13 Memoirs That Will Give You A Reason To Smile

Because we all like taking inspiration from other people's lives from time to time. Sponsored by Amazon Books. Created by BuzzFeed Editors

Memoirs tell you all the details of a person’s life story straight from the source – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read on for a list of 13 memoirs that will make you smile, from graphic novels to drag queen diaries.

1. Dreaming In A Nightmare by Jeremiah Emmanuel

Merky Books

Part memoir and part advice book, 20-year-old activist and entrepreneur, Jeremiah Emmanuel, uses his own experience to inspire young people to go for their dreams no matter who tries to hold them back. He discusses difficult parts of his upbringing candidly and details how he persevered to become Deputy Young Mayor of Lambeth and receive a British Empire Medal for his work. Jeremiah also includes facts and statistics related to the issues he discusses and proposes realistic solutions, reminding us all that every problem can be solved and that we can be the ones to make a change. 

2. Becoming by Michelle Obama

Viking Press

I’m sure you’ve heard about the former First Lady’s book, but I couldn’t talk about great memoirs without mentioning it. Michelle takes us readers on a journey through her life from her Chicago upbringing to the White House, and even though she tells her own life story it feels like she’s inspiring every reader to go out and pursue their passions. This memoir is a humanising look at what it’s actually like to be thrust into the position of First Lady while raising two daughters as “normally” as possible while trying to use her position to make a positive impact. 

3. Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal Rasmussen

Fsg Originals

If you want to read a memoir like no other with the kind of stories you’d expect to hear on a night out, pick up Diary of A Drag Queen. Crystal doesn’t hold back in their detailed descriptions of their personal life, and balances their raunchy stories with musings on gender, LGBTQ+ rights, and queer theory. Be warned, some stories are a bit graphic, but Crystal handles it all with great humour throughout. 

4. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings

Listening Library

Jazz first came to attention when she was interviewed by Barbara Walters at just six years old, after starting to transition at age five, with the support of her family. Since then, she’s launched a YouTube channel, co-written a picture book, and gotten her own reality show. Throughout it all she’s been open about her experience to help show that trans kids are just like anyone else. In this memoir, she reflects on these experiences and details the challenges she’s faced while trying to educate people about the transgender community. Her determination to fight for transgender rights and willingness to put her life on display to show what it’s really like to grow up trans is truly inspiring.

5. The Secret To Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Yep, Alison Bechdel is that Bechdel, the co-creator of the Bechdel test. But what most people don’t know is that she’s written not one, not two, but three memoirs (the other two are Fun Home and Are You My Mother?), all in graphic novel format. This one is about her love of exercise and her realisation that being at peace with yourself is more important than constantly trying new fitness fads. If you want to read a different kind of memoir accompanied by some great illustrations, this one’s for you.

6. That Moment When: Life Stories from Way Back Then by Mo Gilligan

Ebury Press

Mo Gilligan is a hilarious comedian and presenter whose credits include co-hosting The Big Narstie Show, being a judge on The Masked Singer, popping up on Celebrity Gogglebox, and more. In That Moment When, he chronicles the events that led him to where he is today in his signature comedic style. Mo tells a range of stories from his life, including his school days, the moment he decided to be a comedian, realising he was famous, and selling out the O2. In true comedic fashion, even the title contains a little joke, and what's inside is even funnier.

7. I Am A Girl From Africa by Elizabeth Nyamayaro

Scribner

When humanitarian Elizabeth Nyamayaro was eight, her village was hit by a severe drought. She was in danger of starving when a United Nations aid worker gave her a bowl of warm porridge and saved her life. This moment inspired Elizabeth’s lifelong passion for helping people and led her to work for the United Nations herself. In I Am A Girl From Africa, she describes how her determination to help others took her across the world and led her to become a Senior Advisor at the United Nations and launch HeForShe, one of the world’s largest global solidarity movements for gender equality. This memoir is a hopeful tale of perseverance through struggle and making a positive mark on the world. 

8. A Tuscan Childhood by Kinta Beevor

Vintage

This memoir is exactly what it says on the tin – it’s all about Kinta Beevor growing up in Italy. Beevor details a childhood spent in the village of Aulla as her parents became part of an artistic community that included Aldous Huxley, Bernard Berenson, and D. H. Lawrence. As World War II began the family had to leave the town, but Kinta returned years later to see how the Tuscan people had rebuilt. The descriptions of a childhood spent running through the Italian countryside and growing up in a grand fortress will make you wish you’d lived it. 

9. A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

Hodder & Stoughton

A sweet story of how a homeless man’s life was changed forever when he adopts a cat (or rather, the cat adopts him). James Bowen felt like he couldn’t take on an extra mouth to feed when he first noticed a ginger cat in the hallway, but he was drawn to the feline and decided to take him in anyway. He named him Bob, and soon found that caring for the cat gave him the motivation to look after himself by quitting heroin. They quickly became a dynamic duo, with this very book about their friendship becoming a bestseller and being adapted into a movie. Bowen ended up writing a whole series of books about Bob, and it all started with this sweet memoir.

10. Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day: My Autobiography by Tom Moore

Michael Joseph

As the world faced a deadly pandemic, a 99-year-old man started walking laps around his garden for charity and captured the hearts of a nation. Captain Tom Moore became a household name overnight when he decided to spend the weeks running up to his 100^th birthday raising money for the NHS. Now you can learn more about the amazing life of a man who spent a lifetime serving his country, from World War II to the modern crisis of Covid. This memoir reveals that he had an optimistic outlook throughout his life which got him through some deep troubles and led him to become the nation’s grandfather in 2020. 

11. The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes

Scribner

Eleanor Crewes writes and illustrates this humorous portrait of all the moments she recognised that she was gay, despite the constant push to be straight. Ellie uses her distinctive art style to tell the story of these key moments, from her childhood obsession with Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer to getting her first girlfriend. Though she gets caught up in self-doubt along the way, Ellie comes to realise that accepting yourself is the most important element of working out who you are. 

12. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson weaves stories from his childhood with discussions of gender identity, toxic masculinity, and family in his memoir comprised of personal essays. Labelled a “memoir manifesto” on the front cover, George aims to inspire young people, especially queer men of colour, to question constructions of gender and sexuality while exploring the intersectionality of being queer and black. He deconstructs the idea of compulsory heterosexuality and the negative labels that are pushed on people, while still inspiring hope and centering Black joy throughout. 

13. Continuum by Chella Man

Penguin Workshop

Continuum is a short essay by artist, activist, and actor Chella Man, exploring identity and how to achieve self-acceptance. He uses his own experience as a deaf, transgender, genderqueer, Jewish Chinese person to highlight that identity is a continuum made up of various elements, and every part makes up who you are – no singular term defines you. Chella also emphasises the importance of accepting that we’re all continually learning about ourselves and others. This memoir is only 64 pages long, but he packs a powerful message into all of them. 

What memoir struck a chord with you? Let us know in the comments!