, after 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left. The author recalls his late teens and early twenties, when he attended art school, formed vital friendships, tried his hand at songwriting, and finally launched his early band The Soft Boys. But nothing Hitchcock does is so straightforward: like his music, his tale is elliptical, fanciful, ridiculous, and endlessly entertaining. Read-alike: Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses by Peter Wolf. |
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| I'm a Lot: Surviving Myself and All the People I've Been by Alison LeibyComedian Alison Leiby’s memoir in essays is both hilarious and thought-provoking. In a society where people -- especially women -- struggle under the weight of expectations, Leiby’s witty anecdotes help explain how she figured out the secret to living her best life: having the courage to be herself, labels be damned. Readers will pick up her inspiring message and run with it. For fans of: Well, This Is Exhausting by Sophia Benoit. |
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| American Alt: A True Story of Madness and Friendship in a Fractured Country by Chris LockhartIn 2021, Michael Dodd, a veteran and avid outdoorsman, was committed to a mental hospital for plotting to kidnap the governor of Washington. Dodd, who was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, requested the help of his childhood friend, the author Chris Lockhart, in piecing together his fractured sense of self through narrative therapy. Their talks form the backbone of Lockhart’s haunting “exploration of mental illness and friendship in the wreckage of American decline” (Publishers Weekly). |
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Focus on: Hispanic Heritage Month
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| Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself by David ArchuletaBy the time David Archuleta was 17, he had become the first runner-up on American Idol and was ready to parlay his newfound fame into a singing career. Except…he experienced persistent feelings of same-sex attraction. David’s long journey toward self-acceptance involved deciding whether he wanted to come out and risk alienating his fans, his Honduran American family, and his Latter-Day Saints church -- a struggle many readers will find relatable. Read-alike: What Mattered Most by Ty Herndon. |
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| Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter by Ada FerrerPulitzer Prize-winning historian Ada Ferrer (Cuba: An American History) relates the toll that emigrating from Cuba to the United States took on her family, especially her older half-brother Poly. When 10-month-old Ada and her mother left for New York City in 1963, a dispute with Poly’s father meant the boy had to be left behind, a heartbreaking turn that the author believes cast a shadow over the rest of Poly’s troubled life. For more emotionally intense stories of immigrant families, try Why Didn’t You Tell Me? by Carmen Rita Wong and A Body Across Two Hemispheres by Victoria Buitron. |
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East of the River: A Memoir of Los Angeles Girlhood
by Guadalupe Rosales
Guadalupe Rosales chronicles her Boyle Heights childhood and adolescence in East LA, finding joy and danger from Commerce Center to Whittier Boulevard. Her frank, intimate prose captures the freedom and fear pulsing through that time and how sisterhood helped her survive it. An altar to a past era and a map to the future, this book is a reminder that memory, celebration, and community make us whole.
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Migrant Heart: Essays about Things I Can't Forget
by Reyna Grande
What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure? Reyna Grande has spent her career capturing the raw reality of life across borders. In this intricate and deeply intimate memoir-in-essays, the author of the landmark memoirs The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home again turns her gaze inward to explore the scars left by migration and the ongoing work of stitching herself back together.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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