Memoirs Books

In 1975, as Gough Whitlam's government hurtled towards its demise, a nineteen-year-old arts student at the University of Melbourne, Kim Carr, began a long march.Raised in an avowedly blue-collar household headed by his boilermaker father, Carr eschewed...

My father, political activist Samuel Mark Goldbloom, was my hero and my nemesis all the days of his life.Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo grew up in thrall to her father, a prominent socialist and covert member of the Communist Party. From an early age, she...

A wave of life stories and autobiographical narratives by Aboriginal women began in the late 1970s and gained momentum a decade later with the publication of Sally Morgan's My Place (1987), which became a bestseller. While some of the books of the first...

An Australian writer and a Mexican scientist fall in love reading great Latin American books aloud. But it takes a decade of journeys across the region, together and apart, for them to learn to read each other.Requiem with Yellow Butterflies is a love...

During a 1952 electric storm off Wattamolla NSW a waterspout drew in the CSIRO Cloud Physics Dakota, atomising all those aboard, including the writer's father. Or did it? When his living body has disappeared, what to make of the uniformed man on the...

A baby cries; a mother exits, leaving her family behind; a child finally begins to talk; a father stops breathing.Rozanna Lilley is a social anthropologist, autism researcher, and Oscar's mum. Oscar is on the autism spectrum, which means he has a...

Written from the late years of an extraordinary life, Ann Moyal's biography is a spirited narrative of her career as an eminent historian of Australian science and technology, her three marriages, travelling the globe, the people she has encountered, and...

With deep roots in the Kimberley region, Olive Knight shares her story of growing up with the Gooniyandi and Walmatjarri peoples of north-western Australia. As the daughter of a half-caste father, she was nearly killed on the day of her birth, as was...

So I Hit Him is an extremely powerful memoir that will shock many people, yet is intensely inspirational. Born in a former workhouse hospital in Manchester, England with multiple disabilities and not expected to survive, Michael was placed in care almost...

“The lowdown on what it’s like to be raised by a legend. Frequently funny and consistently intimate. . . . A great read.”  —BookPage“Those searching for a moving Father’s Day gift need look no further.” —Publishers WeeklyMen like John Wayne and John...

Jessamyn Stanley’s first book, Every Body Yoga, with 59,000 copies in print, taught us how to do yoga. Now, in Yoke, she tells us why. Writing about what she calls the yoga of the everyday – which is not just about poses but about applying the hard...

Stan Grant is talking to his country in a new way. In his most poetic and inspiring work yet, he offers a means of moving beyond the binaries and embracing a path to peace and forgiveness, rooted in the Wiradjuri spiritual practice of Yindyamarra – deep...

Gina Chick, the inaugural winner of Alone Australia, tells the story of her extraordinary, indomitable life in one of the most powerful, moving memoirs you will ever read.From day one of her wildly unconventional childhood, Gina Chick blazed her own...

An “intimate, intensely resonant memoir about workaholism, unresolved trauma, and the ‘addictive nature of ambition’” (Harper’s Bazaar), this is an anti-girlboss tale for our times for readers of Drinking: A Love Story and Uncanny Valley.After years of...

For readers of Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom, Esmé Weijun Wang’s The Collected Schizophrenias, and Melissa Febos’s Girlhood, a powerful and deeply personal memoir in essays that sheds light on the silent epidemic of head trauma.Annie Liontas...

What would you do if your husband suddenly left you with two kids to support? Go back to school? Go into real estate?Or start a new career as a pimp?Upon discovering that sex work is decriminalised in New Zealand, Antonia Murphy decides to build her own...

The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal, “highly readable” (Kirkus Reviews) journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true...

Reveals the vast impact of Ralph Metzner’s healing therapies and wisdom on colleagues, students, clients, and the fields in which he worked• Includes contributions from Rick Doblin, Charles S. Grob, Stan Grof, Stanley Krippner, Dennis McKenna, the late...

An unconventional memoir of a man immersed in magic and the occult• Explores the author’s extensive connections with infamous occultists and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey and the Church of...

After his father—the hero and strength of the family—is diagnosed with kidney failure, actor Steve Guttenberg dedicates himself to becoming a caregiver and reflects on their life together, from childhood through his Hollywood career, in his father’s...

The inspiring story from 2025 NSW Young Australian of the Year Nominee, Alex Noble, whose wisdom and strength can teach us all how to live life to the fullest, no matter what it throws at us.Sixteen-year-old Alex Noble was a high school rugby star with a...

Turn your pain into power. Part inspirational memoir, part practical guide, Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit to unpack your “trauma pack” and step into the best version of yourself.Join wellness advocate and wilderness guide Sydney Williams as she...

USA TODAY BestsellerYouTube sensation Andrew Huang offers practical tips and hard-won advice for creatives seeking financial stability while staying authentic.How does a musician with acute hearing loss, a refusal to perform live, and no industry...

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER“This funny, insightful, and deliciously dishy memoir” (Town & Country) from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, and Glory, creator of...

The bestseller optioned for a major film and adapted to the stage, Fourteen is this generation’s Holding the Man – a moving coming-of-age memoir about a young man’s search for identity and acceptance in the most unforgiving and hostile of places:...

“No matter how much I enjoyed parenthood, I found myself having to accept its fundamental truth: that nothing ever turns out quite as you’d expect.”It was a journey that most parents would hope to avoid: a son born with a congenital heart defect, a...

Berkeley, 1972: a hotbed of creativity where painters, filmmakers, musicians, and writers inspire a young poet.NYC Big Book Award: Winner in New Adult Non-fiction NYC Big Book Award: Distinguished Favorite in Women’s Issues International Book Award...

“Ragunath’s transformation shows how one person’s choice to evolve can change the lives of so many. This book is real, funny, and inspirational.” —Jay ShettyThe heartfelt memoir of Ray Raghunath Cappo, a legendary hardcore punk musician-turned-monk—and...

For the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting. Jill Duggar and her husband Derick are finally ready to share their story, revealing...

Award-winning actor, rapper, and producer Ice-T unveils a compelling memoir of his early life robbing jewelry stores until he found fame and fortune—while a handful of bad choices sent his former crime partner down an incredibly different path.Ice-T rose...

The long-awaited memoir from iconic, beloved actor and living legend Sir Patrick Stewart!From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations in a...

NATIONAL BESTSELLERThe North Korean defector, human rights advocate, and bestselling author of In Order to Live sounds the alarm on the culture wars, identity politics, and authoritarian tendencies tearing America apart.After defecting from North Korea,...

Then There Was You is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Sophie Cachia’s bestselling memoir Then There Was Her.In Then There Was Her, Sophie Cachia revealed how falling in love with a woman turned her whole world upside down. Her story inspired...

Kate Langbroek’s deliciously funny and inspiring memoir about moving to Italy with her family to seek la dolce vita. ‘A wonderful story, beautifully written, filled with heart and humour’ Liane Moriarty (reviewing Ciao Bella! on 3pm Pick Up,...

An honest and candid memoir from one of Australia’s most phenomenal voices. A story of determination, humility and self-discovery.Top 10, Booktopia’s FAB AwardAll Anthony Callea wanted was to sing. From his first memories of singing for his family,...

In the tradition of The Glass Castle, Educated, and Heartland, Neal Wootentraces five decades of his dirt-poor, Alabama mountain family as the years and secrets coalesce.Neal Wooten grew up in a tiny community atop Sand...

'Engaging and engrossing, frank and frankly troubling, Seventeen is a book not easily forgotten' - Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves'So compelling and shocking that to read it is to have it seared on to you. I felt...

A “captivating” (The Washington Post) true story of “courage, resolve, and determination” (The Christian Science Monitor), author Ralph White’s successful effort to save nearly the entire staff of the Saigon branch of Chase Manhattan bank and their...

Named one of Us Weekly’s Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2022The New York Times bestselling author of the “refreshing” (The Cut) Next Level Basic and fan-favorite alumna of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules returns with the definitive Basic Bitch handbook for surviving...

* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD!A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders,...

Struggling to stay alive with a gaping wound across my back, I desperately wondered how I got to this point. My knife-wielding opponent was not the attacker... He'd been defending himself against an ego-driven, menacing thug who was intent on hurting...

The Australia Director at Human Rights Watch shares her experiences defending human rights – from human trafficking in Nepal to the 'drug war' in the Philippines to treatment of detainees in Papua New Guinea and in Australia – offering an extremely...

A brutally honest and moving memoir of lust, abuse, addiction, stardom, and redemption from Arrow and Teen Wolf actor Colton Haynes.Four years ago, Colton Haynes woke up in a hospital. He’d had two seizures, lost the sight in one eye, almost ruptured a...

From influential and iconic star Constance Wu, a powerful and poignant memoir-in-essays full of funny and intimate observations that will resonate with readers everywhere.‘Like her, the book is bold, emotional and unexpurgated; the story of an Asian...

Trust me, there is life and love (and plenty of laughter) after divorce, even when your ex is one of Australia’s highest profile sport stars. Actually, I Don’t Like Cricket Or Blow Jobs! (And to be honest, I suck at both.) Yes, that was what I...

‘The wood holds its breath, the only sound the begging of the chicks. The forest hasn’t been this peaceful for a thousand years.’ When lockdown happened, wildlife cameraman James Aldred had the unique experience of being alone in the New Forest with...

Sex, Drugs, and a Buddhist Monk is a memoir. It tells the story of a fateful (and nearly fatal) trip to Thailand, which started in debauchery but ended in enlightenment. A severely obese, depressed, anxious alcoholic and drug abuser, Luke Kennedy was...