Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher is bipolar and  Wishful Drinking, her memoir, reads as if written on a manic high, and with the memory lacunae to be expected from someone who has undergone electroshock therapy. She’s brutally honest about all aspects of her life, sometimes too honest, going back to a childhood with two famous (divorced) parents who seem [...]

Home by Julie Andrews

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years is the story of Julie Andrews’ childhood and young adulthood — until she becomes famous. Born to an unstable mom who soon divorces her wonderful dad (or perhaps not-dad, but wonderful anyway), Julie Andrews tells about living through the London Blitz, haphazard theater bookings throughout the English countryside, [...]

The Crowd Sounds Happy by David Dawidoff

The Crowd Sounds Happy is a memoir of a happy childhood, albeit with a mentally-ill father and a financially struggling mother. The author describes how his mother sends him to a posh, good private school where he feels he doesn’t quite belong with his rich classmates — and repeatedly hurst his mother by wanting much [...]

Not a Genuine Black Man by Brian Copeland

Not a Genuine Black Man is a memoir by an African-American comedian that poignantly recalls his family’s move to San Leandro, CA, at a time when the city was almost completely white. He gets picked up by the police on the first day (he was 8 years old), cannot find a barber, and his family [...]