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Biography and Memoir July 2026 |
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| True Crime by Patricia CornwellKay Scarpetta series author Patricia Cornwell’s autobiography reads like a gritty, dramatic backstory for one of her characters. She talks plainly but captivatingly about her dysfunctional childhood, the multiple incidents of sexual violence she endured, her early journalism career, and the real-life female medical examiner who served as inspiration for Scarpetta. This chatty, candid memoir has “more action and drama than many novels” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberlé Williams CrenshawLegal scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw has put rigorous research behind her coined concept of “intersectionality” -- a term describing the experience of more than one socially marginalized identity. But her own experiences as a Black girl and woman provided her with ample source material, which she relates in an impassioned, straightforward memoir that “vibrates with authority” (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall. |
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| Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, & Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground by Zayd Ayers DohrnPlaywright Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the oldest son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, leftist radicals belonging to the 1970s terrorist organization the Weather Underground. Dohrn describes what it was like growing up off the grid as his family honed tactics for evading federal agents, and how both of his parents struggled to balance their love for their children with commitment to the cause. Try this next: The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s by Jason Burke. |
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| Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America by Lauren HoughMemoirist Lauren Hough hits the road with her dog, Woody, in an American travelogue inspired by John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. As she traverses the states, Hough alternates road anecdotes with scenes from her life -- pondering friendship cut short by death and taking stock of modern life’s compromises and indignities; yet she somehow mines hopeful conclusions in a book that’s “as much of a journey inward as it is outward” (Library Journal). For fans of: The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road by E. A. Hanks. |
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| The Sane One: A Memoir by Anna KonkleActor and television writer Anna Konkle’s debut memoir explores her adolescent years with the same awkward, cringey humor that characterizes Pen15, the Hulu series that she co-created with Maya Erskine. But Konkle also shows her somber side by candidly addressing her extremely strained relationship with her divorced father (thankfully mended by the time the latter passed away from cancer). For another funny yet moving life story, try Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer. |
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| Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben MezrichIn September 2022, 19-year-old chess competitor Hans Niemann toppled grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a face-to-face match, stunning the chess world. Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating shortly afterwards, and author Ben Mezrich (Breaking Twitter) revisits the resulting scandal. The back-and-forth recriminations, intensified by the involvement of the popular gaming site Chess.com, would turn this high-drama feud into the stuff of legends. Try this next: Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster by Susan Polgar. |
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| Inspiration Porn: Essays by Ryan O'ConnellAuthor and television writer Ryan O’Connell (I’m Special) presents a memoir in essays in which he keeps the tone irreverent and jokey while discussing navigating life as a disabled gay man (he has a mild form of cerebral palsy). O’Connell talks about his early struggles with dating, addiction, and insecurity before he found the confidence to write in his own voice, leading to a successful Hollywood writing career and a long-term relationship. For fans of: Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success by Jeff Hiller. |
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| Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me by Elizabeth Stordeur PryorThe inspiration for history professor Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor’s memoir began with a tense moment in class when a student casually dropped the same racial epithet that her father, the late comedian Richard Pryor, had used countless times in his stage shows as a storytelling device and a totem of Black identity. Pryor recalls treasured moments with her father while considering the complicated multiple meanings of a charged part of our lexicon. For fans of thought-provoking stories about identity and family like The Mixed Marriage Project by Dorothy Roberts. |
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| Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith & Belonging by Timothy Schraeder RodriguezAfter an awkward, teenaged Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez experienced rejection from members of his Evangelical youth group who discovered he was gay, he willingly enrolled in a church-organized therapy program meant to “cure” his queerness with repression exercises. The author, now out, is still healing from the psychic harm this therapy caused, and has co-founded Church Clarity, an organization that helps queer Christians connect with accepting congregations. For readers who were inspired by Devout by David Archuleta. |
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| Malcolm in the Desert: Wisdom from the Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X by Ilyasah ShabazzActivist Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X, reflects on the significance of her father’s 1964 spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca, when he was still finding his theological footing after his ouster from the Nation of Islam. Interestingly, she frames the biography as a step-by-step guide which mirrors the stages of X’s transition from a separatist ideology to an embracing of connection with Muslims of every color. Shabazz's unconventional take on her father’s journey will inspire readers seeking enlightenment and liberation. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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