Biography/Memoir

Discover the stories of writers, artists, musicians, politicians, taste-makers, and others whose lives invite reflection on our concepts and experiences of culture; what (and who) it includes; and how it changes.

Updated June 6, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Forever Barbie : The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
Lord, M. G.
Paper Book
Was Barbie the first feminist doll? She always worked in interesting positions, never married, never had a child, and never did house work. Yet today, many women who played with Barbie when they were children consider her to be an inappropriate role model, although these same women often have...
Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-Mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food
King, Michelle T.
Paper Book
In 1949, a young Chinese housewife arrived in Taiwan and transformed herself from a novice to a natural in the kitchen. She launched a career as a cookbook author and television cooking instructor that would last four decades. Years later, in America, flipping through her mother's copies of Fu...
I heard her call my name : a memoir of transition
Sante, Lucy
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Slate "Reading this book is a joy . . . much to say about the trans journey and will undoubtedly become a standard for those in need of...
The rebel's clinic : the revolutionary lives of Frantz Fanon
Shatz, Adam
Paper Book
One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024 One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Named a best book of 2024 by The New Yorker...
What have we here : portraits of a life
Williams, Billy Dee
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A film legend recalls his remarkable life of nearly eight decades--a heralded actor who's played the roles he wanted, from Brian's Song to Lando in the Star Wars universe--unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all...
The house of hidden meanings : a memoir
RuPaul
Paper Book
***An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!*** From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date--a deeply intimate memoir of discovery, found family, and self-acceptance. The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the...
Where rivers part : a story of my mother's life
Yang, Kao Kalia
Paper Book
This powerful memoir about a Hmong family's epic journey to safety is a profound "testament to the miraculous strength of women and the indomitable resolve of the human spirit" (Cristina Henríquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans). Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos,...
Bibliophobia : a memoir
Chihaya, Sarah
Paper Book
"A wise, tremendously moving exploration of what it means to seek companionship and understanding, in books and in life."--Hua Hsu, author of Stay True "[A] stirring and sparkling new memoir."--The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE...
Memorial days
Brooks, Geraldine
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller "Brooks tracks the geography of grief with patience and grace as she comes to terms with the ongoing nature of outliving the ones you love most. ... Her memoir is certainly a testament to her own unique loss, but it's moreover a lifeline to others...
Raising hare
Dalton, Chloe
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS' BOOK OF THE YEAR ...
This beautiful, ridiculous city : a graphic memoir
Sohini, Kay
Paper Book
A vibrant graphic memoir of a woman--an immigrant, a survivor, a writer, a foodie, and, ultimately, an optimist--who rebuilds her life in New York City while recovering from the trauma of an abusive relationship. "An intimate portrait of the city not only as a place of dreams,...
The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir
White, Edmund
Paper Book
From the legendary author Edmund White, a stunning, revelatory memoir of a lifetime of gay love and sex. "In his panoply of sexual encounters, Edmund White's love of sex makes us proud to be human. And the story of his sex life reads like a beautifully crafted, very moving...
Matriarch : a memoir
Knowles-Lawson, Tina
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A revealing personal life story like no other--enlightening, entertaining, surprising, empowering--and a testament to the world-making power of Black motherhood "A fascinating memoir of Tina Knowles's journey to become...
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by TIME, Lit Hub, Vulture, and Foreign Policy * One of the Chicago Review of Books' Must-Read Books of February 2025 * One of The...
The harder I fight, the more I love you : a memoir
Case, Neko
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN APPLE BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH Singer-songwriter Neko Case paints a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life--one forged through a poverty-stricken childhood, obsessive desire, bursts of comedy, and...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.