autobiography books new

15 Memoirs and Biographies to Read This Fall

New autobiographies from Jemele Hill, Matthew Perry and Hua Hsu are in the mix, along with books about Martha Graham, Agatha Christie and more.

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By John Williams ,  Joumana Khatib ,  Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter

  • Published Sept. 8, 2022 Updated Sept. 15, 2022

Solito: A Memoir , by Javier Zamora

When he was 9, Zamora left El Salvador to join his parents in the United States — a dangerous trek in the company of strangers that lasted for more than two months, a far cry from the two-week adventure he had envisioned. Zamora, a poet, captures his childhood impressions of the journey, including his fierce, lifesaving attachments to the other people undertaking the trip with him.

Hogarth, Sept. 6

A Visible Man: A Memoir , by Edward Enninful

The first Black editor in chief of British Vogue reflects on his life, including his early years as a gay, working-class immigrant from Ghana, and his path to becoming one of the most influential tastemakers in media.

Penguin Press, Sept. 6

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman , by Lucy Worsley

Not many authors sell a billion books, but Christie’s nearly 70 mysteries helped her do just that. Born in 1890, she introduced the world to two detectives still going strong in film adaptations and elsewhere: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her life even included its own mystery, when she vanished for 11 days in 1926 . Worsley, a historian, offers a full-dress biography.

Pegasus Crime, Sept. 8

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands , by Kate Beaton

This graphic memoir follows Beaton, a Canadian cartoonist, who joins the oil rush in Alberta after graduating from college. The book includes drawings of enormous machines built to work the oil sands against a backdrop of Albertan landscapes, boreal forests and northern lights.

Drawn and Quarterly, Sept. 13

Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir , by Jann S. Wenner

In 2017, Joe Hagan published “Sticky Fingers,” a biography of Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. Now Wenner recounts his life in his own words, offering an intimate look at his time running the magazine that helped to change American culture.

Little, Brown, Sept. 13

Stay True: A Memoir , by Hua Hsu

A New Yorker staff writer reflects on a life-changing college friendship cut short by tragedy. Hsu — interested in counterculture, zines and above all music — seemed to have little in common with Ken, a Dave Matthews Band-loving fraternity brother, with the exception of their Asian American heritage. In spite of their differences, they forged a close bond; this is both a memoir of their relationship but also Hsu’s journey to adulthood as he makes sense of his grief.

Doubleday, Sept. 27

Wild: The Life of Peter Beard: Photographer, Adventurer, Lover , by Graham Boynton

A biography of the photographer Peter Beard, who had a fondness for risk, drugs and beautiful women. Boynton, a journalist and author, was a friend of Beard’s for more than 30 years.

St. Martin’s, Oct. 11

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir , by Paul Newman

When Newman and his iconic blue eyes died in 2008, the actor left behind taped conversations about his life, which he had put together with hopes of writing his life story. Now, with the participation of Newman’s daughters, the transcripts have been turned into this book, which sees Newman on his early life, his troubles with drinking and his shortcomings as a husband and parent, as well as his decorated career.

Knopf. Oct. 18

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

Rickman, the English stage and screen actor who died in 2016, was famous for his roles in “Die Hard,” the Harry Potter movies, “Love Actually” and many other films. He kept a diary for 25 years, about his work, his political activism, his friendships and other subjects, and they promise to be “anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid.”

Henry Holt, Oct. 18

README.txt: A Memoir , by Chelsea Manning

Manning, a former Army analyst, shared classified documents about the U.S. military’s operations in Iraq with WikiLeaks. In this memoir, she explores her childhood and what drew her to the armed services, her eventual disillusionment with the military and her life as a trans woman.

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Oct. 18

The White Mosque: A Memoir , by Sofia Samatar

Samatar, a novelist, turns to nonfiction in this complex work combining religious and personal history. Raised in the United States, the daughter of a Swiss-Mennonite and a Somali-Muslim, Samatar recounts her life while relating a pilgrimage she undertook retracing the route of German-speaking Mennonites who founded a village in Central Asia in the 1800s.

Catapult, Oct. 25

Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern , by Neil Baldwin

The biographer Baldwin’s eclectic list of subjects has included William Carlos Williams, Man Ray, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Here he turns his attention to Martha Graham, the American choreographer who revolutionized modern dance and founded her own company, which is still going strong, in 1926.

Knopf, Oct. 25

Uphill: A Memoir , by Jemele Hill

Hill, now a contributing writer at The Atlantic, rose to fame as a TV anchor on ESPN. Her memoir covers the time in 2017 when ESPN suspended her (she had criticized the politics of the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, and had called President Trump a white supremacist). But the book offers a much broader canvas that includes her upbringing in Detroit and the trauma of generations of women in her family.

Henry Holt, Oct. 25

Friends, Lovers and the Terrible Thing: A Memoir , by Matthew Perry

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on “Friends,” has been candid about his substance abuse and sobriety. In this memoir, he returns again to discussions of fame and addiction, but also reaches back to his childhood.

Flatiron, Nov. 1

I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: A Memoir , by Baek Sehee. Translated by Anton Hur.

A best seller in South Korea, Baek’s memoir recounts her struggles with depression and anxiety, told through discussions with her therapist, which she recorded over a 12-week period. The therapy sessions are interspersed with short essays that explore her self-doubt and how feelings of worthlessness were reinforced by sexism.

Bloomsbury, Nov. 1

Elizabeth A. Harris writes about books and publishing for The Times.  More about Elizabeth A. Harris

Alexandra Alter writes about publishing and the literary world. Before joining The Times in 2014, she covered books and culture for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, she reported on religion, and the occasional hurricane, for The Miami Herald. More about Alexandra Alter

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24 best autobiographies you have to read in 2024

Whether you're a long-time lover of non-fiction or you're new to the world of autobiographies, this is our list of the 24 best autobiographies you've got to read in 2024.

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Are you dreaming of a summer holiday? Perhaps you're fantasising of afternoons spent lying on the beach or by the pool — chilly January days just a mere memory... And there's nothing that says holiday quite like a new book.

Autobiographical writing is a skill that is hard to master. Done well, it can give you a behind the scenes peek into the world of your favourite star, or give you an insight into historical events and cultural context that would otherwise be near impossible to understand.

While books can make some of the best gifts for others they also can be a great gift for yourself — especially if you're looking to take a break from the screens that surround us in modern life. We love the experience of going into a bookshop, looking at all the covers and picking out a few new titles. But life can get busy, and it can be tricky to find the time to continue to support your local bookshop. Shopping from a site like Bookshop.org also lets you support independent bookshops from home.

Having said that, reading a physical book isn't the only way to enjoy these amazing stories.

Getting a Kindle can be a great way to carry lots of books round with you if you're travelling, and you can often download books for a much lower cost. Listening to audiobooks is also a great way to stay on top of your reading when you're on the go. Amazon Audible lets you download books onto your phone and listen as you go, and it's also running a 30-day UK free trial right now.

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Here's our list of the best autobiographies that you should read in your lifetime.

Looking for better ways to experience your favourite audiobook? Check out guides to the best wireless earbuds , best AirPod alternatives , and the best smart speakers . For more on audio, take a look at the best DAB radios .

Best autobiographies at a glance:

  • Open, Andre Agassi | £10.99
  • Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton | £10.99
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou | from £4.99
  • Wild Swans, Jung Chang | from £4.49
  • The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion | from £6.99
  • The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher | £10.99
  • The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank | from £9.49
  • All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot | from £9.49
  • This is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay | from £5.99
  • Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela | from £6.99
  • I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy | from £11.99
  • Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama | £9.99
  • Becoming, Michelle Obama | from £7.99
  • Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman, Alan Rickman | from £7.50
  • Just Kids, Patti Smith | £12.34
  • Wild, Cheryl Strayed | £8.99
  • Taste, Stanley Tucci | from £1.99
  • Educated, Tara Westover | £10.99
  • I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai | from £8.54
  • Crying In H Mart, Michelle Zauner | £9.99
  • Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry | £20.99
  • The Woman in Me, Britney Spears | £12.50
  • Love, Pamela, Pamela Anderson | from £10.99
  • Finding Me, Viola Davis | from £5.99

Best autobiographies to read in 2024

Open, andre agassi.

Open Andre Agassi

Written in 2009, this is the autobiography of the American former World No.1 tennis player, Andre Agassi. Written in collaboration with JR Moehringer from a collection of hundreds of hours of tapes, this memoir gives top insight into the life of a professional sportsperson.

Agassi's was a career of fierce rivalries and it's fascinating to hear these from the perspective of an insider. Like many high-performing careers, in sport children are singled out for their talent at a young age, and Agassi describes the intensity of training for himself and his fellow tennis players in their collective pursuit of excellence.

This book would make a great present for any tennis fan, and gives an interesting insight into the man behind the nickname 'The Punisher'.

Buy Open by Andre Agassi for £10.99 at Waterstones

Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton

Dolly Alderton Everything I Know About Love

Everything I Know About Love follows Times columnist Dolly Alderton through her early life and 20s. It tackles themes of dating, love, friendship as Alderton comes of age and grows into herself. Dispersed with recipes in the style of Nora Ephron's Heartburn, the book gained a cult following since it was published in 2018 and won a National Book Award (UK) for best autobiography of the year.

Alderton's memoir has also now been turned into a BBC TV show which follows a fictionalised version of Alderton and her friends as they navigate life in London.

Buy Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton for £10.99 at Foyles

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

I know why the caged birds sing Maya Angelou

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is the first of seven autobiographies Angelou wrote about her life. It follows her childhood, beginning when she's just three years old and spanning to when she is 16 — from her time as a child to when she had a child herself. The book follows the young Maya as she and her brother Bailey are moved between family members following the separation of her parents.

Discussing themes of racism, sexual assault and displacement, the expertly crafted narrative is widely taught in schools here and in the US. Written in the aftermath of the death of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings became an instant classic and is a must-read.

Buy I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou from £4.99 at Amazon

Wild Swans, Jung Chang

Wild Swans Jung Chang

Slightly different from traditional first person autobiographies, in this book Jung Chang tells the stories of three generations of women in her own family — her grandmother, her mother and herself. At a time when China is becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the world, this book provides vital context into the 20th century history of the country.

Through the stories of her grandmother who was given to a warlord as a concubine, and her mother who was a young idealist during the rise of Communism, she captures moments of bravery, fear, and ultimately survival.

The book, which is banned in China, has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and is as beautifully written as it is educationally fascinating.

Buy Wild Swans by Jung Chang from £4.49 at Amazon

The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion

The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion

Published in 2005 when it went on to win Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, this book follows Didion in the year after her the death of her husband of nearly 40 years, John Gregory Dunne. In this harrowing depiction of grief, love and loss, Didion turns her personal experience into one that is universally relatable.

Didion and Donne's adopted daughter Quintana fell ill days before his death and was still in hospital when he died. Didion recounts her experience caring for her throughout the book, all while going through her own grief.

While not an easy read, this is an incredibly powerful one.

Buy The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion from £6.99 at Amazon

The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher

The Female Diarist Carrie Fisher

This might be an obvious choice for any Star Wars fan, but we think the appeal of this book stretches far beyond just that. Made up of the diaries Fisher wrote when she was 19 years old and first started playing Princess Leia, the book was released shortly before her death in 2016.

Any peak behind the scenes of such a well-known franchise is bound to be popular, and this examines her experience as a young adult thrust into the world of fame and sex. Unlike her deeply person earlier memoir Wishful Drinking, in which Fisher described her struggles with mental illness, The Princess Diarist is full of bombshell revelations and funny punchlines, making for an enjoyable read.

Buy The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher for £10.99 at Foyles

The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank

The title of this book is clever because in so many ways, Anne Frank's diary is just that — the diary of a young girl. But it is also a vital account of history.

Starting on her 13th birthday, Anne writes about her life with her family living in Amsterdam from 1942 to 1944. Alongside other Jews, Anne and her family go into hiding to escape persecution from the Nazis. She deals with all the feeling teenagers experience growing up, but also grapples with her isolation, lack of freedom, and trying to understand what is happening in the world around her.

Important reading for young people and adults alike, Anne's writing brings home the realities of human suffering levelled upon the Jewish people by the Nazis. Anne's father Otto Frank was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust, and he published his daughter's diary in line with her wishes.

Buy The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank from £9.49 at Bookshop.org

All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot

All Creatures great and Small James herriot

This book would make a great gift for the animal lover in your life, or any fan of the great outdoors. In it, James Herriot recounts his experiences as a newly qualified vet working in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s.

The first in his series of memoirs, All Creatures Great and Small finds Herriot in situations where there are high stakes, and more often than not some hilarity (think escaped pigs!). In the years since their first publication, the books have become classics.

If you want more of All Creatures Great and Small, there is also a TV adaptation to get stuck into.

Buy All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot from £8.54 at Bookshop.org

This is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay

This is Going to Hurt Adam Kay

This autobiography follows Adam Kay through his years as a junior doctor specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology and working within the NHS. It will have you crying of laughter and sorrow as the young doctor finds himself helping people from all walks of life, all while his own personal life falls into disarray.

Kay's debut publication was the bestselling non-fiction title of 2018 in the UK and stayed at the top of the charts for weeks.

This is Going to Hurt was adapted into a limited drama series by the BBC earlier this year starring Ben Whishaw, which used elements of the book to explore wider themes around health and the NHS.

Buy This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay from £5.99 at Amazon

Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela

Long Walk to freedom Nelson Mandela

This autobiography hardly needs an introduction. It tells the life story of former South African President and antiapartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, covering his childhood, education and the 27 years he spent in prison.

Mandela is internationally praised for overcoming enormous persecution and struggle, rebuilding South Africa's society as President. The film adaptation of his autobiography stars Idris Elba as Mandela, and was released shortly after his death.

The Kindle edition and paperback copy of this book starts from just £6.99.

Buy Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela from 99p at Amazon

I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy

I'm glad my mom died Jannette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy's memoir has been one of the most talked about books of 2022. A former child star best know for her role on Nickelodeon's iCarly in the USA, McCurdy's memoir describes her experience growing up in the limelight with an abusive parent.

The book's title has, unsurprisingly, been a big talking point, but it addresses an issue faced by many who write about their life experiences — how do you write about your true experience without damaging your relationships? In this frank and often funny book, McCurdy describes the emotional complexity of receiving abuse from someone you love.

Buy I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy from £11.99 at Amazon

Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama

Dreams from my father Barack Obama

Published nearly 15 years before he became President of the United States, Barack Obama's first memoir is a deep exploration into identity and belonging. In this book which begins with him learning about his father's death, Obama explores his own relationship with race as the son of a Black Kenyan father and a white American mother.

Written with his recognisable voice, Obama travels back to Kansas where his mother's family is from (they later moved to Hawaii where Obama spent most of his childhood) before making the journey to Kenya.

This makes an interesting read not only to learn more about the background of a man who holds such an important place in America's history, but also in shedding light on how we all relate to our own parentage and what makes us who we are.

Buy Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama for £9.99 at Waterstones

Becoming, Michelle Obama

Becoming Michelle Obama

America's former First Lady Michelle Obama recounts experiences of her life in this record breaking autobiography, from growing up on the south side of Chicago with her parents and brother, to attending Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago as a qualified lawyer. It was whilst working at a law firm in the city that she met her husband Barack Obama.

Obama uses her elegant story telling to take us along on the incredible journey she went on, as an accomplished lawyer, daughter, wife and mother to becoming First Lady. This is an autobiography that lets you see history from the insider's perspective and is definitely a must read.

Buy Becoming by Michelle Obama from £7.99 at Amazon

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman, Alan Rickman

Madly Deeply the diaries of Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman was much loved for his roles in fan favourite films, such as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series. This collection of diary entries, written with the intention of being made public and published after his death, give his witty insights into his day-to-day life but also his take on world events.

The book is filled not only with delightful showbiz gossip, but also with snippets of hidden moments — from his disbelief and grief at the sudden death of actor and friend Natasha Richardson, to the relief he feels that the costume for Severus Snape still fits.

Buy Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman from £7.79 at Amazon

Just Kids, Patti Smith

Just Kids Patti Smith

On its release in 2010, Patti Smith's memoir won the US National Book Award for Nonfiction. In many ways it is a love letter to her life long friend, the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. In Just Kids, she recounts their meeting, romance and how they continued to inspire and encourage each other in their artistic pursuits for the rest of their lives.

This story which so vividly depicts life is, however, overshadowed by Mapplethorpe's death. Read for a vivid description of the New York art scene in the late '60s.

Buy Just Kids by Patti Smith for £12.34 at Bookshop.org

Wild, Cheryl Strayed

Wild Cheryl Strayed

In this autobiography, Cheryl Strayed writes about hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, from the Mojave Desert in California to Washington State in the Pacific North West. In total, Strayed walks over a thousand miles on her own and in the process, she walked back to herself.

This memoir is beautifully written, moving between stories from the trail to those about Strayed's childhood, her struggles with heroin use and the sudden death of her mother — the main motivation for her walk. Full of suspense, warmth and humour, this book will make you think about your life and your family, and probably make you want to go on a walk.

Wild was adapted into a film in 2014, produced by and starring Reese Witherspoon.

Buy Wild by Cheryl Strayed for £8.99 at Waterstones

Taste, Stanley Tucci

Taste Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci has long been beloved for his nuanced and charming acting performances, but in the last few years has gained popularity for his true love — food. Between his CNN series Searching for Italy making us all cross eyed with food envy, and his cookbook The Tucci Table written with wife Felicity Blunt, there's no getting away from the fact that Stanley Tucci is giving Italian food an even better name than it had already.

But there's a good reason for Tucci's renewed love of food and his devotion to these passion projects. He was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2018 which left him unable to eat for several months, and even after he was able to eat again, his sense of taste was changed. In this memoir, he recounts his early relationship with food in his grandparent's kitchen and at his parent's table, and how his relationship with food has shaped all the loves of his life.

We recommend having a bowl of pasta in front of you while you read this!

Buy Taste by Stanley Tucci from £6.99 at Amazon

Calling all bookworms, take a look at the best Kindle deals and the best Audible deals for this month.

Educated, Tara Westover

Educated Tara Westover

This is a frankly astonishing memoir in which Tara Westover recounts how she came from a Mormon fundamentalist background without a birth certificate or any schooling, and ended up studying for her PhD at the University of Cambridge.

Westover gives readers a peak behind the curtain into the lifestyle of a group who do everything they can to stay away from the outside world. She recounts the experience of herself and her siblings as they grew up in an environment where they were often injured and didn't have access to medical help.

The juxtaposition of loving her family and yet needing to escape is acutely described, and she writes so cleverly about the complex subject matter, often admitting that her version of events may not be the correct one. Westover expertly uses her own story to examine themes of religion, love and above all education - and we promise you won't be able to put it down.

Buy Educated by Tara Westover for £10.99 at Foyles

I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai

I am Malala Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai's story is undeniably an incredible one. After the Taliban took over in Swat Valley in Pakistan where she was born, Yousafzai was prevented from going to school. Despite being just a child herself, she became outspoken on girls' right to learn and in 2012, she was shot in the head by a masked gunman while on the bus to school.

After the attack Yousafzai moved to the UK with her family. In this autobiography, she describes the importance of female education, starting the Malala Fund, and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. This book will leave you inspired.

Buy I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai from £8.54 at Bookshop.org

Crying In H Mart, Michelle Zauner

Crying in H Mart Michelle Zauner

Michelle Zauner is an Asian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known as lead of the band Japanese Breakfast. In this memoir, Zauner explores her relationship with her Korean heritage and how her mother's death forced her to reckon with the side of herself she had all but lost.

At the heart of this book about love, loss and grief is food. It acts as a constant dialogue between Zauner and her mother, as well as an enduring connection with her Korean heritage. This makes for a highly emotional and thought-provoking read.

Buy Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner for £9.99 at Waterstones

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry

matthew perry best autobiographies

Last year, we were saddened by the news that Friends actor Matthew Perry had sadly passed away, his autobiography, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing had become a bestseller the year before.

In Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry takes the reader behind the scenes of the most successful sitcom of all time (Friends), and he opens up about his private struggles with addiction. The book is honest and moving, with plenty of Perry's trademark humour, too.

Buy Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry for £20.99 at Waterstones

The Woman in Me, Britney Spears

britney spears best autobiographies

If the reviews of Britney Spears's autobiography are anything to go by — "The easiest 5 stars I've given" — The Woman in Me is sure to be a hit with Spears fans.

For the first time in a book, Spears is sharing her truth with the world: The Woman in Me tackles themes of fame, motherhood, survival and freedom, and Spears doesn't shy away from speaking about her journey as one of the world's biggest pop stars.

Buy The Woman in Me by Britney Spears for £12.50 at Waterstones

Love, Pamela, Pamela Anderson

pamela anderson best autobiographies

We might think we know Pamela Anderson as the bombshell in Baywatch, Playboy's favourite cover girl, and, more recently, making makeup-free appearances on red carpets – looking beautiful as she does so; she's an icon and an activist, and now we can read all about her in her own words for the first time.

Anderson uses a mixture of poetry and prose to speak about her childhood, career, and how she lost control of her own narrative.

Buy Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson from £10.99 at Amazon

Finding Me, Viola Davis

viola davis best autobiographies

Naturally, we're big Viola Davis fans over on RadioTimes.com — we've loved her in everything from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to The Woman King and The Help, so her autobiography Finding Me is right up our street.

In this book, we meet Davis when she's a little girl in an apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and we journey with her to her stage career in New York City and beyond.

Buy Finding Me by Viola Davis from £5.99 at Amazon

For more on reading, be sure to check out the best Audible deals and the best Kindle deals .

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The Best Memoirs of 2023

These ten books explore what it means to be a person..

autobiography books new

The beauty of memoir is its resistance to confinement: We contain multitudes, so our methods of introspection must, too. This year’s best memoirs perfectly showcase such variety. Some are sparse, slippery — whole lives pieced together through fragmented memories, letters to loved ones, recipes, mythology, scripture. Some tease the boundary between truth and fiction. Others elevate straightforward narratives by incorporating political theory, philosophy, and history. The authors of each understand that one’s life — and more significantly, one’s self — can’t be contained in facts. After all, the facts as we remember them aren’t really facts. It’s their openness and experimentation that allow, at once, intimacy and universality, provoking some of our biggest questions: How does a person become who they are? What makes up an identity? What are the stories we tell ourselves, and why do they matter? These books might not spell out the answers for you, but they’ll certainly push you toward them.

10. Hijab Butch Blues , by Lamya H

autobiography books new

NYC-based organizer Lamya H (a pseudonym) has described her memoir as “unapologetically queer and unapologetically Muslim .” What this looks like is a book that isn’t so much grappling with or reconciling two conflicting identities, but rather lovingly examining the ways each has supported and strengthened the other. Lamya provides close, queer readings of the Quran, drawing connections between its stories and her own experiences of persecution as a brown girl growing up in an (unnamed) Arab country with strict colorist hierarchies. Beginning with her study of the prophet Maryam — whose virgin pregnancy and general rejection of men brings a confused 14-year-old Lamya real relief during Quran class — Lamya draws on various religious figures to track her political, spiritual, and sexual coming of age, jumping back and forth in time as she grows from a struggling child into a vital artist and activist.

9. Better Living Through Birding , by Christian Cooper

autobiography books new

On May 25, 2020, birder Christian Cooper was walking the Central Park Ramble when he asked a white woman on the same path to leash her dog. She refused, he started recording, and after both he and his sister posted the video on social media , the whole world saw her call 911 and falsely claim that an African American man was threatening both her and her dog. Cooper quickly found himself at the center of an urgent conversation about weaponized whiteness and police brutality against Black men in the U.S., amplified by another devastating video circulating that same day: George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police. Many will pick up Cooper’s memoir for his account of the interaction that captured international attention and forever changed his life — and it is a powerful, damning examination — but it is far from the main event. By the time it shows up, Cooper has already given us poignant recollections of growing up Black and gay (and in the closet) in 1970s Long Island, a loving analysis of science fiction, a behind-the-scenes look at the comic-book industry as it broke through to the mainstream, and most significantly, an impassioned ode to and accessible education on recreational birding. (The audiobook comes with interstitial birdsong!) Recalling his time at Harvard, Cooper turns repeatedly to his love of his English classes, and this background comes through in his masterful writing. An already prolific writer in the comic-book space, his memoir marks his first (and hopefully not last) foray into the long-form territory.

8. Love and Sex, Death and Money , by McKenzie Wark

autobiography books new

McKenzie Wark is one of the sharpest, most exciting voices writing at the intersections of capitalism, community, gender, and sex — more broadly, everything in this title — and she is also criminally underread. In her epistolary memoir Love and Sex … , she looks at a lifetime of transitions — journeys not only through her gender, but also politics, art, relationships, and aging — and reflects on all the ways she has become the woman she is today, in letters to the people who helped shape her. Wark’s first letter is, fittingly, directed to her younger self. She acknowledges their infinite possible futures and that, in this way, this younger Wark on the brink of independence is the one most responsible for setting her on the path to this specific future. In theory, it’s a letter to offer clarity, even guidance, to this younger self, but really it’s a means of listening to and learning from her. Her letters to mothers, lovers, and others are as much, if not more, about Wark as they are about the recipients, but that self-reflection doubles as a testament to the recipients’ power. What comes across most strongly is Wark’s belief in ongoing evolution and education, and it’s hard not to leave inspired by that possibility.

7. A Man of Two Faces , by Viet Thanh Nguyen

autobiography books new

Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen’s memoir maintains the singular voice of his fiction: audacious, poetic, self-aware. Written in nonlinear second-person stream of consciousness — its disjointedness represented on the page by paragraphs volleying from left to right alignment across the page — A Man of Two Faces recounts his life as a Vietnamese refugee in the U.S. When his family moves from wartime Vietnam to San Jose, California, 4-year-old Nguyen is placed in a different sponsor home than the rest of his family. The separation is brief, but it sets a tone of alienation that continues throughout his life — both from his parents, who left their home in pursuit of safety but landed in a place with its own brand of violence, and from his new home. As he describes his journey into adulthood and academia, Nguyen incorporates literary and cultural criticism, penetrating analyses of political history and propaganda, and poignant insights about memory and trauma.

6. Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere , by Maria Bamford

autobiography books new

It’s safe to say alt-comedian Maria Bamford’s voice isn’t for everyone. Those who get her anti-stand-up stand-up get it and those who don’t, don’t. Her absurdist, meta series Lady Dynamite revealed the work of a woman learning to recognize and love her brilliant weirdness, and in Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult , she channels that weirdness into a disarmingly earnest, more accessible account of both fame and mental illness. Centered on Bamford’s desperate pursuit of belonging, and the many, often questionable places it’s led her — church, the comedy scene, self-actualization conferences, 12-step groups, each of which she puts under the umbrella of the titular “cults” — Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult is egoless, eye-opening, uncomfortable, and laugh-out-loud funny. These are among the best qualities — maybe even prerequisites — of an effective mental-illness memoir, and Bamford’s has earned its keep in the top tier. If you’re thinking of skipping it because you haven’t connected with Bamford’s work before: don’t.

5. In Vitro: On Longing and Transformation , by Isabel Zapata

autobiography books new

In Isabel Zapata’s intimate, entrancing memoir In Vitro , the Mexican poet brazenly breaks what she calls “the first rule of in vitro fertilization”: never talk about it. Originally published in Spanish in 2021, and with original drawings woven throughout, In Vitro is a slim collection of short, discrete pieces. Its fragments not only describe the invasive process and its effects on her mind and body, but also contextualize its lineage, locating the deep-seated draw of motherhood and conception, analyzing the inheritances of womanhood, and speaking directly to her potential child. All together, it becomes something expansive — an insightful personal history but also a brilliant philosophical text about the very nature of sacrifice and autonomy.

4. The Night Parade , by Jami Nakamura Lin

autobiography books new

When Jami Nakamura Lin was 17 years old, she checked herself into a psych ward and was diagnosed bipolar. After years experiencing disorienting periods of rage, the diagnosis offers validation — especially for her historically dismissive parents — but it doesn’t provide the closure that mainstream depictions of mental illness promise. In The Night Parade , intriguingly categorized as a speculative memoir, Lin explains that if a story is good, it “collapses time”; in other words, it has no beginning or end. Chasing this idea, Lin turns to the stories of her Japanese, Taiwanese, and Okinawan heritage, using their demons, spirits, and monsters to challenge ideas of recovery and resituate her feelings of otherness. Intertwined in this pursuit is her grappling with the young death of her father and the birth of her daughter after a traumatic miscarriage. Extensively researched — citing not only folklore but also scholars of history, literary, and mythology — and elevated by her sister Cori Nakamura Lin’s lush illustrations, The Night Parade is both an entirely new perspective on bipolar disorder and a fascinating education in mythology by an expert who so clearly loves the material. It might be Lin’s first book, but it possesses the self-assurance, courage, and mastery of a seasoned writer.

3. Doppelganger , by Naomi Klein

autobiography books new

After the onset of the COVID pandemic, as the U.S. devolved into frenzied factions, sociopolitical analyst Naomi Klein found herself in the middle of her own bewildering drama: A substantial population, especially online, began to either confuse or merge her with Naomi Wolf, a writer who’d gone from feminist intellectual to anti-vaxx conspiracy theorist. Klein’s initial bemusement becomes real concern verging on obsession as she fixates on her sort-of doppelgänger and starts questioning the stability of her identity. Klein becomes entangled in the world of her opposite, tracing the possible pipelines from leftism to alt-right and poking at the cracks in our convictions. Throughout, she nails the uncanniness of our digital existence, the ways constant performance of life both splinters and constrains the self. What happens when we sacrifice our humanity in the pursuit of a cohesive personal brand? And when we’re this far gone, is there any turning back?

2. The Woman in Me , by Britney Spears

autobiography books new

Throughout the yearslong campaign to release Britney Spears from a predatory conservatorship , the lingering conspiracy theories questioning its success , and the ongoing cultural discourse about the ways public scrutiny has harmed her, what has largely been missing is Spears’s own voice. In her highly anticipated memoir, she lays it all out: her upbringing in a family grappling with multiple generations of abuse, the promise and betrayal of stardom, her exploitation and manipulation by loved ones, and the harrowing, dehumanizing realities of her conservatorship . These revelations are tempered by moments of genuine joy she’s found in love, motherhood, and singing, though it’s impossible to read these recollections without anticipating the loss — or at least the complication — of these joys. Most touching are her descriptions of her relationships with her sons; her tone is conversational, but it resonates with deep, undying devotion. It’s an intimate story, and one that forces questions about our treatment of mental illness, the ethics of psychiatric practices, the relationships between public figures and their fans, and the effects of fame — especially on young women. Justice for Britney, forever.

1. Pulling the Chariot of the Sun , by Shane McCrae

autobiography books new

When Shane McCrae was 3 years old, his white maternal grandparents told his Black father they were taking Shane on a camping trip. It wasn’t the first time they’d done so, but this time, they never returned. What followed was a life full of instability, abuse, and manipulation, while his grandparents — including a grandfather who had, more than once, trawled cities for Black men to attack — convinced McCrae his father had abandoned him and that his Blackness was a handicap. It’s clear McCrae is first and foremost a poet; the rhythm of his prose and his hypnotic evocation of sensory memory reveals the way a lifetime of lies affected his grasp on his past. Maybe he can’t trust the facts of his past, but he certainly knows what it felt like, what it looked like. As he excavates and untangles muddied memories, contends with ambivalent feelings about his grandmother and mother, and ultimately comes to terms with their unforgivable robbery of a relationship with both his father and his true, full self, McCrae’s pain bleeds through his words — but so too does a gentle sense of acceptance. We are lucky to bear witness.

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9 Captivating New Autobiographies and Memoirs

Cover image for list, containing three books.

This season, curl up with an eye-opening new narrative.

A great autobiography or memoir speaks to the shared human experience as it captures the magic of a unique life story. Below is a diverse list of new autobiographies and memoirs that will open your eyes to fresh and memorable perspectives this fall.

autobiography books new

By LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

As the first Black woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell has a unique outlook on American justice. She’s witnessed its flaws and biases, and yet she believes in the essential value of the system. In her newly released memoir , Judge Cordell invites you into her courtroom for a behind-the-scenes look at America’s legal process, exploring what works and what needs fixing, from juvenile law and jury selection to the intricate ways that judges make sentencing decisions. Cordell draws on real-life cases to craft her wise and provocative account, chronicling a lifetime of experience on the bench while highlighting the steps we can take to make our imperfect system more equitable for all Americans.

Cover of Fox and I by Catherine Raven

Fox & I

By catherine raven.

Catherine Raven’s celebrated new autobiographical account is a deeply personal meditation on friendship and the extraordinary beauty of our shared natural world. Her narrative chronicles the time she spent living alone in a tiny cottage in Montana and the unlikely friendship she developed with one surprising visitor: a fox. At the time, Raven had just completed her Ph.D. in biology and was leading field classes at nearby Yellowstone National Park while she applied for full-time work. Life at the cottage was emotionally and physically isolating, until a mangy fox began appearing on her property every afternoon. As Raven’s interspecies connection with the fox deepened, so too did her understanding of loneliness and her sense of belonging in the wild world around us.

autobiography books new

Beautiful Country

By qian julie wang.

In her celebrated coming-of-age memoir , Qian Julie Wang recounts the story of her immigrant family, who emigrated from China and moved to America without documentation. Desperate for work, her former professor parents became sweatshop workers in New York City, while Wang struggled to fit in as a 7-year-old transplant. Wang’s lyrical narrative details how she sought refuge in books, found magic in the streets of Brooklyn, and navigated life as the child of a family whose “illegality” forced them into the shadows.

autobiography books new

By Tarana Burke

In this powerful new autobiography, Tarana Burke – the activist who founded the Me Too movement – shares her story of struggle, strength, and advocacy. Burke bravely chronicles her life story, documenting the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and the inspiration she found in supporting young Black and brown girls. By empowering others and fostering community, Burke freed herself from the guilt, shame, and isolation she experienced as a survivor of abuse – and rose to become the leader of a worldwide movement.

Cover of There's a hole in my Bucket

There's a Hole in My Bucket

By royd tolkien.

Royd Tolkien is the great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, and his new memoir proves that inspired storytelling runs in the family. Royd’s narrative pays tribute to his brother, Mike, who was diagnosed with ALS and who passed away at an early age. After Mike’s diagnosis, the brothers made it their mission to tick off as much as possible on Mike’s bucket list. After Mike’s death, however, Royd discovered a second list that his brother had left behind: 50 things for Royd to complete on his own. The challenges send Royd on an inspiring new journey, one that pushes him far outside his comfort zone and reminds him to cherish the fleeting beauty of life.

Cover of Bourdain The Definitive Oral Biography

Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

By laurie woolever.

Food writer and editor Laurie Woolever offers an unprecedented look into the life of Anthony Bourdain, the beloved chef who passed away in 2018. Woolever was Bourdain’s longtime assistant and confidante. In her new release, she draws on her personal experiences and interviews with Bourdain’s close family and friends to celebrate a life cut short. The food memoir traces Bourdain’s journey from his childhood through his years of success as a globe-trotting gourmand, producing an intimate portrait of the culinary icon.

Cover of Somebody's Daughter

Somebody's Daughter

By ashley c. ford.

Ashley C. Ford’s bestselling new autobiography is a heart-wrenching account of her experience growing up as the daughter of an incarcerated parent. During her childhood, Ford’s father was in prison – for what, she did not know. Young Ashley and her mother struggled to get by in Indiana. With unflinching prose, Ford chronicles her search for meaning while facing poverty and a racist system, laying bare the hardships and abuse she endured as a young Black girl and her reckoning with the truth about her father’s crimes.

Cover of Manifesto Evaristo

By Bernardine Evaristo

In her celebrated new memoir, Booker Prize–winning author Bernadine Evaristo delivers an impassioned narrative about finding your voice and staying true to your vision. The famed writer, teacher, and activist chronicles her creative journey and her commitment to sharing “untold” stories, alongside examining contemporary social issues of sex, race, class, gender, and age. The result is an inspirational and multifaceted account that urges readers to never give up, no matter the obstacle.

Cover of Real Estate

Real Estate

By deborah levy.

Deborah Levy’s latest release is the third entry in her Living Autobiography series. In it, she delivers a thoughtful examination of “home” and how it intersects with concepts such as ownership, patriarchy, and belongingness. Drawing on gender theory and philosophy as well as her own personal experiences, Levy crafts a moving meditation on the ways we value and devalue womanhood and women’s lived experiences.

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Biographies and Memoirs To Read in 2023

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by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

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by James B Stewart and Rachel Abrams

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10 Best-Selling Black Authors Who Shaped Literary History

Exploring themes of racism, oppression and violence, these African American writers have rightfully earned their place in the canon of great authors.

james baldwin

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What's more, these eloquent storytellers, who have contributed endless works of art, from poems, plays and essays to novels and nonfiction staples, have also taken up the mantle for their ancestors — many of whom were forced, in chains, from their African homeland to the United States — to tell their stories that had previously been passed down only verbally.

Here are some of the best-selling Black authors whose voices have both shaped and defined literary history:

Maya Angelou

maya angelou gestures while speaking in a chair during an interview at her home in 1978

One of the most prolific writers of our time, Black or otherwise, Maya Angelou's storied career spanned several decades and included the publication of everything from poetry and essays to several autobiographies, including 1969's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . The deeply personal (and highly successful) book — which chronicled Angelou's experiences of rape, identity and racism as a young girl in the south — earned the author the distinction of penning the first nonfiction best-seller by an African American woman.

Twenty-four years after I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' release, Angelou read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration, and the 1969 autobiography once again landed on the bestseller list, with sales reportedly skyrocketing 500 percent. (Her 2014 death at the age of 86 had the same effect on sales.) With other works, such as Angelou's 1981 memoir, The Heart of a Woman , flying off shelves, the Pulitzer nominee was a longtime fixture on bestsellers lists.

READ MORE: The Meaning Behind Maya Angelou's Poem "Still I Rise"

Zora Neale Hurston

zora neale hurston

The daughter of two formerly enslaved people, Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance . After releasing acclaimed short stories, such as 1926's "Sweat," and essays, including the autobiographical "How It Feels to be Colored Me" in 1928, Hurston eventually wrote her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God , in 1937. Three years later, she published her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road , to great critical acclaim.

In 2005, Winfrey’s Harpo Productions aired a television movie version of Their Eyes Were Watching God , which starred actors Halle Berry , Michael Ealy and Terrence Howard.

Chinua Achebe

chinua achebe in new york city on march 6, 1988

Chinua Achebe's seminal first novel, Things Fall Apart , has sold an estimated 20 million copies and has been translated into more than 50 languages since its 1958 release. The book, which thoughtfully examined discord in the wake of Christian missionaries exerting influence over African culture under Nigeria's colonial government, has been hailed as one of the bestselling literary novels by an African author, based on sales figures.

The native Nigerian, who later taught as a professor at the University of Massachusetts , also wrote such titles as 1960's No Longer at Ease , 1964's Arrow of God and Anthills of the Savannah in 1987.

Langston Hughes

langston hughes

Langston Hughes summed up his mission in a 1926 manifesto, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” writing, “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either.”

Famed as a Harlem Renaissance poet, novelist and playwright, Hughes published his first novel Not Without Laughter in 1930, earning great commercial success — and the Harmon gold medal for literature. In addition to myriad poems and plays, the one-time student of New York City's Columbia University also published autobiographies, The Big Sea and I Wonder as I Wander , as well as one of his most famous poems, “Harlem (Dream Deferred)" in 1951.

READ MORE: Langston Hughes' Impact on the Harlem Renaissance

alex haley at the broadway department store book department in fox hills mall

While there's some disparity over official sales figures, it's safe to say that Alex Haley's 1976 classic, Roots , has sold well over five million copies. (Most estimates actually hover near the six million mark.) What's even safer to say is that the story of Haley's ancestors — beginning with 18th-century enslaved African Kunta Kinte — is one of the most important works depicting the horrors and subsequent fallout of the Atlantic enslaved person trade. In 1977, Haley won the fiction Pulitzer Prize for Roots , which was also adapted into two miniseries.

Another of the author's best-known works, 1965's The Autobiography of Malcolm X , a collaboration between the journalist and the civil rights activist who was assassinated in Harlem in 1965, also sold in comparable numbers to Roots .

Michelle Obama

michelle obama discusses her book becoming with sarah jessica parker at barclays center on december 19 2018 in new york city

When they went low, Michelle Obama's sales numbers went high. Although it was only released in November 2018, the first-time author and the former first lady's memoir, Becoming , has already made history.

With reading enthusiasts buying more than three million books shortly following its publication, not only did the tome sell more copies in just one-and-a-half months than any other book in all of 2018, it also is “among the fastest-selling nonfiction books in history and already among the best-selling political memoirs of all time,” according to the Associated Press.

Toni Morrison

toni morrison photographed in new york city in 1979

In 1988, Toni Morrison won both the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her novel Beloved , which told the harrowing story of a formerly enslaved person following the Civil War. After writing the 1987 release, which was also adapted into a 1998 film starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover, Morrison went on to earn 1993's Nobel Prize in Literature for her 1997 book, Song of Solomon .

Additional titles, like her first novel, 1970's The Bluest Eye , as well as 1973's Sula were but a few of Morrison's works that made a lasting mark on the record of the African American experience.

READ MORE: Oprah Winfrey Once Described Longtime Friend Toni Morrison as 'Our Conscience'

Alice Walker

alice walker

Also adapted into a 1985 film starring Winfrey and Glover and directed by Steven Spielberg , The Color Purple , which Alice Walker had published three years prior, won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in the fiction category. In addition to her 1930s-set book, which also spawned a Broadway stage adaptation, Walker's later bestsellers included 2006's We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For and 2010's The World Has Changed .

James Baldwin

james baldwin

Famed essayist, playwright and novelist James Baldwin rose to literary prominence through works such as his insightful semi-autobiographical 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain , 1955's Notes of a Native Son , 1962's Another Country , and 1963's The Fire Next Time . After selling more than one million copies, his 1961 collection of essays, Nobody Knows My Name , earned him a spot on the bestsellers list.

The Harlem-born writer, who was highly adept at tackling issues of race, sexuality and spirituality, had several of his pieces adapted for the big screen. Among them: 2016 Academy Award Best Documentary Feature nominee I Am Not Your Negro which was based on his unfinished Remember This House manuscript, as well as the 2019 Barry Jenkins-directed (and also Oscar-nominated) If Beale Street Could Talk , based on Baldwin's 1974 novel.

READ MORE: Martin Luther King Jr. and James Baldwin’s Complicated Relationship

Terry McMillan

terry mcmillan

Waiting to Exhale , Terry McMillan's breakout female-centric third novel that she published in 1992, spent several months on The New York Times bestseller list, and, by 1995, sold more than three million copies. The same year, a Forest Whitaker -directed big-screen adaptation hit theaters, with Whitney Houston , Angela Bassett , Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon leading the ensemble cast.

Another of the Michigan native's bestsellers, 1996's How Stella Got Her Groove Back , was adapted into a 1998 film also starring Bassett, this time alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Taye Diggs.

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Labour leader Keir Starmer on the beach at Worthing

Keir Starmer: The Biography by Tom Baldwin review – steady as he goes

A new biography of the Labour leader offers fly-on-the-wall access and intriguing clues as to his motivation

K eir Starmer can be a hard man to read. Even now, focus groups complain that they’re not quite sure what he stands for – though he has come off the fence on enough divisive issues now, from Gaza to imposing VAT on private school fees, to give them a pretty clear idea. Still, some quality about him seems oddly elusive. The backstory we will all hear endlessly in the run-up to the election – that his father was a rather emotionally distant toolmaker with whom he had a difficult relationship, his mother a nurse who suffered terribly with a painful form of arthritis, and that they raised four children on a tight budget in a pebble-dashed semi – explains him to some extent. But he tells it still with a slight stiffness that leaves many wondering if there isn’t something more. A genuinely revealing account of the rather private man currently on course to lead the country feels badly overdue.

The former journalist turned spin doctor Tom Baldwin is at pains to insist this isn’t an authorised biography, but it doesn’t seem entirely unauthorised either. Baldwin was originally recruited to help the Labour leader with a memoir he had been persuaded to write in 2022, when still struggling to break through against Boris Johnson. A year later, riding much higher in the polls, Starmer backed out of a publishing deal about which he had always been ambivalent – but agreed to cooperate with the more conventional biography Baldwin proposed writing instead.

This book is the result, benefiting not only from access to Starmer’s friends, family, ex-girlfriends and wife Vic, but also close aides including his highly influential strategist, Morgan McSweeney. The author has been a fly on the wall at everything from shadow cabinet meetings to family breakfasts in Starmer’s kitchen. It is, in short, as intimate an insight into Britain’s likely next prime minister as readers are probably going to get, and crucial to understanding what makes him tick. But as Baldwin himself admits, anyone “hoping to find these pages spattered with blood” will be disappointed by an account that very precisely mirrors its subject: careful, nuanced, unlikely to set the world on fire, but eminently capable of doing the job it set out to do.

If Starmer’s ideological outline seems blurrier than that of most politicians that is, his biographer argues, because he’s not really a politician in the conventional sense. He came to Westminster late in life after a long legal career, and if it all went wrong could probably leave it all behind tomorrow to go and work in a bookshop. (He has, Baldwin reveals, already seriously considered resigning at least twice, firstly over antisemitism in Labour during the Corbyn years, and secondly after leading the party to a catastrophic defeat in the Hartlepool byelection).

He ran for leader on an avowedly leftwing platform before dumping it for a more centrist one, a move Baldwin portrays as less machiavellian than pragmatic: his Starmer is both reluctant to be aligned with any one Labour faction and curiously un-political, which can make him slow to understand why things that seem obvious to him aren’t connecting emotionally with others. There is an unworldliness about him, Baldwin writes, oddly reminiscent of Jeremy Corbyn – though in Starmer this comes tempered by a fiercely competitive desire to win, which means perhaps the better comparison is with Rishi Sunak.

What emerges from all this is a portrait of a leader willing to do whatever it takes, but still occasionally reliant on being told what that actually is by more acutely political advisers – with some of the most illuminating passages covering Starmer’s more recent political positioning and McSweeney’s role in the evolution of Labour strategy.

If there is some uncharacteristically juicy scandal lurking in Starmer’s past then this biographer hasn’t found it, unless you are shocked to learn that as a young lawyer sharing a cheap flat above what turned out to be a brothel he earnestly offered legal advice to some of the young women downstairs. Baldwin identifies no smoking gun in Starmer’s time as director of public prosecutions, either, concluding that far from failing to prosecute paedophiles, as some Tories have claimed, his record at the CPS was in fact one of diligently prosecuting sexual abuse cases previously treated as too difficult.

More surprising for some readers will be Baldwin’s take on tensions within the shadow cabinet. Rumours of a fractious relationship with deputy leader Angela Rayner, culminating in a botched attempt to reshuffle her? All better now, apparently. Widely reported frictions with shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband over green policies? Baldwin, who worked for Miliband when the latter was leader, describes a friendly, mutually supportive relationship. What about the time Starmer earned the adoration of Labour members, but the fury of his then boss Jeremy Corbyn’s office, by slipping an unauthorised line into his 2018 party conference speech as shadow Brexit secretary, saying nobody was ruling out campaigning for remain in a second Brexit referendum? Baldwin, who was working for the People’s Vote campaign at the time, reports Starmer insisting that he was innocently “trying to fix” a problem by sticking to the line agreed between the leader and pro-remain activists to avoid a public row over Brexit. If he genuinely thought that was going to calm everything down, he is at best guilty of being alarmingly naive.

Only rarely does the reader catch a glimpse of what feels like a more authentic frustration, as when Starmer describes himself listening intently to a parliamentary debate on Brexit only to glance over and see Corbyn engrossed in a week-old report of an obscure parliamentary debate “about cycleways or something”.

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Perhaps the most illuminating part of the book for anyone still struggling to get a sense of Starmer personally covers his relationship with his younger brother Nick, who has had lifelong learning difficulties. The fierce protectiveness he appears to feel for his siblings, none of whom move in the same rarefied circles as their knight-of-the-realm brother, and some of whom have struggled financially, seems key to his character and politics – but key also perhaps to that feeling that he is always holding something back. Unlike his parents, they are still alive, vulnerable to intrusion.

As children, Nick’s siblings got into fights at school, protecting him from bullies. As an adult he has had what his politician brother calls a “really tough life” – one that defies glib slogans about social mobility and shattering glass ceilings, and perhaps taught the Labour leader something about what it means to be marginalised. Though Keir was always the golden boy, getting into grammar school and then university, he recalls his father telling him that he shouldn’t consider himself any more successful than Nick, who had more barriers to overcome. All this is a reminder, Baldwin suggests, that the kind of overly simplistic working-boy-made-good stories politicians are coached to tell about themselves on the campaign trail invariably hide complicated subplots, in this case about those who will always be vulnerable or left behind in the most upwardly mobile families. If Keir Starmer still seems frustratingly hard to pigeonhole, maybe that’s ultimately our problem, not his.

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Local News and Opinion for San Diego

MarketInk: PR Pro John Freeman Expands Business with ‘Legacy Book’ Biographies

Rick Griffin

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John Freeman

Longtime San Diego public relations consultant John Freeman, a former sports and media journalist with the San Diego Union-Tribune, has ventured into writing, editing and publishing biographies, which he calls “legacy books.”

Since 2019, Freeman, a San Diego native and current Mission Hills resident, has produced 12 such books on notable San Diegans that are written as first-person narratives. The books are among the services he provides as part of Point PR Communications , Freeman’s PR consultancy.

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“I’ve spent much of my professional life interviewing and writing about interesting people who enjoy talking about their lives,” Freeman, 72, told Times of San Diego. “They talk and I listen, and after a process of gently shaping the narrative, the result is lively, insightful book of memories that they’re proud to give as family legacy gifts to family members and friends.”

Freeman said he charges a negotiable monthly fee, as the writing process varies from two to six months. The completed memoirs are published on Amazon in either soft- or hard-cover. Then, Freeman’s clients order their preferred quantity with the bookselling giant.

“The stories aren’t only about their business successes, but more about their personal triumphs, setbacks and challenges,” said Freeman. “In short,  they’re heartfelt reflections on their well-lived lives.”

Freeman’s first legacy book was “Hopes and Dreams” with Frank Hope, noted architect of the original San Diego Stadium, and his wife Barbara.

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Additional book titles and profile subjects have included: “Ted Talks” with San Diego sports broadcaster Ted Leitner; “Down Deep” with Charlie MacVean, who skippered the submarine U.S.S. Seawolf during perilous Cold War missions; “A Velvet Gavel” with San Diego’s Lawrence Irving, a highly-respected federal jurist and mediator who led the record-setting $7.2 billion Enron settlement; “House Calls,” a collection of true-life ER tales by Dr. Gresham Bayne, considered as the “godfather of home-care medicine.”

A 1969 graduate of Point Loma High School, Freeman also graduated from the University of Arizona. His early career included publishing and editing jobs with the New York Yankees and National Basketball Association, before returning to San Diego in the mid-1980s.

He wrote for the San Diego Tribune (1984-92), followed by the merged San Diego Union-Tribune (1992-97). In recent years, he has worked in marketing communication roles in the wind energy and luxury yachting industries (2001-2012) and with the University of San Diego Extension (2013-2015). He founded Point PR in 2016.

His late father, Don Freeman, spent 55 years at The San Diego Union-Tribune as a popular columnist.

“Like my father did, I get a kick out of talking to people about their lives,” Freeman said, noting that his subjects are typically in their 50s, 60 and 70s. “By then, they’ve achieved some success and they’re more than willing to leave a lasting legacy.”

Former KPBS GM Tom Karlo Hands Off CapRadio Rescue Duties

Tom Karlo, a former general manager of KPBS who ended his retirement last year to rescue financially troubled CapRadio , is leaving now that the Sacramento-based National Public Radio affiliate has a “stronger foundation.”

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Last week, the station announced that Karlo will step down as interim president and general manager at the end of February and serve as a consultant and special advisor to new interim president and general manager Frank Maranzino, the station’s director of technology. The announcement was made following an emergency board of directors meeting held Feb. 15.

“This moment is bittersweet for me. I will serve as a consultant for a couple of months to help Frank with the transition,” Karlo told Times of San Diego. “It’s a good time to hand off leadership duties and look ahead to my return to retirement.”

Karlo spent his entire 47-year career at KPBS, San Diego’s public broadcasting TV and radio station headquartered at San Diego State University, including the last 12 years as general manager. He retired in December 2020.

However, in August 2023, Karlo came out of retirement at the urging of Sacramento State President Luke Wood, who previously worked at SDSU with Karlo.

“I felt compelled because of my good friend Luke Wood. Also, if CapRadio went under, it would be a serious loss for Northern California,” Karlo said. “I was willing to do my part and step in as a strong supporter of public media.”

Capital Public Radio, as it is officially known, operates two NPR-affiliated radio stations, including news-talk KXJZ-FM (90.9) and jazz-and-classical music KXPR-FM (88.9). CapRadio also operates North State Public Radio, two stations owned by Chico State.

In recent months, Karlo has overseen layoffs and navigated the aftermath of a devastating audit detailing years of financial mismanagement by the previous leadership. Following the audit’s release, Sac State officials announced the university would oversee CapRadio finances.

In public statements, Wood has credited Karlo with preventing financial ruin for the radio operation that is licensed to Sac State, which also is an underwriter.

“Under Tom’s guidance, the station tackled significant challenges and has emerged on a much stronger foundation,” Wood said in a statement. “Tom worked tirelessly to stabilize operations and rally community support during a difficult time. Listenership is up, donations are up, our contract with NPR is now secured through 2028. He’s helped pave the way for rightsizing the budget. Ten years from now, when we look back and CapRadio is still going strong, it will be because of Tom Karlo’s time as GM at CapRadio.”

According to Karlo, “CapRadio is in a much better place than it was six months ago, but there is a long road ahead for the organization, which is still in a precarious financial position that came with ambitious expansion plans. It will take a couple more years to figure out how to handle a current debt that came with two expensive leases of Downtown Sacramento facilities that are still unoccupied.

“Overall, we’ve made good progress. The staff was reduced by 40 percent and we’ve implemented efficiencies and automation that increased local news service. Also, there have been significant increases in membership, car donation and contributions from major donors. Plus, audience growth is up 20 percent the last few months.”

Karlo said he expects the CapRadio board to begin later this year a nationwide search for a new president-GM. “The search will happen when the severe debt problem is stabilized,” he said. “I am grateful to President Wood and Sacramento State for all of their support, because CapRadio would not have a future without them. Personally, I’m eager for my own return to retirement life.”

Health Care Communicators Accepting Entries for Awards

The Health Care Communicators of Southern California , a professional networking group, is accepting entries for its 2024 Finest Awards program that recognizes excellence in healthcare marketing, advertising and communications for work completed between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023. Deadline for entries is Feb. 26. Entry cost is $125 for members and $150 for nonmembers.

Award categories include public relations campaigns, advertising, digital marketing, multi-media, writing, publications, collateral and design, special events, analytics and “off-the-wall.” Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Friday, May 17 at the El Adobe de Capistrano restaurant, 31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

HCCSC also is accepting nominations for its annual Communicator of the Year award. The COTY award is open to all professionals at any level who works in a marketing communication capacity in healthcare or other health-related fields in Southern California. This includes professionals from public relations, marketing, advertising, healthcare or media professions. Eligible nominees have consistently demonstrated excellence in healthcare communication through service to their organization and-or to the healthcare industry as a whole. There is no entry fee for COTY nominations.

For more information on HCCSC, visit  hccsd.org .

San Diego AMA Hosts ‘Branding in the Age of AI’

The American Marketing Association’s San Diego chapter will host “Branding in the Age of AI,” a networking and educational program featuring a panel discussing the intersection of artificial intelligence and branding from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, at Downtown Works, 550 West B St., 4th Floor in downtown San Diego.

Panelists will include Alexandra Watkins, founder of Eat My Words, a Point Loma-based marketing naming firm, and author of “Hello, My Name is Awesome, How To Create Brand Names That Stick;” Mike Matamala, San Diego digital marketing expert and creative director with Enlyte and AstroBrand Media; Bobby Buchanan, founder and creative director, Buchanan Brand + Design of San Diego. The moderator will be Tom McFadden, president of Jacob Tyler , a San Diego brand and marketing agency.

The public is invited to attend. Cost to attend is $30 for members and $40 for nonmembers. Parking is not included. For more information, send an email to  [email protected]  or visit  sdama.org .

Rick Griffin  is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.

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