10 memoirs you'll want to read from Ashley C. Ford, Roxane Gay, Javier Zamora and more

Laura Trujillo, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read

I will never be a neurosurgeon fighting stage IV lung cancer or a 9-year-old boy from El Salvador walking alone to the United States. But through memoirs, I can step out of my own world and better understand others' lives.

One of the most beautiful things is to read a stranger's memoir. You have no preconceived notion of their life – as you do reading a celeb memoir – and just get to drop in, immerse yourself and learn. The best memoirs often have a universal theme of hope, resilience or something you take away beyond simply a great story. You find connections with people where you saw none. And with luck – and some work – you will take these stories and better understand your community and world.

Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Here are 10 memoirs from the past few years from people you likely don’t know, but will be glad you met. (In alphabetical order.)

'In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss'

“In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss,” by Amy Bloom.
“In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss,” by Amy Bloom.

By Amy Bloom (Random House, 2022)

Bloom finds a way to write about illness and suicide and make it a love story. In this dark yet funny memoir, Bloom writes about her husband's diagnosis of early Alzheimer's and his death at 66. Bloom, a psychotherapist (who better to write this?) weaves the history of assisted suicide into a very human and lovely book about dying that feels like it is about life.

"In Love" at Amazon for $11.99

"In Love" at Bookshop for $16.74

'In Love' review: A devastating memoir of a wife helping her husband die by suicide

'The Yellow House'

Writer-director Dee Rees, left, and writer Sarah M. Broom attend the 2018 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony.
Writer-director Dee Rees, left, and writer Sarah M. Broom attend the 2018 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony.

Sarah M. Broom (Grove, 2019)

Broom brings you to New Orleans and tells her story and that of her family through a 100-year-old house. The book, a 2019 National Book Award winner, is so much more than a memoir, but a family history and urban history, and a story of place, class and inequality.

"The Yellow House: A Memoir" at Amazon for $9.99

"The Yellow House: A Memoir" at Bookshop for $15.81

'Somebody's Daughter'

Author Ashley C. Ford.
Author Ashley C. Ford.

By Ashley C. Ford (Flatiron, 2021)

This book is so beautiful, I both read it and listened to the audiobook. Ford takes us into her world growing up Black in Indiana with a father who is in prison and a mother who struggles to show love, and shows the complexities of growing up and accepting your family for who they are. Ford writes about difficult topics in a matter-of-fact way at times, and introspective at others, and by the end, you are not only rooting for her, but also want to be her best friend.

"Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir" at Amazon for $14.61

"Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir" at Bookshop for $16.73

'Autobiography of a Face'

By Lucy Grealy (Harper Collins, 1994)

Cancer took a third of Grealy's jaw when she was nine. The illness and the subsequent surgeries left her both wanting to be accepted as she was, and also wanting to be perfect. Grealy writes without sentimentality and finds a way to fill the book with joy.

"Autobiography of a Face" at Amazon for $8.79

"Autobiography of a Face" at Bookshop for $14.87

'Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body'

Roxane Gay speaks onstage during the Hammer Museum's 17th Annual Gala In The Garden on October 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Roxane Gay speaks onstage during the Hammer Museum's 17th Annual Gala In The Garden on October 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

By Roxane Gay (Harper, 2017)

Gay might be one of the best voices of our generation, yet many people still are discovering her work. “Hunger" is a gorgeous memoir that tells not just the story of being overweight in a time when thinness feels valued, but in taking care of and loving herself.

"Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body" at Amazon for $12.99

"Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body" at Bookshop for $15.80

'Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted'

“Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted,” by Suleika Jaouad.
“Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted,” by Suleika Jaouad.

By Suleika Jaouad (Random House, 2021)

Jaouad writes about her cancer diagnosis and several-year struggle for health without self-pity, with vulnerability and candor. But it is her story of how she learns to live again that has you underlining passages such as: "To be well now is to learn to accept whatever body and mind I currently have." It is a story about living a life you didn't plan to live.

"Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted" at Amazon for $16.20

"Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted" at Bookshop for $16.74

'When Breath Becomes Air'

By Paul Kalanithi (Random House, 2016)

The Stanford neurosurgeon began writing his memoir when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer to answer the question: What makes life worth living? His elegant writing and thoughtful observations as a patient and a new father stay with you for years after reading it.

"When Breath Becomes Air" at Amazon for $18.20

"When Breath Becomes Air" at Bookshop for $24.18

'Heavy: An American Memoir'

Kiese Laymon (Scribner, 2018)

You might know Laymon for his thoughtful essays; now you'll want to get to know more about the childhood and life that shaped this brilliant writer. “Heavy” is both beautiful and heartbreaking – but also gives you room to take a breath and laugh as Laymon shares truths that shaped the man he is.

"Heavy: An American Memoir" at Amazon for $9.99

"Heavy: An American Memoir" at Bookshop for $14.88

'Men We Reaped'

By Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury, 2013)

Ward brings us to rural Mississippi and the sorrow in the loss of five men. In telling their stories – of substance disorders and family dissolution – she found her own. Ward, the only member of her family who left and went to college, writes about the grip of the familiar, capturing the sadness in a lyrical and lovely way.

"Men We Reaped: A Memoir" at Amazon for $12.99

"Men We Reaped: A Memoir" at Bookshop for $15.81

'Solito'

By Javier Zamora (Hogarth, 2022)

Javier Zamora is a poet – and if you didn't know that before starting this book, you quickly learn. Zamora tells the story of migrating alone as a 9-year-old boy from El Salvador to the U.S. to meet up with his parents. The migration story is one many of us feel we know, but you don't until you read it from Zamora and feel the fear, hope and love.

"Solito: A Memoir" at Amazon for $13.99

"Solito: A Memoir at Bookshop for $16.74

Laura Trujillo is the managing editor for USA TODAY’s Life & Entertainment team, and the author of “Stepping Back from the Ledge” a book about her mother's suicide and her search for the truth – and hope. (Penguin Random House, 2022.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Memoirs from Javier Zamora, Roxane Gay, Ashley Ford and more

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