New Biographies and Memoirs To Read This Year

In a time of rising authoritarianism and attacks on personal freedoms, the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here chronicles her efforts to live as her full self in a society that wants women — and Black women in particular — to do anything but that.

A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman’s unlikely friendship with a wild hare.

Shot Ready is a powerful distillation of Stephen Curry’s transformative philosophy of success — centered on preparation, constant improvement, creativity, connection, mindfulness, and joy — delivered in his incomparable voice and style. Stunningly designed and illustrated with more than 100 gorgeous photographs, Shot Ready is an intimate narrative and a practical blueprint for any reader who wants to unlock their own potential.

A stunning celebration of Dolly Parton’s iconic career as a performer, featuring entertaining personal stories alongside 350 full-color photographs, including exclusive images and ephemera from her archive, and an eight-page gatefold listing her lifetime of performances. Brimming with Parton’s trademark wit and heartfelt sincerity, Star of the Show is not only an homage to one of history’s most cherished artists, but also a must-have collector’s item for — and love letter to — any fan of the one and only Dolly Parton.

How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? The long-awaited memoir from one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. More than a hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. In this brilliant work of scholarship, a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity, Chernow reveals the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in American history.

In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be. Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built — a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having.

The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: Wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.

A radiant new memoir from beloved artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids. The most intimate of Smith’s memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years when the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. As Smith suffers profound losses, grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life, and finally, writing again — the one constant on a path driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the mundane into the beautiful, the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Patti Smith on the road again, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live.

From a renowned National Book Award-winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world.

The bestselling author of High Achiever chronicles life after addiction — the raw, the dark, and the hilarious — from setting out with nothing but a backpack to discovering her marriage was built on a shakier foundation than she’d ever imagined to staying sober when life fell apart.

A sweeping narrative of the unique beauty and trials of Black matriarchy in America that weaves a sharp, tender examination of three single Black mothers — the author’s grandmother, mother, and the author herself — with stories of influential Black women in our culture.

A heartrending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and a journey towards peace, from the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse. A spare and profoundly moving memoir that joins the classics of the genre, Memorial Days is a portrait of a larger-than-life man and a timeless love between souls that exquisitely captures the joy, agony, and mystery of life.

From one of our most acclaimed chroniclers of the forces eroding America’s social fabric, her most personal and powerful work: A reckoning with the changes that have rocked her own beloved small Ohio hometown.

An electrifying memoir about the demise of a singular family — a stunning new book by Gabrielle Hamilton, author of the New York Times bestseller and James Beard Award winner Blood, Bones & Butter. A personal account of one family’s disintegration, Next of Kin is also a universal story of the emotional clarity that comes from scrutinizing our family mythologies and seeing through to the other side.

From the pages of Vanity Fair to the red carpets of Hollywood, editor Graydon Carter’s memoir revives the glamorous heyday of print magazines when they were at the vanguard of American culture. Charming, candid, and brimming with stories, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.

From the celebrated author of Blankets and Habibi comes a new graphic memoir exploring the class divide, childhood labor, family, and our globalized world — all centered on Wisconsin’s ginseng farming industry.

From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders.

Black transgender luminary Tourmaline brings to life the first definitive biography of the revolutionary activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most important and remarkable figures in LGBTQIA+ history, revealing her story, her impact, and her legacy.

A bold, eye-opening memoir about survival, trauma, and healing, from one of reality television’s most talked-about stars. In Nice Girls Don’t Win, Shallow shares the stories that allowed her to transform her most difficult moments into potent catalysts for empowerment. As harrowing as it is healing, Parvati Shallow’s story is a testament to the profound lessons that can be found in radical self-acceptance and self-love.

From comedian and Emmy-nominated producer, actor, and former Daily Show correspondent, a humorous and heart-filled memoir exploring the lessons and values he’s distilled from the unexpected figures who shaped his life after his father’s passing.

Virgil Abloh’s iconic rise to the top of the fashion industry embodied a groundbreaking transformation of the relationship between who we are and what we wear. Make It Ours is at once a remarkable biography of a singular creative force and a powerful meditation on fashion and race, taste and exclusivity, genius and luxury.

From Melissa Febos, the national bestselling author of Girlhood, comes an examination of the solitude, freedoms, and feminist heroes she discovered during a year of celibacy and a wise and transformative look at relationships and self-knowledge.

From the political writer and podcaster, a ferociously honest and disarmingly funny memoir about her elusive mother’s encroaching dementia and a reckoning with her complicated childhood. A pitch-perfect balance of acceptance and rage, humor and heart, How to Lose Your Mother tells a universal story of loss alongside a singular story of a literary life. This is a memoir that will stand alongside the classics of the genre.

From award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad comes a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values. It is a brilliant articulation of the same breakup we are watching all over the United States, in family rooms, on college campuses, on city streets; the consequences of this rupture are just beginning. This book is for all the people who want something better than what the West has served up. This is the book for our time.

The definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America’s most beloved comedy show. Drawn from hundreds of interviews — with Michaels, his friends, and SNL’s iconic stars and writers, from Will Ferrell to Tina Fey to John Mulaney to Chris Rock to Dan Aykroyd — Lorne is a deeply reported, wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life and have a profound impact on American culture.

From Slate staff writer Aymann Ismail comes an exquisite memoir about fatherhood, religion, and the search for identity in an ever-shifting world.

From Pitchfork and Guardian contributor Dean Van Nguyen comes a revelatory history of Tupac beyond his musical legend, as a radical son of the Black Panther Party whose political legacy still resonates today.

An intimate, rollicking highly-visual memoir of a comedic genius that offers a rare glimpse into the creative life and inner workings of legendary director producer Judd Apatow through never-before-seen photos, letters, and behind-the-scenes stories.