Since the beginning of time, humans have been writing and talking about themselves and their experiences. During ancient times people relied on scrolls, clay tablets, and oral traditions to pass on their thoughts and experiences. Then, as books, writing, and literacy changed, so too did the way we transcribe our personal stories. Some of us write letters to ourselves and loved ones and then compile them into a narrative. Some people write neatly organized journals, while others choose to write streams of consciousness. Others write books or create audio files that then get published and marketed to the masses. Over time the formats have changed, but the reasons and desires that drive us to create these moments in time haven’t. We do it to reflect. We do it to remember and also to be remembered. We do it to understand what it is we have seen and done. We even do it to mark history. There are many reasons why we tell our particular stories, but there are even more reasons why we read, listen, and follow the stories of others.
August 31st is “We Love Memoirs Day,” and there are many ways you can celebrate it, but my favorites include sharing a memoir you love with someone, reading a new memoir or revisiting an old favorite, and sharing stories of important moments in your life with others. Maybe you could even start writing your own memoirs!
As for my part, I have for you below a list of the memoirs that I have read, how I read them, and why I enjoyed reading them. Along with the ones I have read is a list of the ones that I haven’t but that I hope to in the near future. I find reading about people who interest me makes them feel more human to me. In a world populated with media images and messages, it's important to remember that we are all human and that we all experience life in different but fundamentally human ways.
Memoirs I Have Read:
Dear Girls by Ali Wong (Libby) - she’s a successful comedian for a reason.
Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco (Libby)
Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (Libby)
Memoirs I Would Like to Read:
Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS - I have been listening to BTS since college so I was really excited to learn about this one. I bought a copy for my own personal library.
Fieldwork by Iliana Regan
Stalking Shakespeare by Lee Durke - I’m on hold for this one on Libby, so it shouldn't be too much longer.
Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee - I’m also on hold for this one on Libby.
While Time Remains: a North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America by Yeonmi Park
A memoir based on the author's one-woman show describes growing up with celebrity parents, her early success in "Star Wars," battle with addiction and mental illness, turbulent romances, role as a single mother, and struggle for recovery and healing.
Carrie Fisher is funny, honest, and she is rooting for all of us. I like to listen to my memoirs on audiobook and the library has this one on CD. Its also really fun because she narrates the memoir. Fisher has a very human outlook on life both what the future holds and how she perceives the mistakes of her past. It isn't particularly long, so if you are looking for a memoir to get your feet wet with that also has a bit of nostalgia attached - then I highly recommend Fisher's memoirs.
In her early thirties, [the author] had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want - husband, country home, successful career - but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This ... is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Presents the memoir of a magazine writer's yearlong travels across the world in search of pleasure, guidance, experience, and meaning.
This was probably the first memoir I ever read years ago. I watched the movie first, starring Julia Roberts, with my mom and absolutely fell in love. I had to get my hands on the book. I love the book, and I have read it multiple times. I keep a highlighted version in my home library.
"From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen".
It's Stanley Tucci. Do I need to say more? Here are a few words just in case I do: he is an interesting guy and his voice is incredibly soothing. As you might have guessed, I read this one via audiobook on the Libby app and yes he reads it himself. This one is probably about medium length - just coming in under 7 hours - but it goes really fast. Also, did you know Tucci had tongue cancer? I didn't.
"A deeply candid and refreshingly spirited memoir of identity lost and found-from the star of the iconic film Dirty Dancing"--
This one wasn't my favorite of the bunch. If you can't tell by now, most of the memoirs I like to read/listen to are about movie stars from movies and tv shows that have impacted my life. I grew up watching "Dirty Dancing" and have a deep appreciation for both Grey and Patrick Swayze. Unfortunately for Grey, Swayze takes first place and if I could listen to him narrate his own memoir I would. Regardless, I had really high hopes for this one and though I found her voice to be nice and the content interesting to a point...as a whole I was just unimpressed? Could be one of those things where they tell you "never meet your idol"...sometimes you shouldn't read their memoirs either. Overall, I don't regret reading this one. It was interesting enough and I learned a lot.
In 1976, Carrie Fisher was a teenager filming a movie, with an all-consuming crush on her costar. And it just happened to become one of the most famous films of all time-- the first Star wars movie. When she recently discovered the journals she had kept, she found them full of plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. In revisiting her diaries, Fisher ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity as well as the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty whose lofty status has ultimately been surpassed by her own outer-space royalty.
It's Carrie Fisher so of course I read two. I find her incredibly relatable (as relatable as a movie star from the 70s can be) and also really hilarious. I was looking for something short to listen to while on the way to and from a dress fitting. Since I had just finished Wishful Drinking, I figured I would just keep going with Fisher. It was just long enough to last the trip and was a really good listen.
From the magical moments on set as Draco Malfoy to the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, get a backstage pass into Tom Felton's life on and off the big screen. Tom Felton's adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like The Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies. For the next ten years, he was at the center of a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet, in between filming, he would go back to being a normal teenager trying to fit into a normal school. Speaking with great candor and his signature humor, Tom shares his experience growing up as part of the wizarding world while also trying to navigate the muggle world.
So sorry everyone, but here it is again. I know I list this one as frequently as I can, but for memoir day it was a must. This is probably one of my favorite memoirs. It is also about a movie star and it is also read by the person it is by and about - Tom Felton. I loved Draco Malfoy as a character, but more importantly I loved how Felton portrayed him as a character. Beyond the Wand gives an inside look at what it was like for one of the child actors of one of the biggest movie productions of all time, and how that affected him both then, after Harry Potter, and now. Ten stars out of ten stars. I can't stop recommending it...though I should be getting close to the max amount of times I can recommend an item.