Summer Reading 2021 | Madam Memoir

Summer reading hit hard this year as I chomped my way through a tall stack of books. All told, I walked away confirming my preferred genre: the memoir. AKA nonfiction that reads like fiction :) The short of it is, I like reading about other people's lives. The topics and experiences covered in these books were so vastly different from my own, yet somehow written with warmth and honesty that made them relatable. Collectively, these were life-affirming and emapthy-building. I learned things and my gratitude soared. 

Here are my top memoir picks from the season:

Waiting with Gabriel

The most heart-wrenching and tender of all, this is an important and powerful book. 

The Sun Does Shine

Eye-opening and astonishing. A must read for anyone interested in the U.S. judicial system.

Side note: I'm excited to listen to this interview.  

Stranger Care

A deep dive into one family's experience with foster care. Both poetic and infuriating. 

Wait Till Next Year

The most "feel-good" on the list. But one that still touches on illness, race, and class. 

Orange is the New Black

Schocked to learn the Netflix show was based on a book, and a memoir at that!
Appalling and uplifting. 

I also read Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, Kelly Corrigan's full canon (The Middle Place, Lift, Glitter and Glue, Tell me More), and I'm Still Here. 

Honorable Mention: Born a Crime (loved this one, finished it earlier this year, so technically not a summer read)

Also Honorable Mention: Olive Kitteridge. This was my favorite fiction read of the summer :) In a similar vein, it made me think about connection, the varied breadth of people's experiences, relationships, and the human spirit. 

Memoirs I've been eyeing: Broken Horses and Somebody's Daughter and Crossing the River: Seven Stories that Changed my Life

Perspective is helpful,

- SJW