14 Fascinating Memoirs for Your Classroom Library

Reading Instruction

Before the last school year, I would not have described myself as someone who reads memoirs. However, I’ve read about a dozen memoirs in the last year. Now, each time I scroll through iBooks looking for my next read, I always make a stop in the biographies and memoirs section.

What I’ve learned is that memoirs can be fun because they capture a slice of life I would never have previously known. If memoirs are engaging for me and keep me returning to the library shelf, then I think there’s a place for them in the classroom library.

With that in mind, I wanted to share 14 fascinating memoirs that I’m looking to add to my classroom library and that I recommend for you, too!

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My Most-Recent Reads

I’m Not Really a Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color at a Time by Suzi Weiss-Fischmann follows the author as she founded the nail lacquer company OPI. This is a perfect example of a fun, fascinating memoir that provides readers with a glance into a rarefied world. My favorite factoid from this book was learning about the meaning of the name “OPI.”

Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training by Adam Stern is probably the quickest read on this list. Stern’s writing clips along. In his memoir, Stern focuses on his residency, covering his experiences as a mental health specialist. My students are more interested in mental health than ever before, and many of them are ambitious, so this is a title I’m looking forward to adding to my classroom library.

Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’ Glossier by Marisa Meltzer inspired this blog post. I’m always looking for new titles to add to my classroom library. Once I finished Glossy, I knew this was a perfect book for my students. Meltzer tells the story of Glossier, a beauty company familiar to many of my students, and its founder. Maybe this is more biography than memoir, but it’s a fascinating read.

Permanent Record: How One Man Exposed the Truth about Government Spying and Digital Security by Edward Snowden was an unusual book in that I already knew everything that was going to happen, but I found myself fascinated nevertheless. I don’t know if the memoir changed my opinion about Snowden’s actions, but I loved getting a look into a tech world to which I am mostly a stranger. I also only read the young reader’s version of the book, which I think is a good addition to any high school library.

One in a Millenial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In by Kate Kennedy is kind of a cheat because I haven’t finished the book yet. However, from the first chapter, I found Kennedy’s voice relatable and her pop culture quips snappy. The poems and rhymes woven throughout are also enchanting.

Celebrity Memoirs

I’m always looking for a way to get students engaged in reading. If putting celebrity titles on my shelf gets them engaged, then I am all for it.

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu was more expansive than I expected. The memoir opens with a section focused on Liu’s parents and their “origin story,” and it was unexpected and fascinating. Liu also is funnier than I expected!

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah really surprised me. As a reader, I went in thinking this would be more comedic, and while Noah is clever and witty, this book was less comedy and more reflection. I also learned a lot about life in South Africa. And, let’s be honest, prior to reading this book, a great deal of my understanding of apartheid came from the Disney movie The Color of Friendship.

The Rural Diaries: The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan was such a surprising read for me! Burton Morgan’s frank, funny, and touching stories helped me move on from a reading slump. I started reading looking for One Tree Hill dirt but stayed for stories about farm life. Burton Morgan’s second book Grimoire Girl: Creating an Inheritance of Magic and Mischief was good but is probably not one for my classroom library. I think it appeals a lot more to parents.

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham appealed to me because I’m a Gilmore Girls fan. I’m always surprised how many of my students love Gilmore Girls even though it was on the air when I was in high school. Graham’s memoir is candid but clever, and it’s a short and sweet read for your classroom library. Earlier this year, Kelly Bishop released her memoir The Third Gilmore Girl, and it’s already on my TBR!

Troublemaker by Leah Remini may appeal to me more than my students, but it was such a fascinating read that I had to include it on my list. Remini’s memoir focuses on her experience with Scientology, a church about which I know basically nothing. Remini tells her story from childhood through to the present, focusing on the ways Scientology shaped her life.

Memoirs by Black Authors

My classroom library reflects my own reading interests, so there’s a lot of scifi and fantasy. But there’s also a lot of stories featuring White girls. For that reason, I’m always looking to add more diversity to my classroom library. These memoirs from Black authors reflect the perspective of many of my students.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is probably the most prolific title on this list. When I think “memoir”, this is the first one that comes to mind. The first time I read this book, I was in college, and it played a key role in helping me better understand the Civil Rights Movement.

Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James follows James as she, a Black student, attends an East Coast boarding school. Originally, I read this book because I always love the “boarding school” trope, but I stayed with this book because of James’ commentary about the role of race in admissions. I also appreciated some of her nerdy interests!

Token Black Girl by Danielle Prescott initially caught my attention because it has a Barbie on the cover! However, the book provides an inside look at the fashion industry, which I found fascinating. Prescott’s experiences with racism overlap with James’ experiences, so reading the books in succession is ideal.

Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris is technically an essay collection, but it’s deeply personal. Like James’ and Kennedy’s memoirs, Harris’ focus on pop culture resonated with me. Maybe the most famous part of this book is the final chapter in which Harris recounts the outcry when she described Santa as a Black man.

Becoming by Michelle Obama is deeply personal and reflective. I picked up this book because it reminded me of a real life version of American Wife, one of my favorite novels by Curtis Sittenfeld. However, Obama’s book is textured, wise, and witty in a more authentic way.

Memoir TBR

My TBR is an unwieldy, ever-growing beast. These are the memoirs and biographies currently on this list or that I have recently finished. Some of these titles are nearly ten years old and others haven’t been published yet, but I’m curious about each one. Which other titles would you add to this list?