Whose memoir have you recently read that you found most intriguing? Why?

1. 87

   Sunshine625posted 12 years ago

   Whose memoir have you recently read that you found most intriguing? Why?

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2. 68

   megmccormickposted 12 years ago

   Just finished reading The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses both memoirs by Jeanette Walls. Very intriguing because her experience of growing up in an extremely dysfunctional family was heartwrenching, yet she told the stories in a way you could feel empathy for her parents.  The book Half Broke Horses is about her maternal grandmother and it is just so amazing the adventures that woman had growing up in the West during the early part of the 20th century.  I was astounded at how late modern conveniences came to the west. 
   
   If you haven't read these memoirs I highly recommend!

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3. 71

   Alecia Murphyposted 12 years ago

   I read alot of celeb bios but I have to say Shania Twain. You could never tell by looking at her, but she's been though alot. Not only is she an inspiration for dreams coming true but also staying true to yourself no matter what others say. I thought I was a fan before but I definitely am now.

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4. 80

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   I just read Diane Keaton's autobiography. It was interesting because it was also her mother's biography.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Then-Again-Diane- … amp;sr=8-1

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5. 87

   Sunshine625posted 12 years ago

   The most recent memoir for me was Larry Flynt the founder of Hustler magazine. He literally went from nothing to being a successful entrepreneur. I don't agree with how he did it, but he did it. An attempted assassination in 1978 left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he just keeps on ticking.
   
   Univited Writer, very interesting about Diane Keaton and her mother I didn't know that.

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6. 62

   SusanLovesLifeposted 12 years ago

   It's been a while since I read it, but Jacque Pepin's "The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen" is one of my all time favorite memoirs.  I love to cook and he is my favorite chef so I was hoping the book wouldn't disappoint.  It exceeded my expectations and I gained even more respect for his accomplishments, not only as a chef, but as a person.  He grew up in the world of food in France, learning from his mother, who was a cook in a restaurant, and then he apprenticed under many famous chefs there.  But he did not go to culinary school like so many of the modern chefs do and the stories he tells about how he learned, the people for whom he cooked, and his eventual emigration to America is fascinating.  His writing style is perfectly pitched and totally unpretentious.  He is really a very humble man.  Just recalling it as I'm writing this summary makes me want to read it again.  I recommend this to anyone who is into food, cooking, or just enjoys a good memoir.

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7. 85

   KimberlyLakeposted 12 years ago

   My Life so Far by Jane Fonda, because she has lead an interesting life and she is very open.

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8. 57

   wim99posted 12 years ago

   Recently, I have read a host of autobiographies/ memiors the most enlightening was " Because I Remember Terror Father, I Remember You" about the life of Susan Silverman who by the way has a website with lists of memoirs, mostly about people who have suffered under the human condition. Susan was a vicitim of child abuse and incest.

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9. 60

   thoughtwomanposted 12 years ago

   Whip Smart: My Life as a Dominatrix by Melissa Febos. I find memoirs about people who lead double lives very interesting. She led a secret life as a dominatrix. Febos initially began this line of work to support a drug habit while going to college.
   
   Febos graduated from college with straight A's and a prestigious internship.  NPR did an interview with Febos, which you can find at http://www.npr.org/2010/03/08/124369913 … dominatrix
   
   This isn't a read for the squeamish or faint of heart. There is a lot of vivid detail about some of the acts in which she participated while working in a dungeon.

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10. 60

    ask-singleDadposted 12 years ago

    Keith Richards: He is very real and honest in it.

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11. 60

    fpherj48posted 12 years ago

    "Reconciliation"   Benzir Bhutto.....who was the leader of the "People's Party" (democratic-socialist) of Pakistan, which had been founded by her father, the late Zulfika Ali Bhutto, at one time, Prime Minister of Pakistan.  Benazir herself, was the 1st woman to head a Muslim State when she served as Prime Minister from 1988-1990 and again, from 1993-1996.  After an 8 year exile, Benzir returns to her homeland that she loved, with dreams and intentions of changing what had become a dictatorship, with her people suffereing egregiously, back to a form of the Democracy they had known under her father and herself.  Benazir was assassinated on Dec. 27th, 2007.  This woman impressed me beyond words.  She was a brilliant scholar, wife, mother, political figure and the bravest woman I have ever read about.

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12. 71

    Al Greenbaumposted 7 years ago

    TUPPENCE TO CROSS THE MERSEY.    HELEN FORRESTER
    
    A fairly well off family come down to earth with a thud when their reckless parents go bankrupt.
    I read this book again recently. It has a hold on you that is not easy to loosen. The story is of a deprived childhood; a young girl forced to be a nanny to her siblings by her thoughtless parents. Told with no bitterness, this heart-wrenching story is incredibly sad but equally uplifting. A triumph over adversity. Beautiful writing and an engrossing story make it a must read, for me anyway.

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