The literary world is not solely consists of stories that are pigment of the imaginations of the authors. It is also made up of true to life tales, which can be found in the nonfiction avenue of literature. There are many building blocks of nonfiction; examples of these are autobiography and poetry. Moreover, there is one nonfiction subcategory that is widely patronized by literary enthusiast because of its rawness and genuineness, which is called memoir.
Memoir pertains to the tales and masterpieces that only focus on a single moment of people’s life. Unlike autobiography where you have to write from the moment of your birth until your present life, memoirs are shorter and more refined for it only centers on that particular event that you want to put into writing. These events can be your childhood, coming of age, married life, and more. Since memoirs are still popular these days, here are some of the best authors of memoir books that you should check out:
Elizabeth Gilbert
Born on July 18, 1969 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Elizabeth Gilbert is the daughter of a chemical engineer John Gilbert and housewife Carole. Having risen in a Christmas tree farm in Connecticut without neighbors to interact with or television to keep her entertained, Elizabeth picked reading as a means of entertainment and leisure. Furthermore, she spent her college days in New York University and has acquired her degree in political science in 1991. She experienced a lot of jobs before she became an established author, such as a cook, waitress, magazine employee, and more. Her experienced as a cook was put to writing and was put into a dude ranch in short tales and some bits of it in her book The Last American Man. Elizabeth’s career as an author started to blossom when she released her memoir called Eat, Pray, Love. It has become one of the bestseller memoir novels of all time and was even adapted into film in the year 2010.
Michelle Obama
From the year 2009 until 2017, Michelle Obama was recognized as the first lady of the United States. She is the wife of former US President Barack Obama and a mother of two children. She was born in Chicago, Illinois in January 17, 1964 as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson. She graduated from two of the most popular Ivy League schools, which is Harvard University where she took her Juris Doctor degree and Princeton University where she acquired her Bachelor of Arts degree. Apart from being a lawyer, Michelle is also amongst the renowned authors of two nonfiction books, which are American Grown and Becoming. The former is a book about gardening while the latter is her memoir. Becoming has earned various positive feedbacks and the audiobook version of it was the recipient of the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Robert Wright
Robert Wright is a war veteran. He was deployed to fight in the Vietnam War at such a young age, 20 years old. In 2013, he was discovered that he has a Parkinson’s disease. Fighting in the Vietnam War was just as tough as dealing with Parkinson’s; but, he always put his faith to God and still continues to believe in Him. He is managing Parkinson’s by attending a fitness program of contactless boxing and core strength enhancement. Furthermore, he pursued his writing career after he retired from the US Army. He has published a memoir called Weapons of War — a soldier’s story narrating his personal experiences during his deployment in Vietnam. His book contains compiled letters for his fiancée and those who are dear to him. It also narrates how his war experiences created an impact on his life and to the people surrounding him.
Patti Smith
Patti Smith or Patricia Lee Smith is an American author, poet, composer, singer, and musician. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 30, 1946. Her parents are Beverly Smith and Grant Smith. Her mother was a jazz singer who became a waitress while her father was a machinist. She has three siblings named Linda, Kimberly, and Todd. Moreover, she is one of the important part of punk rock movement in New York City, showcasing her first album Horses that was released last 1975. Furthermore, Smith has written more than 20 books and her debut novel was Seventh Heaven, which was published in 1972. She also has written a memoir called Just Kids that was published in 2010. The memoir chronicled her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Just Kids is one of Smith’s successful books for having received multiple awards, including the 2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction, 2011 ALA Notable Book, Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award Autobiography/Memoir category finalist, and more.
Alex Writes 