On this page: a personal selection of non-fiction books and notable articles and podcast episodes related to the best memoirs and biographies. These are the best biographies to read right now. For this reading list, I’ve rounded up the top memoirs and biographies that I was able to find. In fact, the recommended books provide insights – the vehicle of transformation – into the most important subject of all: understanding people’s drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves.
The book pickings below ⬇️ are my favorite books in this genre and I read every single one of them. Stay tuned if you want to read more of the best memoirs and biographies.
Must read memoires and biographies
The Surrender Project
by Michael A. Singer
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
A road map to live in a state of happiness.
Tell me Who I am
by Alex and Marcus Lewis
Bol.com | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
A memoir about Alex who lost his memory and his twin brother who helps him reconstruct his dark and traumatic past.
Man’s search for meaning
by Victor Frankl
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
Frankl describes his experience in Nazi concentration camps and the psychological tools he used to cope with the extreme conditions. He argues that the meaning of life can be found through suffering and that the primary human drive is not pleasure, but the search for meaning and purpose.
More top memoires
I am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
This captivating memoir follows Malala, a Pakistani activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, as she fearlessly fights for girls’ education despite life-threatening obstacles.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
This concise and insightful memoir offers practical advice and personal anecdotes about the art and process of writing.
I heard you paint houses
by Charles Brandt
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
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Other top biographies
Educated
by Tara Westover
Barnes & Noble | Bol.com | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
A remarkable story about Tara, who grows up in isolation due to her parents beliefs and makes her way to Harvard and Cambridge where she earns her PhD.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
Author and novelist Stephen King shares his many beliefs and pieces of advice for writing. From tone of voice, practicalities, appropriate references and creating a sense of who you write for.
Je ziet mij nooit meer terug (only in Dutch!)
by Sonja Barend
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
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More of the best memoires and biographies
Our women on the ground
by Zahra Hankir
The Book Depository | Amazon |
Waterstones | Bookshop.org
Nineteen Arab women share in their own words, about what it’s like to report on conflicts that (quite literally) hit close to home.
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By year:
By specific topic:
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I’ll be regularly updating this roundup to include additional thrilling new offerings.
