10 Memoirs That Shed A Light On Unseen Family Life

Every family has a background, a life behind closed doors, and an untold story that lies beneath the surface. These ten fall memoirs will give you an insight into various families that will leave you shocked, intrigued, inspired or all three.

1. The Sportscaster's Daughter by Cindi Michael

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George Michael was an influential sportscaster known for his dazzling smile and animated personality. Cindi Michael just knows him as “dad,” and she is ready to tell us all about the man behind the spotlight. As his fame and workweek grew increasingly difficult to deal with, Cindi and her father’s once strong relationship began to fade until it disintegrated entirely. The Sportscaster’s Daughter is candid and deeply touching as it reveals one family’s struggle with forgiveness and faith.

2. I'm Supposed to Protect You From All This: A Memoir by Nadja Spiegelman

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A French-born New York art director, Nadja Speigalman’s mother, Francoise, was a daunting yet dazzling figure in her life. As Nadja grew older, their relationship grew more stressed, replicating the relationship between Françoise and her own mother. After college, Francoise opened up to her daughter about her own childhood, plagued with an unpredictable mother and playboy father. This revealing information sparks a hunger for more knowledge about her grandparents, so Nadja heads to Paris. As she gets to know the woman her mother left behind, Nadja explores how each generation creates a path for the next.

3. Scream: A Memoir of Glamour and Dsyfunction by Tama Janowitz

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Tama Janowitz was at the center of the growing quirky literary world of New York City when her own literary dreams were finally coming true. Janowitz recounts her life of fame and fortune, but with a critical eye on her own life as she looks upon all she struggled with, especially with her family. Scream is a memoir filled with deeply personal characters and a uniquely scorching insight her life.

4. Good Children of the Flower by Hong Ying

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Decades after Chinese writer Hong Ying escaped her childhood in the slums, she realized that the distance couldn’t protect her from her past. Upon hearing of her mother’s proximity to death, Hong races home only to find she is too late. As she struggles to accept her mother’s passing, Hong begins a search through her family’s structure and their silence. When her unwelcomed questions bring forth old secrets, she must come to terms with shocking revelations. This bittersweet memoir explores forgiveness, truth, and an attempt to fix painful memories to create better ones.

5. Love Warrior: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle Melton

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Glennon Doyle Melton thought she had everything…three happy children, a loving spouse and a successful writing career, until it all changed. Her husband’s infidelity forced her to change everything she has ever learned about marriage and herself in order to fall in love again. This memoir will speak to you if you are searching for deeper and truer relationships as well as a more fulfilled life.

6. The Origins of the Universe and What It All Means: A Memoir by Carole Firstman

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In her debut memoir Carole Firstman explores the strained relationship with her distant father, a biology professor whose research on scorpions has contributed to many groundbreaking theories on evolution. Through a variety of ways, Firstman recounts her steps and struggles to resurrect her father daughter relationship and how that relationship has evolved. The genre-bending memoir explores parent-child relationships, evolution and life as we know it.

7. You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris

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The world was chilled with fear and sadness after the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. News channels were filled with the actions of the terrorists and the statistics behind each death. Antoine Leiris, the widower of Helene Muyal-Leiris who was killed by terrorists, reveals what it was like to cope with the loss of his wife while also being a supportive father to his now motherless young son. This unforgettable testimony of resilience in times of strife is a must read for all.

8. A Little Thing Called Life: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between by Linda Thompson

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Award-winning songwriter Linda Thompson first came into the spotlight in the 1970s as Elvis Presley’s live-in love. In her telling memoir, she shares hidden moments and insight about the King and why their relationship ended 8 months before his tragic death. After his death, she found safety and love in the arms of Olympian Bruce Jenner. They created a perfect life with their sons-Brandon and Brody- before Bruce changed her universe with a shocking secret. She kept his secret for nearly 30 years before the world met Caitlyn Jenner. All the while, Thompson’s love for music has kept her grounded through the twists life has offered her. In A Little Thing Called Life, Linda shares personal insights and stories from a life led in show business, music and love.

9. Carry On: A Story of Resilience, Redemption, and an Unlikely Family by Lisa Fenn

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Sometimes the most meaningful family isn’t necessarily related by blood. Lisa Fenn found this to be true when she met Leroy Sutton and Dartanyon Crockett. Both physically impaired and drawn together by their handicaps, these boys formed an unbreakable bond of brotherhood. After Lisa filmed a feature on them, she knew her work with them wasn’t finished. The three formed an unlikely family as Lisa worked tirelessly to see them through all of their aspirations against all odd.

10. The Moon is Broken by Eleanor Craig

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This heart-wrenching memoir is that speaks to any parent who has ever loved and lost a child. Ann Craig was the perfect daughter, kind, smart, beautiful and driven. But when she suffers a mental breakdown, her mother Eleanor Craig is heartbroken, desperate and willing to do anything to help her daughter. The Moon is Broken follows one mother as she shows steadfast courage and dedication.