5 memoirs you won’t want to put down
1. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
Jesmyn Ward writes about coming to terms with the loss of five young men she was close to – including her brother. Each young man comes from her close-knit community in small-town Mississippi – a location fraught with a racist history. Ward’s acclaimed and award-winning memoir captures a strong sense of place and the cultural problems that ensnare it. Her moving account honours the lives lost as it examines them. It’s a poignant call to understand the intricacies of history and its constant impact on the present.
2. Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies
You may recognise author Isabel Gillies from Law & Order SVU where she played Det. Stabler’s wife. The actress has writerly talents that come out in her can’t-put-it-down memoir about her husband’s affair. He was a poet-professor who took up with a colleague. Meanwhile, Gillies was trying to be the perfect homemaker in their big house with their two small children. The book’s title comes from what the “other woman” told Gillies when she mentioned fears that her husband was straying: happens every day. Gillies fills her story with strength and humour in the midst of a shocking loss that leads her and the kids back to her parents’ New York City apartment after the truth comes out.
3. Under Red Skies by Karoline Kan
Kan, a former New York Times reporter, tells the story of strife in China as the country grows into a global superpower, through the stories of three women in her own family, and her own story. Her grandmother struggles to support her family during the Great Chinese Famine; her mother gives birth to her in defiance of the one-child policy; and her cousin, who works in a shoe factory, is scraping by on wages equivalent to 88 cents an hour. Kan examines their legacy in her journey to make her way in a changing country and world.
4. The Long Goodbye by Meghan O’Rourke
Meghan O’Rourke’s The Long Goodbye is a lovely meditation on grief itself and how to do it. She chronicles her mother’s shocking diagnosis and eventual passing. The book is a moving companion for anyone dealing with the loss of a beloved parent. O’Rourke’s background in poetry gives her memoir a lyrical quality that captures the layers of grief. This acclaimed book tells the author’s personal story as it examines the ways our culture is often inept at preparing us to go through the demanding and intense process of grieving.
5. Comfort: A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood
Ann Hood’s beautiful and unbearable book begins by relaying the tragic circumstances that led to the passing of her young and vivacious daughter. You’ll mourn the loss with her as you learn about the infection that arose without warning. Hood writes with generosity as she carries you through the details of an unthinkable shock. This book will clutch your heart and stay with you long after you’ve closed the cover.
Next, be inspired by how a woman started a bookclub for prisoners, and how it changed her life.
Written by Molly Pennington. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.