memoir Archives

memoir

nonfiction

A composite of three repeating images of the cover of Arisa White's Who's Your Daddy

Arisa White’s “Who’s Your Daddy” Explores the Quest for Family and Healing in a Queer, African-Diasporic Context

Who’s Your Daddy travels from the United States to Guyana to explore fatherhood and the role of masculinity, care, and caregiving in our lives. While the search for and eventual…

Julie R Enszer —

Aug 17, 2021

alison bechdel

comics/graphic novels

book features

Talking with Alison Bechdel about Feminist Martial Arts, Lockdown, and Her New Book “The Secret to Superhuman Strength”

“My bookish exterior perhaps belies it,” write Alison Bechdel in The Secret to Superhuman Strength, “but I’m a bit of an exercise freak.” That is, it turns out, an understatement.…

Alyssa Favreau —

May 10, 2021

memoir

nonfiction

Melissa Febos "Girlhood" book review: Melissa Febos is in a black turtleneck, next to the cover art of her book "Girlhood." The book title says the word "Girlhood" in dark magenta lettering over and over until it fades into orange, spelling her name, like a sunset. It's all against a black background.

literature

Power Is Searingly Political and Personal In Melissa Febos’ “Girlhood”

Secrets, silence, internalized misogyny, power, desire, and the catastrophic — yet very common — ways in which girls are harmed as they grow into women are all themes that Febos…

Luna Adler —

Apr 9, 2021

gabrielle korn

memoir

The cover of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect repeated three times

literature

“Everybody (Else) Is Perfect,” Gabrielle Korn’s Debut Essay Collection, Examines the Media World She Helped Create

“Everybody (Else) Is Perfect” is a bold and complicated meditation on media, feminism, and the internet, written from the perspective of a thoughtful and deeply honest insider. It is also…

Vanessa —

Jan 26, 2021

abby wambach

Glennon Doyle Melton

literature

Glennon Doyle’s “Untamed”: A Gay Love Story About a Grown-Ass Woman Who Does What the F*ck She Wants

“There. She. Is.” Glennon wrote in her new memoir, Untamed, when she recalled the moment Abby Wambach entered her life. I assumed that would be the central conflict of Untamed.…

Heather Hogan —

Jul 8, 2020

memoir

nonfiction

lgbt book reviews

Samantha Irby’s “Wow, No Thank You.” Masters the Art of Self-Deprecation

Irby evokes Nora Ephron in her latest essay collection.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Mar 31, 2020

memoir

nonfiction

lgbt book reviews

Isa Mazzei’s “Camgirl” Explores Performance, Privilege, Kink and Contradictions

“Cam” screenwriter Isa Mazzei’s new memoir is an accessible and honest portrayal of one woman’s stint in the online sex industry.

Annie Rose Malamet —

Feb 12, 2020

Carmen Maria Machado

memoir

lgbt book reviews

“In the Dream House” Deconstructs the Nightmare of Abuse in Queer Relationships

Carmen Maria Machado’s first memoir, a deep dive into abuse between women both in Machado’s past relationship and in our world, is a wholly unique and wholly necessary text.

Rachel —

Nov 5, 2019

memoir

nonfiction

lgbt book reviews

Cyrus Grace Dunham’s “A Year Without a Name” Is an Affecting, Imperfect Exploration of Identity

Often, we talk about novels that should have been short stories. Dunham’s book of the same title “A Year Without a Name” feels like a memoir that should have been…

Oliver Reeson —

Oct 30, 2019

interview

latina

lgbt book reviews

Cherríe Moraga on Delving Into Her Queer Chicana Memories in “Native Country of the Heart”

Moraga’s latest, “Native Country of the Heart,” is a deep meditation on memory — reflections of the past, recalling hard moments, losing ourselves, and remembering who we are as Mexican-Americans,…

Yvonne —

May 1, 2019

interview

memoir

lgbt book reviews

“Long Live The Tribe of Fatherless Girls” Is a Gritty, Glittering Debut Memoir of Family, Grief, and Boca Raton

I talked to lesbian author T Kira Madden about her debut memoir, the challenges of writing about family and addiction, and finding a sense of belonging in queer community and…

Vanessa —

Feb 26, 2019

memoir

nonfiction

lgbt book reviews

“Wild Mares” Is a Story of Women’s Land and the Midwestern Lesbians Who Loved It (and Each Other)

“At the end of the prologue, I had to put the book down, because I had broken out in ugly, heaving sobs on a Monday night in the dog days…

Jeanna —

Aug 31, 2018

memoir

Most Popular

A Refreshing Trans Memoir More Concerned by What Is Gained by Transition Than What Is Lost

The Holocaust Doesn’t Exist in a Historical Vacuum

When It Comes to Fat Liberation, the Work Is Never Done

‘Cactus Country’ Moves Beyond the Expected Borders of the Traditional Transition Memoir

Quiz: What Queer Memoir Could Change Your Life?

Julie Delporte Wanted To Be a Lesbian Even Before She Was Sexually Attracted to Women

Lamya H on Queer Muslim Community and Leslie Feinberg’s Influence on Their Memoir

New Memoir Explores Growing Up as a Twin and Coming Out in Midlife

In “Pageboy,” Elliot Page Gets Vulnerable About Gender Dysphoria, Trans Joy, and Much More

Sarah Viren’s Memoir Is A Compelling Exploration of the Nature of Truth

A Refreshing Trans Memoir More Concerned by What Is Gained by Transition Than What Is Lost

The Holocaust Doesn’t Exist in a Historical Vacuum

When It Comes to Fat Liberation, the Work Is Never Done

‘Cactus Country’ Moves Beyond the Expected Borders of the Traditional Transition Memoir

Quiz: What Queer Memoir Could Change Your Life?

Julie Delporte Wanted To Be a Lesbian Even Before She Was Sexually Attracted to Women

Lamya H on Queer Muslim Community and Leslie Feinberg’s Influence on Their Memoir

New Memoir Explores Growing Up as a Twin and Coming Out in Midlife

In “Pageboy,” Elliot Page Gets Vulnerable About Gender Dysphoria, Trans Joy, and Much More

Sarah Viren’s Memoir Is A Compelling Exploration of the Nature of Truth

Arisa White’s “Who’s Your Daddy” Explores the Quest for Family and Healing in a Queer, African-Diasporic Context

Talking with Alison Bechdel about Feminist Martial Arts, Lockdown, and Her New Book “The Secret to Superhuman Strength”

Power Is Searingly Political and Personal In Melissa Febos’ “Girlhood”

“Everybody (Else) Is Perfect,” Gabrielle Korn’s Debut Essay Collection, Examines the Media World She Helped Create

Glennon Doyle’s “Untamed”: A Gay Love Story About a Grown-Ass Woman Who Does What the F*ck She Wants

Samantha Irby’s “Wow, No Thank You.” Masters the Art of Self-Deprecation

Isa Mazzei’s “Camgirl” Explores Performance, Privilege, Kink and Contradictions

“In the Dream House” Deconstructs the Nightmare of Abuse in Queer Relationships

Cyrus Grace Dunham’s “A Year Without a Name” Is an Affecting, Imperfect Exploration of Identity

Cherríe Moraga on Delving Into Her Queer Chicana Memories in “Native Country of the Heart”

“Long Live The Tribe of Fatherless Girls” Is a Gritty, Glittering Debut Memoir of Family, Grief, and Boca Raton

“Wild Mares” Is a Story of Women’s Land and the Midwestern Lesbians Who Loved It (and Each Other)