Category: True Story

In this essay collection, Kai Cheng Thom writes letters to people in her life. Whether it’s to ex-boyfriends or fellow trans women, Thom writes each letter with care. In one letter, she writes to J.K. Rowling, asking Rowling to show compassion. In one letter addressed to those who have hurt her, she repeats the phrase, “I forgive you” over and over again. On the audiobook, Thom performs each “I forgive you” differently, adding layers of meaning to ideas of forgiveness when you’ve experienced harm. At the end of each letter, Thom gives readers an action item, inspiring her readers to explore how they view their relationship with those around them.

Sometimes the very concept of a book catches my eye and I have to read it ASAP. That’s what happened with Wolfish, a book where Erica Berry delves into societal ideas around wolves. What do wolves symbolize to human civilization? How has that perception impacted society today? These are just a couple of the big questions that Berry examines. Lessa Lamb (yes, her real name) deftly performs the audio edition, making the listening experience fly by, even in sections that I imagine might be a little dry to read in print. I loved every second of Lamb’s performance.

I remember that I read Persepolis for one of my very first Women in Translation Month celebrations. This graphic memoir follows Marjane Satrapi through the Iranian Revolution and her flight to France. She goes to school in Paris for a few years, but eventually, she returns home to Iran and finds it completely changed. Satrapi’s illustrations capture your attention from the first page, and her memoir is a testament to her love of Persian culture and the grief she experienced as she no longer can live in her home country.

I loved Jhumpa Lahiri’s work in English. The way she writes her characters and delves into their relationships with each other is astounding. But when I read that she was writing essays in Italian and having someone else translate them back into English, I could not get my hands on that book fast enough. In Other Words is her story of learning Italian, living in Italy, and engaging in a whole new literary community there. In my edition, the Italian and English versions sit side by side on the page. I love how this format invites readers to engage with her writing in both languages.

I love Diana Wynne Jones’s writing. She has such an incredible way of making complex novels for kids look so easy. Whether it’s a walking house on chicken legs or kids with nine lives, she has an incredible eye for detail and a beautiful way of creating characters and their bonkers stories. Jones’ essays are a great pause in the world to take a moment and think about the art of writing and what that means for her.

Matthew Salesses wants readers to rethink the way that we teach writing. Everything from MFAs to writing workshops were all created with white men in mind. In Craft in the Real World, Salesses reimagines the fiction workshop to take Black, Indigenous, and people of color’s experiences into account. A more inclusive way of teaching writing fosters an environment that is a more inclusive creative environment.

This book is one of my favorite memoirs of 2023. In these short, lyrical chapters, Smith describes the breakdown of her marriage, the little things that all added up to their separation and divorce. She has a poet’s eye for prose. She creates these gorgeous images, describing her house in such rich and lovely ways. The memoir is structured into short chapters, each a different piece of the whole. Together, they create a snapshot of her life, a glimpse into Maggie Smith’s world. At the same time, Smith stays with the reader, explaining why she won’t describe certain parts of her story or telling the reader where there are gaps in her memory. It’s a stunning book, and devastatingly hopeful.

This is one of the most celebrated memoirs of 2022. It follows Hsu through his college years as he makes friends with Ken, another college student. Besides the fact that they’re both Asian American, Hsu doesn’t seem to have anything in common with Ken. Still, they become great friends. But when Ken is killed in a carjacking, Hsu’s world seems to have turned upside down. The memoir is beautifully written, every page perfectly crafted. It’s easy to see how this book has won over so many judging panels.

Similar to the U.S. and Canada, Australia has a violent history of colonization and destruction of Indigenous communities. Dr. Anita Heiss has done a masterful job of editing this collection of writing by Indigenous peoples. There are pieces by people who lived through the separation of their families by the Australian government. There are pieces by people who didn’t realize that they were Indigenous until later in life and are on the journey of reconnecting with their Native Nation. Together, the essays tell the story of the unique histories and present day lived experiences of Indigenous peoples across the continent.

Every country has a different healthcare system, which means that disabled people’s experiences vary widely. Disability rights advocate Carly Findlay has brought together disabled, chronically ill, Deaf and neurodivergent authors from diverse backgrounds and experiences. There are athletes, authors, and actors. Some of the contributors have been disabled from birth while others became disabled later in life. Growing Up in Australia is one of the best disability anthologies that I’ve ever read, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Save Me the Plums was my first book by former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl. She’s so well known for her food-related memoirs; I’m kind of shocked that I had never read her work before, but I think Save Me the Plums was a great place to start. In this memoir, Reichl writes about her experience becoming the last editor-in-chief of one of America’s oldest food magazines. I love getting a behind-the-scenes look into how magazines are made. It’s a fascinating world of taste-making, photo shoots, and epic magazine covers. I flew through this book in one day. It’s just that fun to read.

In Twitty’s first book, he takes a few different DNA tests and takes us around the world as he researches the different countries and cultures — and their food — that make up his heritage. I loved learning about Twitty’s process, his love for learning, and his passion for all things cuisine. He shares his experiences traveling, tasting new food, and all the cooking he does in the process. This is every food nerd’s dream book as Twitty connects how food directly connects us to our cultures.

When someone asks me, “Disability Pride? What’s that?” I always recommend this book. Emily Ladau provides a wonderful introduction to disability terms, history, and the current disability justice movement. There are lovely illustrations and lists of other books for further reading. Ladau strikes a beautiful balance with her tone. She lays out the facts, but also understands that the people coming to this book genuinely want to learn. She takes such a kind way of introducing nondisabled people to disability studies without shying away from the difficult reality of living in an ableist society.

Piepzna-Samarasinha delves into ideas about Disability Justice, an idea founded on mutual aid and looking at disability from an intersectional perspective. Each essay looks at a different topic presented in a way that highlights Piepzna-Samarasinha’s personal experiences. We see them working in San Francisco as a member of different disability collectives. They describe going on tour with another disability justice activist. We also get an intimate look into Piepzna-Samarasinha’s daily struggles as a disabled person. It’s such a beautiful book. I highlighted SO much of the book that my copy looks like a rainbow exploded across its pages. There are so many lines that I’ve returned to for reassurance, reminding myself that even though I may be physically isolated, I’m not alone.

When Eddie Ndopu learns that he’s just received a full ride to Oxford, he feels elated. Finally, all of his work advocating for disabled people around the world has paid off. But when he contacts the university about covering his accommodations for his disability, they refuse to cover the cost of his caregiver. Ndopu describes the never-ending logistics and financial emergencies he experiences attending Oxford as someone with spinal muscular atrophy. Despite Oxford being one of the richest and oldest universities in the world, they still claimed, over and over again, not to be able to afford his care. Ndopu nevertheless pushes through, fighting not just for himself but for all disabled people who asked for equitable accommodations.

Australian author Cory Taylor is told that there is nothing the doctors can do. She is going to die. After two years of battling cancer, she expected this, but she still finds herself emotionally reeling from the news. Dying is her last testament, her thoughts, feelings, and experiences of going about the business of dying. Taylor finds herself often wandering through her memories of her childhood, thinking of all of the decisions that led to her current life. What would have happened if she made a different decision? Would she still be dying from a fatal illness? A beautiful ode to life and living, Dying is a memoir readers won’t soon forget.

Several years ago, I read Jenny Lawson’s first book Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. It’s a hilarious book about Lawson’s life in Texas. She describes her father’s love of taxidermy and the first — quite eventful — time that her husband met her parents. Her stories are full of the fun and weird things that can happen to us all. Lawson experiences both mental and physical chronic illness. Her work highlights how one can impact the other. And if you are an audiobook fan, she reads her memoir. With her excellent comedic timing, the audiobook of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is perfection.

Born long before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, Alice Wong has watched the world change before her eyes. Now in her memoir, she describes trying to find her own accommodations throughout her life, especially at college, which wasn’t prepared for a student like her who needed a number of different kinds of accommodations. Wong includes photos, transcripts, and articles from throughout her life, giving readers a multimedia sort of memoir. Wong’s stories have been so impactful for so many of us, and it was an honor to read her memoir (or listen to it, in my case).

Cece Bell writes her memoir in the form of a graphic novel for kids. In it, she illustrates herself and the people around her as bunnies — so cute! Bell tells the story of her younger self, and we see Cece contract an illness in childhood, which causes her to lose most of her hearing. The story follows Cece through elementary and middle school as she makes friends and adapts to the various new technologies that help her hear teachers and the other people around her. I’m always looking for more books about disability for kids, so I adored this book. It’s such a great way to introduce children to what it’s like to grow up Deaf. The ensemble provides a chorus of voices for Cece and the other people in her life. And creative editing helps listeners follow along with the story.

There’s a certain magic that happens when you listen to a poet perform their own work. Deaf British Jamaican poet Raymond Antrobus narrates his poetry collection, adding brief introductions to some of the poems that describe his use of illustrations of British Sign Language (BSL) in his poetry. Much of Antrobus’ poetry centers around his Deaf and biracial identity, and listeners can hear the emotion hanging on every word. With Antrobus’ attention to detail and moving performance, The Perseverance is a powerful Deaf poetry collection that is equally as impactful on audio.