Hello, nonfiction fans! Is there anything better than a good memoir? There’s something powerful about someone telling their own story and sharing it with the world. Earlier this year, I read Mary Karr’s incredible book The Art of Memoir, where she breaks down the format and explains how each part works. Yes, of course, I’m a super nerd! But aren’t lovers of nonfiction supposed to be?!
Bookish Goods
Woodland Mushrooms Bookmark by Mirkwood Scribes
Nature lovers will adore these bookmarks featuring mushrooms, birds, and various plant life. They are so gorgeous! $5+
New Releases
My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration From the Front Lines by Efrén C. Olivares
In 2018, lawyer Efrén C. Olivares found himself representing dozens of immigrant families forcibly separated at the Mexico-U.S. border. Over two decades earlier, Olivares had been separated from his own father at the same border. In his memoir, Olivares shares his family’s story and the stories of the families he met as a human rights lawyer.
Deer Creek Drive: A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta by Beverly Lowry
In 1948, Idella Thompson was murdered. Her daughter, Ruth Dickins, claimed that a Black man was to blame, but with little evidence to support her claim, she was charged and sentenced to life in prison for her mother’s murder. But the Southern white community was in an uproar, believing her to be innocent, Ruth Dickins was released after serving only six years of her sentence. Now author Beverly Lowry revisits this moment in her community’s history, an event that framed much of her childhood.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Original Sins: A Memoir by Matt Rowland Hill
Matt Rowland Hill grew up in a working class Welsh family constantly on the move as his father, a pastor, moved from congregation to congregation. While Hill felt deeply devout as a child, he began to doubt his parents’ faith when he grew older. As his identity as a Christian unraveled, Hill fell further and further into his addiction.
Hill discusses his struggle to stay clean and make it through recovery programs, but to do that, he has to confront the religious and family trauma that drew him to drugs in the first place. He doesn’t shy away from the horrible things he’s done for drugs or the reality that his memoir can’t have a happy ending. Living in recovery always means that a relapse could be just around the corner. All he can do is hope.
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
As a huge fan of Viola Davis, I started her memoir as soon as it hit my audiobook app. Davis described her childhood growing up as an economically disadvantaged girl in Rhode Island. Boys bullied her on her way home from school, rats ate the faces off her dolls, and her parents constantly argued.
After a tumultuous upbringing, she found escape in performance, and became determined to make it as an actress. Knowing about her career now, it was lovely to learn more about her work in younger years and the different people who helped her out along the way. Plus, Davis performs the audiobook edition, so Finding Me is perfect for audiobook lovers too.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra