The City Girl Magazine aims to connect, inspire and empower women living in cities across the UK and abroad. I write about books and entertainment for the magazine (what else!?!) and thought I would share this post on my blog too.
I wrote this article for ‘We Love Memoirs Day’ which apparently happens every year on 31st August! It features some of my favourite memoirs by women writers, from Audre Lorde to Raynor Winn. I hope you enjoy reading…
https://citygirlnetwork.com/magazine/we-love-memoirs-day-book-recommendations
What are your favourite memoirs written by women? Please do share your recommendations in the comments below – I’d love to hear them!
OffBeatBooks 
I agree about The Salt Path, that is one of my favourite memoirs as well. Education is on my TBR. Another one which made a strong impression was Chanel Millers Know My Name.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed The Salt Path too Stargazer! It’s such a sad and inspiring story. Educated is really shocking, I can’t wait to hear what you think if and when you do read it. Wow, I’ve just looked up the synopsis for Know My Name – what a powerful and relevant book. Thank you for sharing that recommendation 📚❤️ X x x
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My favourite memoir which is a cross genre creative nonfiction/memoir and my favourite read of 2021 was A Ghost in the Throat by Irish author Doireann Ni Ghriofa. Outstanding, original and gripping, such a great read.
Last year I also read and loved Maggie O’Farrell’s memoir I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death another that defies convention and yet is utterly compelling.
Scottish poet Jackie Kay’s exceptional memoir Red Dust Road, on finding her birth parents is a fabulous memoir, a riveting story and a thought provoking look within finding the balance of who she is having finally met those who conceived her but never raised her.
Another empowering and wonderful memoir that is an all time favourite is Maryse Condé’s Tales From the Heart, True Stories From My Childhood, that lead me onto reading a lot of her ficiton.
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Thank you so much for sharing these recommendations Clare!!! I’ve just been hunting them all down on Goodreads and they sound amazing – I’m especially drawn to A Ghost in the Throat and Tales from the Heart 📚❤️ X x x
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I put the Trauma Cleaner on my own TBR after reading your review back in February, so thank you for the reminder. A recent memoir I enjoyed is A Still Life by Josie George, which is a story about a woman with a mystery physical illness, but is surprisingly uplifting. I have also become a fan of the sub-genre of Bibliomemoir, combining literary criticism with personal experiences. My favorite is How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis, which interlinks feminist literary criticism with the writer’s experiences as an Iraqi Jew living in England, and poses some interesting philosophical questions about the extent to which a woman’s narrative is constructed by the heroines she encounters in literature, and the concept of becoming the heroine of one’s own life. I hope you continue to enjoy your journey with memoirs. xx
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Ooh I really hope you enjoy The Trauma Cleaner Alyson! I’m always looking for new memoir recommendations so I’ll have to take a look at A Still Life. I love the sound of Bibliomemoir as well (and How to Be A Heroine), the literary angle combined with autobiography sounds amazing! I’d never heard of this sub genre before so thank you for sharing it with me 📚❤️ X x x
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