memoir
Bowie Buddie Dana Gillespie Ain’t No Man
The London-based singer-songwriter Dana Gillespie, whose memoir is just out, tells PopMatters about her convivial, free-spirited youth, her adventures with Bowie, Dylan, and Princess Margaret, and the spiritual path that changed her life.
‘Odd Woman Out’ Is a Comedy Sketch-Like Memoir About What’s-Her-Name
We can never have too many Jewish Atheists from Brooklyn publishing essays about life as they see it. Actress Melanie Chartoff's 'Odd Woman Out' has me wanting more.
Truths Overlap in Jenny Erpenbeck’s Memoir of German Reunification, ‘Not a Novel’
Living under the repressive East German regime taught its citizens to distrust their government and read through the lines of its proclamations to glean the reality of a situation, Jenny Erpenbeck explains in Not a Novel.
Megan Rapinoe’s ‘One Life’ Is Pitch-Perfect
In Megan Rapinoe's memoir One Life, her training, hard work, and competitive spirit are coupled with an impassioned account of her political awakening.
Memoir ‘Kiss Myself Goodbye’ Dims the Brightest Subject
Ferdinand Mount's gripping family memoir, Kiss Myself Goodbye, paints a calamitous picture of one of its supporting characters, Georgie. But I knew her closely for over 40 years. She not only transcended tragedy but helped me do the same.
‘I Just Wanted to Save My Family’, or, How European Institutions Profit from the Refugee Crisis
It's not just gun-toting crooks who abuse refugees, we learn from memoir I Just Wanted to Save My Family, it's also politicians and legal officers filling their personal and national coffers with fines and extortion who profit from criminal human trafficking.
‘Run-Out Groove’ Shows the Dark Side of Capitol Records
Music promoter Dave Morrell's memoir, Run Out Groove, recalls the underbelly of the mainstream music industry.
Unorthodox Storytelling
Deborah Feldman's memoir, Unorthodox, is more than a depiction, or even indictment, of the Satmar. It's an indictment of any patriarchal social system that shrinks young women's dreams to the size of a kitchen, and then blames them for it.
Flight and Return: Kendra Atleework’s Memoir, ‘Miracle Country’
Although inconsistent as a memoir, Miracle Country is a breathtaking environmental history. Atleework is a shrewd observer and her writing is a gratifying contribution to the desert-literature genre.
Memoir ‘Rust’ Wrestles with the Myth of the American Dream
Eliese Colette Goldbach's memoir, Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit, is the story of one descending into the depths of The American Dream and emerging with flecks of graphite dust on her cheeks, a master's degree in her hands, and a few new friends.
Phuc Tran’s Existential Trip of a Memoir, ‘Sigh, Gone’
Phuc Tran's smart, tough memoir, Sigh, Gone, might launch a broken down kid to read 150 great books—for free, at the local library.