The 25+ best memoirs to make you laugh, cry, and think

Celebrated for her roles in film (The Help), television (How to Get Away with Murder), and theater (Fences), Viola Davis achieved the coveted EGOT status with a Grammy win for her performance of her memoir, which also won the 2023 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year. In Finding Me, she tells her story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. With courage and honesty, Davis reveals how acting gave her hope and a path toward self-discovery in the midst of poverty, abuse, and racism. This listen will inspire anyone struggling to overcome trauma, injustice, or restrictive labels to reclaim the power of their own creative expression and rediscover who they truly are.

After years of speculation and rumours, Britney Spears finally takes back her power and tells her own story, in her own words. Written with remarkable candor and humour, The Woman in Me sets the record straight about everything from her days of early fame to life under conservatorship control, and all the ups and downs in between. The emotion in Britney’s voice is palpable as she reads the introduction herself, telling listeners that writing her story has been so "exciting and heart-wrenching" that she decided against narrating the entire work. Instead, Spears turns over the mic to award-winning performer Michelle Williams, who makes her audiobook debut and brings her incredible acting chops to the challenge of depicting one of America’s most famous women. Her narration is clear and calming, bringing a sense of serenity to Spears's incredible story.

Some of the most memorable memoirs have a truly unique story to tell, and Born a Crime, written and performed by Trevor Noah, former host of The Daily Show, certainly belongs in that category. In his intimate autobiographical audiobook, Noah showcases his trademark sense of humour while talking about his life as the child of a white father and a Black mother born under apartheid in South Africa. Throughout his narration, Noah does a variety of impressions, switching between English, Xhosa, and Zulu accents without missing a beat, to illustrate the vibrant cast of his life. It’s no wonder the comedian won the Audie Award for Best Male Narrator for this performance.

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls’s true story of her upbringing as the child of a nomadic American family led by mentally ill, dysfunctional, and childishly irresponsible parents. In this deeply personal author-narrated listen, Walls illustrates her early life spent wandering across the country, forced to care for herself and her siblings while her father swung violently between moods and her mother consistently chose her art above her own children. While sharing her triumph over adversity, Walls maintains a sense of compassion and love for the family members responsible for her struggle. This is a heart-wrenching story, but one that leaves the listener with a radical sense of empathy.

When Michelle Obama became the First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she captivated the world with her grace, style, charisma, and fervor for helping others, while simultaneously raising two teenage daughters and supporting her husband, the President. Offering access that no other individual can, Obama’s autobiography delves deeply into the author’s personal history while also reveling in the lighter aspects of her station (like pitching vegetables to kids alongside the cast of Sesame Street). Alternating between introspective and lighthearted, hilarious and serious, Becoming is a rich personal profile and an empowering listen all in one—told in Obama’s singular, inimitable warm voice and style.

Authors and practicing writers know exactly how hard it is to start, stick with, and finish a novel. The fact that master of horror Stephen King has written nearly 100—many of which have become instant bestsellers—should be enough to make you wonder how he does it and what goes into his process. In this author-narrated memoir, King talks about his life and his craft, sharing his personal experiences along with tips for aspiring wordsmiths, insights into the mechanics of language, and more. Even if you’re not a writer, King’s advice on art, creativity, and productivity offer valuable lessons. And the chance to hear one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century talk about his work in his own words is a rare opportunity.

It takes a massive amount of intellect, dedication, and even luck to get into Cambridge University, even for the average individual. For Tara Westover to have gained admission despite stepping into her first classroom at the age of 17 is nothing short of phenomenal. Educated is Westover’s story, originating in the backwoods of Idaho where her Mormon survivalist father denied his family education, social interaction, and even medical attention. In teaming up with Audie Award-winning narrator Julia Whelan, Westover does an incredible job of explaining how she overcame these and other formidable setbacks, without rejecting the family responsible for them. In fact, she celebrates her family background, deftly illustrating how extremism is something we are all susceptible to, regardless of intelligence.

Though a relatively short listen at just over three and a half hours, Between the World and Me is unforgettable and intensely visceral. In this memoir, Ta-Nehisi Coates, one of the century’s greatest writers and thinkers, shares firsthand the trials and truths of the racism and violence prevalent in American culture. In the form of a letter to his teenage son, Coates explores his life in the United States as a Black man and what he has learned about reconciling his existence as an American citizen with his identity as African American. Made even more touching by the author’s narration, this moving and intimate listen contains hard, insightful, important truths about race in the United States, all told with the urgency of a man communicating essential realities to his son.

As Phil Knight’s story attests, the path to building an internationally renowned business is far from linear. The founder of Nike started his empire with neither massive capital nor a star-studded board of directors—instead, he took a $50 loan from his father and began selling sneakers from his car. But this is not the cut-and-dried rags-to-riches story of one man’s meteoric rise to success. Unlike so many business biographies that paint their subjects as demigods, Shoe Dog is a grounded portrayal of the realities of entrepreneurship that brings the listener through the failures, missteps, and heartache involved in starting your own business. It’s all brought to life by the performance of Norman Leo Butz, whom one listener called "one of the best narrators I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to."

As any fan will tell you, Bruce Springsteen is as much a storyteller as he is a musician. His songs have always bridged the gap between prosaic and poetic. The rock legend is known for putting his own stories—as well as those of his family, his friends, and characters from his imagination—to music in a magical combination that feels raw and personal while also selling out arenas. In Born to Run, Springsteen leans into the intimacy of his lyrics, alternating between fleshing out his songs’ backstories and sharing memories of his own humble upbringing in a small New Jersey town that serves as the setting for many of his biggest hits. Far from a celebrity tell-all, Springsteen’s memoir is down-to-earth, filled with spirituality and symbolism, tapping into the sense of raw humanity that inspired the working-class anthems for which he’s best known. A Grammy nominee and an Audie winner for Best Autobiography/Memoir, Born to Run captures the quintessential American experience.

Barbra Streisand is a living legend. Excelling in every area of entertainment over a career spanning six decades, she is among the handful of EGOT winners and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. In My Name Is Barbra, the superstar of stage, screen, and song tells her own story, from growing up in Brooklyn and her early struggles to become an actress, from her breakout in Funny Girl to a long string of successes in every medium. This epic memoir, clocking in at just over 48 hours, is filled with famous names, from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright, memorable anecdotes, industry insights, and riveting detours into her political advocacy and the fulfilment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin. And it's all performed by Barbra herself, with delightful chattiness, outspoken candor, humour, and heart.

It’s virtually impossible to choose just one of Roxane Gay’s writings to recommend over the others. Despite this, there’s something about the vulnerable, intimate nature of Hunger that makes the author’s narration of the audiobook stand out among the rest. In it, the professor and New York Times bestselling author turns her gaze inward to ruminate on being fat in a fat-phobic world. Gay’s perspective is radical in her engagement with the causes, results, and implications of her weight. She talks about being a rape survivor, overeating as a coping mechanism, the difference between compulsive self-soothing and constructive self-care, and dealing with that inner turmoil while living in a world that fundamentally rejects people of her size. Whether or not you identify with Gay’s experience, Hunger offers meaningful insight into the relationship between our bodies and our society that is sure to help you empathize with others struggling with the legacy of shame, and be kinder to yourself.

The remarkable story of Malala Yousafzai has been heard all around the world. In I Am Malala, listeners can hear it for the first time in her own words, narrated by the inimitable Archie Panjabi (known to television fans as Blindspot’s Nas Kamal and The Good Wife’s Kalinda Sharma). Most accounts of Malala’s life center on her survival after being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman when she was just 15. But in her autobiography, Yousafzai explains that much had gone on to bring her to that moment—she had already garnered the Taliban’s outrage and had already decided she would speak out regardless. She was remarkable long before the day she was shot—it’s the reason she was attacked. Richly illustrated with colorful characterizations of Malala’s life both as a child and as an internationally known activist, this is a shining gem of a memoir.

The title of actress and advocate Gabrielle Union’s autobiography is a forewarning that many women are familiar with—one that comes right before a conversation turns deep. If we’re going to get into this, we’re going to need more wine. It’s with that same confessional tone that Union candidly shares her perspective with listeners in this audiobook, making it feel like she’s sitting across the table, glass in hand, as she talks about what her life has taught her about power, race, gender, feminism, celebrity, trauma, and more. Through it all, Union has remained steadfast in maintaining her sense of humor, which is powerfully evident in how she both writes and speaks about heartbreaking experiences with optimism and hope. Though her experiences are rooted in her identity as a woman, we recommend this to listeners regardless of gender—Union’s contagious personality and powerful wisdom are a surefire hit across the board.

Since its publication in 2006, Eat Pray Love has become a global sensation. But despite the fact that Elizabeth Gilbert’s debut is now cemented solidly in the zeitgeist, it still rises to the top of the pack as one of the most worthwhile biographical works in the genre. The audiobook, narrated by the author herself, takes the listener on Gilbert’s journey of self-discovery following a succession of earth-shattering life changes that included a divorce and crushing depression. Choosing to take a radical step back from her life at home, Gilbert travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia on a quest to reconnect with her true self, writing about what she learns in the process. Gilbert’s gentle, friendly demeanor welcomes the listener into her journey and all of the hopes, fears, and failures she encountered throughout.

Frank McCourt’s autobiography is a classic for a reason, but his heart-wrenchingly account of the traumas of immigration remains relevant as border disputes persist around the world. Offering radical compassion for his dysfunctional family, McCourt recounts the nightmarish elements of his upbringing with kindness and love. Though born in Brooklyn, McCourt was raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland, by an alcoholic father and a clinically depressed mother haunted by the early deaths of several of her children. His story follows his own personal development plagued by inherited anger, sadness, and confusion, striving to overcome his history and become someone he could be proud of. Angela's Ashes is a story everyone should hear, and a listen that is even more haunting told in McCourt’s own voice.

Alan Cumming had packed away the painful memories of his childhood and moved on to gain acclaim as an actor. When TV producers approached him to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show in 2010, he enthusiastically agreed, hoping to solve the mystery of his maternal grandfather's disappearance when his mother was just a girl. But this was not the only mystery laid before Alan's feet. Just before filming for the show began, his father, Alex Cumming—a man who had meted out violence with frightening ease, whom Alan had not seen or spoken to for more than a decade—reached out with a shocking secret to share. In his cleverly framed and utterly brilliant memoir, Alan Cumming tells the story of how he came to embrace the best aspects of the past and push the darkness aside. Not My Father's Son is an inspiring, Audie Award-winning listen, performed to perfection with Alan's distinctive humour and Scottish accent.

Published in 1995, Mary Karr’s revealing account of her upbringing in small-town Texas in the early 1960s genuinely took the literary world by storm and arguably kicked off a widespread revival of the memoir as an art form. The Liar's Club remains as influential as ever—it claimed the #4 spot on The New York Times's list of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years in 2019—and you don’t need to listen long to understand why. Karr’s stories of her chaotic, sometimes violent childhood could chill a listener to the bone. But told in her own voice and with her wickedly dark sense of humor, they become captivating demonstrations of how a person can reclaim their traumas to turn their past into their power.

The world remembers the tragic death of Princess Diana, and the image of the 12-year-old boy walking behind his mother's coffin with his older brother. Back then, he was Prince Harry, the carefee, spirited redhead. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school. He struggled with anger and loneliness. As a young man, he struggled to find peace and true love. Then he met Meghan. After their whirlwind romance and fairy-tale wedding, he faced fresh struggles—with his life in the spotlight, with lies and racism, and with his family. In Spare, Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex tells his deeply personal story of unspeakable loss, devastating betrayal, an agonizing choice, hard-won wisdom, and the healing power of love.

More than two decades on, the late Anthony Bourdain’s tell-all remains the chef memoir to beat. In his inimitable voice and with his signature "take-no-prisoners" attitude, Bourdain takes listeners behind the kitchen door along his journey of culinary awakening and adventures, from his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown, from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center to encounters with drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again. At turns hilarious, mouthwatering, and shocking, Kitchen Confidential is a listen that's hard to resist.

To fans of Nickelodeon's iCarly, she was Sam, the tough, wise-cracking sidekick with a voracious appetite. Off camera, the real Jennette McCurdy was a girl desperate to please her overbearing mother and riddled with anxiety and shame, which fueled her eating disorders. In I'm Glad My Mom Died, McCurdy opens up about a childhood dominated by a mother who pushed her into acting to fulfill her own dream, put her on a strict "calorie restriction” regime, and refused to let her shower alone until age 16 while demanding access to her diaries, email, and all her income. Oh, and then her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In her own voice, with refreshing honesty and dark humour, McCurdy shares how she struggled with grief and guilt, quit acting, committed to recovery, and experienced the thrill of independence and washing her own hair.

Those who recognize Jonathan Van Ness from the Netflix sensation Queer Eye know him to be a relentlessly cheerful source of positivity and warmth in the most vulnerable of situations. In his debut memoir, Van Ness pulls back the curtain on the painful, complicated, and often traumatic personal history that shaped him into a beacon of optimism. Since the author narrates, Over the Top is naturally full of the charisma and verve with which Van Ness has become synonymous—making it even more impactful to hear him open up about the difficulty of growing up gay in a small Midwestern town where his personality was met with derision and shame. What’s more, it makes the author doubly rewarding to root for as he talks about how he overcame it all to rise to the star status he enjoys today. Over the Top will leave you feeling empowered to show more radical, enthusiastic love both to yourself and the world.