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. (52)

11.

Educated by Tara Westover EN

Rating: 5 (7 votes)
Description:
'An amazing story, and truly inspiring. The kind of book everyone will enjoy. IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN YOU'VE HEARD.' - Bill Gates Selected as a book of the year by AMAZON, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, NEW YORK TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, VOGUE, IRISH TIMES, IRISH EXAMINER and RED MAGAZINE THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER ________________________ Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn't exist. She hadn't been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she'd never set foot in a classroom, ... continue

12.

El país bajo mi piel / The Country Under My Skin by Gioconda Belli ES

0 Ratings
Description:
Tras casarse muy jóven y ser madre, Gioconda Belli se unió al clandestino y emergente movimiento Sandinista, sustituyendo su deseo de ser una buena esposa por la necesidad de vivir una vida plena y comprometida con los cambios sociales en su país. Irónicamente, su pertenencia a la burguesía y su carrera como poeta renombrada, le brindaron la fachada que le permitió funcionar, secretamente, como rebelde. Desde su infancia en Managua y sus encuentros iniciales con poetas y revolucionarios, a persecuciones urbanas, reuniones con Fidel Castro, relaciones amorosas truncadas por la muerte o el exili... continue

13.

Embers : One Ojibway's Meditations by Richard Wagamese EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Description:
"Life sometimes is hard. There are challenges. There are difficulties. There is pain. As a younger man I sought to avoid them and only ever caused myself more of the same. These days I choose to face life head on--and I have become a comet. I arc across the sky of my life and the harder times are the friction that lets the worn and tired bits drop away. It's a good way to travel; eventually I will wear away all resistance until all there is left of me is light. I can live towards that end." --Richard Wagamese, Embers In this carefully curated selection of everyday reflections, Richard Wagamese... continue

14.

Faith Among Shadows by Malcolm Leal EN

0 Ratings
Country: North America / Cuba flag Cuba
Description:
Lying face down on the muddy jungle floor, with the taste of his own blood in his mouth, all Malcolm Leal could do was call upon the God of his great-grandmother. Florencia Martinez Hernandez raised Malcolm as her own son in a small fishing village on the northern coast of Cuba. Teaching Malcolm wisdom gleaned from the worn pages of her century-old Bible, Florencia spoke of a temple "promised to all people" and that there were men on earth who "walked with God." Most importantly, she taught him to rely on "her" God for everything. While on assignment for the Cuban Special Forces in the dense r... continue

15.

For Joshua: One Ojibway Father Teaches His Son by Richard Wagamese EN

0 Ratings
Description:
“An expansive work about healing, resilience, humanity, respect, inheritance, Indigenous teachings, and most of all, love” from the author of Indian Horse (Literary Hub). “We may not relight the fires that used to burn in our villages, but we can carry the embers from those fires in our hearts and learn to light new fires in a new world.” Ojibwe tradition calls for fathers to walk their children through the world, sharing the ancient understanding “that we are all, animate and inanimate alike, living on the one pure breath with which the Creator gave life to the Universe.” In this intimate ser... continue

16.

Freshman Year (A Graphic Novel) by Sarah Mai EN

0 Ratings
Description:
A stylish graphic novel about the unique angst, humor, and self-doubt that comes with going away to college—perfect for fans of Heartstopper. Everyone gets a fresh start. Who do you want to be? Sarah is leaving suburban Wisconsin for college n Minnesota. She has high hopes for the future: impress her professors, meet interesting new people, stay close to her best friends and boyfriend back home, flourish as an artist, and shed her lingering high school anxieties. What seems manageable at first quickly unravels into a tailspin and she is overwhelmed by the freedom, the isolation, and all the po... continue

17.

Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Description:
Presents thirteen years of field research on the endangered mountain gorilla of the African rain forest.

18.

High School by Sara Quin, Tegan Quin EN

0 Ratings
Description:
From the iconic musicians Tegan and Sara comes a memoir about high school, detailing their first loves and first songs in a compelling look back at their humble beginnings High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, who grew up at the height of grunge and rave culture in the nineties, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents’ divorce, and the looming pressure... continue

19.

How to Say Babylon : A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Description:
"Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair's father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman's highest virtue was her obedience. In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. In place of pants, the women in her family were made to wear long skirts and... continue

20.

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