5 Memoirs I’m Reading this Summer
Listen to strangers, question everything, choose family, and carry the light
Memoirs with Melissa shares bimonthly reviews intended to expose readers to diverse authors and life experiences. To see more of what I’m reading, browse my virtual memoir shelf on Goodreads.
Summer is about taking a break from the routines of life, but it’s also a chance to venture outside our comfort zones. If you’re ready for something more than a typical beach read, I have five contenders for your consideration from my personal summer reading list.
Some jumped off the new release shelf of my local library, another arrived in my mailbox with a handwritten letter, and one came highly recommended by an author I admire. If you’re looking for even more options, consider Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones and Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong. July is Disability Inclusion Month, and both are on my 2023 TBR list. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been reading lately.
1. The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening, by Ari Shapiro
I found Ari Shapiro’s new memoir at my local library, and it didn’t take long for this one to suck me in. His travels and conversations are every bit as intriguing and intellectually stimulating as his stories on NPR’s Fresh Air. From the beginning, one of the things that stood out was his writing on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that took place in the 90s. In a way, it took the power out of the sails of today’s current happenings. Oppressors have been around for years, but so have the people who fight for inclusion. My favorite new-to-me group mentioned in the book was the Radical Faeries. Shapiro’s description of this countercultural movement reminds me a lot of the Burning Man culture I’ve experienced at smaller regional burns. I highly recommend this read for a view of the world through the personal lens of an expert journalist.
2. ACE: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, by Angela Chen
This one is more nonfiction than memoir, but definitely includes personal, vulnerable shares from the author and the people who’ve shared their stories with her. I read this hoping for insight into asexual identities beyond the straight-up definitions of an internet search. What I found most compelling was how understanding asexuality can reframe and deepen our understanding of consent. This is a great read for those open to examining what they want and why. For a deeper review, check out Holly Whitaker’s conversation with the author Angela Chen.
3. Silenced in Eden, by Jo Lloyd Johnson
Earlier this year, while co-teaching a memoir workshop for the River City Writers chapter of the Florida Writers Association, I met Jo Lloyd Johnson. She had just self-published her first memoir and later sent it to me for review. My first impression of both Jo and her book was dominated by one word: authentic. Jo comes from fundamentalist purity culture, a background that overlaps with my own. I resonated with many of the experiences in her brave shares on the page and found myself riveted by how she got out. It was fascinating to see the similarities between her recovery from religious abuse and her recovery from childhood sexual assault. Especially if you happen to be an exvangelical, you’ll find much to appreciate in Jo’s story.
4. Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance, by Francesca Royster
This is another new release I found at the library and wasn’t sure whether I’d resonate with what was inside. I’m so glad I chose to open this one. I loved watching the author dive into the intersections between queerness and Blackness, and her brave questioning of partnership and motherhood. It’s no secret that my own family of origin is queer. But after reading this, I realized we’ve been queer for much longer than any of us identified that way. It was a pleasure to read how this author has undefined and invented her way through community and life.
5. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, by Michelle Obama
I waited more than six months to access the audio version of Michelle Obama’s latest book through my local library, and it did not disappoint. Whereas Becoming was a traditional memoir/autobiography, this one is more prescriptive. I especially enjoyed her chapters on partnership and parenthood. It almost felt like Cheryl Strayed from Tiny Beautiful Things reading the manual on both subjects that I’ve always wished someone would write for me. And for inspiration during this summer’s challenging rulings coming out of the Supreme Court, you can’t go wrong here.
What are you reading this summer? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
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I just started Obama’s book, and I was rifted by her public announcement of disappointment in Trump. It was something we all knew. Does it continue throughout or is it just the beginning? I too waited six months to read it.