Stranger than Fiction: Memoirs and Biographies to Expand Your World
Who doesn’t love a good memoir?!
This year, we’ve seen the release of some powerhouse celebrity memoirs (Britney Spears 👀) and it got us thinking about some of the other memoirs and biographies that have truly expanded our perspectives, ideas about the world, and each other.
Martha and Elaine put their heads together to bring you a collection of memoirs that offers something for everyone. From classic takes to genre-bending reads – enjoy!
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
Memoir
In Priestdaddy (2017), American poet and essayist Patricia Lockwood details her experience of having a father who is a married, ordained Catholic priest and the ways her parent's beliefs impact her own sense of self and pursuit of identity beyond religion. The memoir won the Thurber Prize for American Humour and was named one of The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by the New York Times. I went into this one fairly blind, not knowing much about what it involved, and ended up completely enamoured with Lockwood’s deadpan humour and precise writing style. What could easily be a vastly different read, Lockwood brings her unique childhood experiences fully to life with wit and deep empathy. At the start of the book, Lockwood and her husband Jason have returned to her family home as they work through some financial struggles – both feminists, they immediately run into challenges when faced with how her parents have chosen to live their lives and her father’s casual sexism. Through flashbacks to her childhood and early adolescence, as well as how she navigates returning to live with her parents, Lockwood provides a wonderfully rich vision of a family who are borderline strangers in their ideals but who ultimately deeply care for one another.
“I sometimes wish my childhood had been less obsessed with the question of why we are here. But that must be the question of any childhood. To write about your mother and father is to tell the story of your own close call, to count all the ways you never should have existed.”
Read for: A bold, hilarious exploration of a family finding their way despite fundamental differences.
Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto
Memoir
Most people are more than aware of social connection's important role in our lives. Psychology has long proven that authentic, engaged relationships with others make us healthier across the board. In his memoir, Rental Person Who Does Nothing (2023), Shoju Morimoto explores what connection really means across Japanese culture, providing an illuminating read. After being told by an old boss that he ‘does nothing’ and makes no contribution, Morimoto asks himself the question – could someone who does nothing still be of value? On this basis, he started a twitter thread offering his services as a rental person who does nothing. Dependable and without judgement, Morimoto quickly finds himself in demand, and this book is an exploration of his unique, often unusual but never dull, experiences, the people he meets and discoveries of what it really means to connect in our modern world.
“Perhaps Rental Person sits somewhere along the line between ‘friend’ and ‘stranger’. Where exactly Rental Person will be in any particular case depends on what the client wants. It’s up to them. I don’t do anything myself. I don’t trespass on their territory.”
Read for: Discoveries from a truly unique experience and to learn something new about not only another culture, but what it means to be human in contemporary society.
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Biography/Memoir
Hands up who knew George Orwell had a wife? EIleen O”Shaughnessy, a brilliant writer in her own right, significantly shaped Orwell’s life and work and yet she seems to be another incredible woman lost to the history books. That is until Anna Funder discovers some of Eileen’s letters to her best friend and decides to recreate the Orwell’s marriage – trials, challenges, joys and all. This is one of those books that sounds like it might be interesting and then it completely absorbs you. With expert, engaging delivery, Funder bends the genre and delivers a reading experience that has to be experienced.
“‘So, she will live writing the letters she did – six to her best friend, and three to her husband. I know where she was when she wrote them. I know that the dishes were frozen in the sink, that she was bleeding, that he was in bed with another woman – and she knew it.”
Read for: A truly unique reading experience that demonstrates the power of the genre and eye-opening exploration of relationships, gender, and creativity.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Memoir
In Machado's compelling memoir, she bravely unveils the intricacies of her journey through an abusive same-sex relationship, an experience she grappled with for years. In the Dream House (2019) is a tour de force of vulnerability, where Machado fearlessly confronts the shadows of her past with candour. Transcending traditional storytelling, Machado weaves together a tapestry of experiences using narrative tropes – notably those she is most known for in her fiction that draws on classic horror themes. In the Dream House is a radical, barrier-breaking read that highlights the nuances that exist in human relationships and the complexities of abuse within queer relationships. With an inquiring spirit and a touch of wit, Machado crafts a narrative that is both haunting and empowering.
“We deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity.”
Read for: An empowering story of healing, connection, and opportunity to grow your understanding of queer perspectives.
Rosalind Franklin The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
Biography
As a science student myself, I tell anyone who will listen about Rosalind Franklin. Sometime after studying physical chemistry at Cambridge University (looking at how materials interact on a molecular level), Franklin joined another scientist, researching how the new X-ray crystallography technique could map molecular structures. Perhaps you recognise the names Watson and Crick, the scientists who won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA – our genetic code – is a double helix. Discoveries in the world of science are, in so many words, a big race to the finish line. During the 20th century, when many new discoveries were being made, scientists worldwide were attempting to learn more about DNA and have their names on the next revelation. Using crystallography, Franklin created an image of DNA, clearly showing the helix – an image that Watson and Crick “borrowed” for their research, which later won them the prize.
This is a definite must-read, even for those not particularly invested in science. An incredibly brilliant, complex woman, Franklin is not the first female scientist whose work has been “claimed” by a man – nor, sadly, will she be the last.
“She had come within two steps of answering the most exciting question in post-war science.”
Read for: An incredible story of discovery and an uncompromising, unyielding woman whom history has overlooked.
Travels With Myself and Another by Martha Gellhorn
Biography/travel literature
The Times claim Gellhorn “is incapable of writing a dull sentence,” a statement I would have to agree with. Martha Gellhorn was an acclaimed journalist and writer, and one of the greatest 20th-century war correspondents. Anything she has written is well worth a read – however, in this book, she recounts adventures from her travels across the world; “not a proper travel book,” she says, but her best “horror journeys.” The “other” accompanying her on some of these adventures is the famous writer Ernest Hemmingway: her on-again-off-again husband of some years. The two shared a tumultuous, magnetic relationship divided continually by their deep commitment to their respective professions. Above all, Gellhorn was fearless, persevering through sickness and discomforts and braving war-torn countries in pursuit of her writing. This book is one of my favourites; witty and endlessly engaging, Gellhorn describing her ups and downs with passionate, good-hearted humour.
“We jolted and rattled and swayed and came to an enchanted place … the very picture of Eden.”
Read for: A trip to unknown, exotic places, a good laugh, and an unflinching woman who was never afraid to step forward and say, “Alright, let’s give it a go.”
Touching The Void by Joe Simpson
Biography
This is a truly fantastic read – although perhaps one aspiring climbers should stay clear of. Joe Simpson, an experienced mountaineer, recounts the story of when he and his friend Simon Yates set out to climb Suila Grande in the Peruvian Andes. For those who, like me, are completely ignorant when it comes to mountain ranges, Suila appears on the “10 most dangerous mountains in the world” list as number 7. Highly risky and arguably perilous at the best of times, Simpson and Yates attempted a completely vertical ascent up the mountain's western face, which had never been successfully completed. Although they make it to the top, it’s on the way back down when everything goes terrifyingly wrong.
This biography is beautifully written and filled with incredible descriptions of the sheer scale and subsuming power of the Suila mountain. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so fast; I turned every page with a held breath.
“He was still grinning, and his confidence was infectious. Who said one man can’t rescue another, I thought.”
Read for: A possible minor heart attack, a renewed awe of nature, and an incredible story of survival.
Elaine Chennatt is a writer, educator and psychology student currently residing in nipaluna. She has a special interest in bibliotherapy (how we use literature to make sense of our lives) and is endlessly curious about the creative philosophies of others. She lives with her husband and two bossy dachshunds on the not-so-sunny side of the river (IYKYK). Find her online at wordswithelaine.com
Martha David Jetis is a student from England, who spends her time oscillating between her two loves: science and literature. Her first word was “book” – a passion that has only grown. Whatever happens after she graduates, she hopes there will always be room in her life for books and writing. When not in the labs, you can find her in bookstores, usually in the poetry section, or online at mdavidjetis@gmail.com.
