Originally posted on June 24, 2010, this version includes two important updates. 

For some reason, memoirs have steadily become my favorite literary genre as I grow older. It's also the genre I gravitate towards when I write. Creative nonfiction is something I relish in - being able to understand someone else's experience, whether there be complete differences or scary similarities.

Somehow I have grown from a little girl who only watched Wizard of Oz for two years straight to an adult woman who really gets off on reality, or a feeling of reality. As a former/forever film student, I must mention that one of my favorite categories of film is Dogme 95 - or anything for that matter that feels more like watching a life than a movie. Yes, it's the reality I crave to see and read now. (And before you ask, no, I have never had or ever will have any desire to become a psychologist.) 

The thing about memoirs - be it personal essays or a complete story of a period in one's life, comedy or serious - is that it's so intimate, it should almost be illegal. Not only is the writer letting you read their work (which can be daunting in itself a lot of the time), but they're also letting you - literally - into their lives. And often the most intimate parts of their lives. At the same time, it's not like you're watching a home video. You're seeing their lives through their memories, their own private thoughts. For me, this is where both writing and reading become almost a religious experience - something sacred. 

Having taken my fair share of creative writing and screenwriting classes, I feel confident enough to say that there's an understood sentiment amongst a room full of writers. And that sentiment goes something like... Sure, they didn't say this story about a kid killing a puppy is based on their own life, but maybe it is? Or maybe it isn't. Ah, hell. I guess we'll never know. 

In other words, writing is the place where you get to use your own life experiences and disguise or manipuate them as fiction - if you want. And inevitably, we draw from our own experiences when writing anyway. Thus, people can only speculate whether your writing is autobiographical;  but that's what's so ballsy about memoirs! The writer is coming right out and saying, "This shit happened to me. Here it is for anyone who wants to read it."

With that said, below are my favorite memoirs, all of which are highly recommended if you have not read them. The memoir as a category is pretty tightly defined (as we all know from the infamous James Frey incident...), so I'm going to try to be careful about the books I list. Even though there are plenty I'd love to put on here and argue in defense of their memoir aspects. (Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, for instance - one of my favorite books of all time, exploring "story truth" and "happening truth.") And then of course, the only thing I like better than a good memoir is a piece of fiction that feels like a memoir. (Anne Enright's The Gathering is the first to come to my mind.)

 Nonetheless, here they are:

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UPDATE: Just a few days after I had originally posted this, I was packing up my apartment and just happened to find an old napkin in my junk drawer with my pen marks on it, titled: Favorite Memoirs. I took this as a sign that I needed to update the post. Needless to say, I am currently kicking myself for completely forgetting about two of my most adored memoirs included on this makeshift list. They appear now with asterisks next to them. (Dear books and authors: Please forgive me for momentarily forgetting you.) 

My Favorite Memoirs

44: Dublin Made Me. Director and actor Peter Sheridan recounts his childhood growing up in Dublin, with breathtaking and from-the-gut reflections on his family: the tragedies, the sadness, the comical, his journey towards becoming interested in theatre and playwriting, and most prominently - his relationship with his father. 

* The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've ever read. Former French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby writes goes through with his book deal even though he can only blink one eye after a massive stroke, leaving him to suffer with locked-in syndrome. Bauby’s long, determined, and unique writing process resulted in an exquisitely brilliant and touching memoir. This should serve as an inspiration to all people, especially artists. For a writer, this read was none other than a serious emotional experience. 

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. David Sedaris. Duh. No need for a description. No but really, this one is my favorite collection of his essays because they are not just hilarious, but also poignantly and (I hate to say it) surprisingly touching. My favorites are the stories "The End of the Affair" (a brief but utterly sweet glimpse into his relationship with his partner Hugh), and "Repeat After Me," about the way his sister feels about the Sedaris family being the subject of his writings. 

* Christ Stopped at Eboli.  Italian anti-fascist and activist Carlo Levi published this memoir in 1945, chronicling his year in exile in the poor and isolated southern Italian town of Aliano (called "Gagliano" in this book). A painter, writer, and doctor, Levi powerfully depicts his year-long stay and gives a face and a voice to the people of this desolate town.

Persepolis. Sure, it's a graphic novel. But I can't pass it up when talking about the personal meeting the creative - and in this one, it's vividly creative. Iranian-born French graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi combines images and brief descriptions as eloquently as some of the best novels I've ever read. Regardless of the medium, it's poetic and powerful as Satrapi describes her experience growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Quickly becoming not only one of my favorite writers, but one of my favorite people, Sloane Crosley is funny and witty in these personal essays - and she's not afraid to tell you about her most awkward and socially unpleasant experiences. I describe her as a "girl's girl" (a "women love her, relate to her, and want to be her friend" type of girl), but her humor and effortless storytelling are universal. (Also check out her latest collection, How Did You Get This Number?)

Making Toast: A Family Story. Distinguished writer and journalist Roger Rosenblatt describes his own family's healing and transitioning after his daughter dies very unexpectedly. Honest and truly heartbreaking, but also uplifting, he describes how he and his wife move in with his deceased daughter's husband to help raise their children. The voice itself sounds like it's still in a state of shock and grief, and it makes for a very unique and thoughtful read. The moments where he takes the time to tell stories about his daughter as a young girl are what really get me.