Popular North American Memoir Books

Find memoir books written by authors from North America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (56)

21.

I, Rigoberta Menchu : An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Menchu EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Description:
A Nobel Peace Prize winner reflects on poverty, injustice, and the struggles of Mayan communities in Guatemala, offering “a fascinating and moving description of the culture of an entire people” (The Times) Now a global bestseller, the remarkable life of Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan peasant woman, reflects on the experiences common to many Indian communities in Latin America. Menchú suffered gross injustice and hardship in her early life: her brother, father and mother were murdered by the Guatemalan military. She learned Spanish and turned to catechistic work as an expression of political r... continue

22.

I'll Never Write My Memoirs by Grace Jones, Paul Morley EN

0 Ratings
Description:
"Memoir from model and actress Grace Jones"--Provided by publisher.


24.

In Morocco by Wharton, Edith EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
First published in 1919, this detailed account of the author's journey through Morocco following World War I shares Wharton's observations on local customs and lifestyles, Moroccan history, cities, and more. Reprint.

25.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
A revolutionary memoir about domestic abuse by the award-winning author of Her Body and Other Parties In the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado’s engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad, and a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming. And it’s that struggle that gives the book its original structure: each chapter is driven by its own narrat... continue

26.

Indian in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power by Jody Wilson-Raybould EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
THE #1 BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY A compelling political memoir of leadership and speaking truth to power by one of the most inspiring women of her generation Jody Wilson-Raybould was raised to be a leader. Inspired by the example of her grandmother, who persevered throughout her life to keep alive the governing traditions of her people, and raised as the daughter of a hereditary chief and Indigenous leader, Wilson-Raybould always knew she would take on leadership roles and responsibilities. She never anticipated, however, that those roles woul... continue

27.

Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer EN

Rating: 5 (5 votes)
Description:
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned th... continue

28.

Just Kids by Patti Smith EN

0 Ratings
Description:
It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a co... continue

29.

Knitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernández EN

0 Ratings
Description:
A young Guatemalan immigrant's adolescence is shaped by her journey to the US, as she grapples with Chapina tradition and American culture.

30.

My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Description:
Kincaid's poetic and often shockingly frank account of Devon's life is also the story of their family on the island of Antigua.