by Tyler Williams, Logan Library Work-Study Student
Since the beginning of time, people have loved to hear the narratives and experiences of others. Memoirs make it possible for many to share in these stories.
As writer Abigail McCarthy says, "Every memoir reminds us of the faraway and long ago, of loss and change, of persons and places beyond recall."
Collected here are a cluster of inspirational experiences from far and wide, spanning the passage of time, inspiring those who read these stories.
Educated by Tara Westover
An inspiring true story from the daughter of a survivalist Mormon family as she discovers the importance of education at the age of seventeen. Taking hold of her own future after seeing her older brother’s college experience, Westover recounts her own journey of attending two Ivy League universities as well as reclaiming a life she never knew existed. Westover emphasizes the importance of an education that helped her expand her world in a way she never could have imagined.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
In 2012, at the age of fifteen, the girl who would become internationally known as Malala was almost fatally executed by the Taliban. She was expected not to survive, but after a miraculous recovery, she lived to tell her story. This book dives into the heroine’s journey from her family’s life in a terrorist-led country to the activism she raised for girls’ rights to education and in time, becoming one of the world’s most inspirational leading voices.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
As the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama is widely renowned as one of the most inspiring and powerful women of the century. The bestselling author recounts her childhood in the southside of Chicago through balancing her career and motherhood, ultimately landing at the world’s most famous address—the White House. Deeply personal and motivating, this book is an inside look into Michelle Obama's eight-year tenure as First Lady.
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
As a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, J.D. Vance takes a closer look at the struggles of America’s white working-class. Following multiple generations, from his grandparent’s postwar experience and his parents' life in Kentucky Appalachia to his own childhood in middle-class Ohio, Vance details his family’s achieved success in attempting to escape poverty for their bloodline’s future generations. Deeply moving and raw, Vance explains with candor what it feels like to have social, regional, and class impediments attached to your identity from the moment of birth.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
In this powerful memoir by activist, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author, Glennon Doyle explores how to find joy and peace in discovering yourself. Doyle writes candidly about her discontent before she decided to leave behind all of society's expectations. Instead of pleasing others, she would start pleasing herself. From navigating falling in love with a woman she barely knew, to a divorce and blending two families, this trailblazing author shares her most intimate thoughts and feelings on a life she never knew could exist.
Do you have a favorite memoir? Perhaps you are writing your own? Let us know in the comments!
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