Recs for memoirs where the audiobook is read by the author?

Question

rips · Answer

Amanda Palmer the art of asking: She wrote the book AND did the audiobook! A good read and an even better experience listening! One of the few advice books that doesn’t bore me at any point throughout! What can I say? She knows how to entertain and captivate her audience!

Josie · Answer

how to murder your life by cat marnell: she’s crazy but she’s FREE! her memoir details her… turbulent upbringing/working as a beauty editor in nyc/drug use. she goes through really dark stuff but her creativity and dreams get her through everything… she also narrates the audiobook herself and i enjoyed it greatly

Tricia B · Answer

Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones (Priyanka Mattoo): Priyanka Mattoo is a parasocial fave of mine. Her family was forced to flee their home in Kashmir and moved from place to place. She tells her stories with compelling wit, and she has a new book coming out soon. And she’s on Substack.

Lauren · Answer

Thicker than Water: A Memoir: Go along a journey with her exploring all the ways her life experiences led up to a pretty significant/life-changing moment in her life

(The goosebumps, the tears, the feelings!)

Tricia B · Answer

The Light of the World: A Memoir: Poet Elizabeth Alexander writes beautifully and openly about the sudden death of her husband, their love story, and the before and after life with family and community. It’s a gift in 4 hours.

Jessica · Answer

Hold still: a memoir with photographs: Sally Mann’s story, photography and life - all fascinating and worth a deep dive.

grace · Answer

Crying in H Mart (Michelle Zauner): read by Michelle herself and impossible to turn off. Feels like listening to a friend pouring over her complex emotions over a couch coffee hang that turns into wine night

Lizbeth · Answer

wishful drinking by Carrie Fisher: I laughed so hard and I cried and I think about her often.

Sandy · Answer

E. Jean Carroll’s Not My Type. Pure delight. Brave, bold, fabulous.: In the book, she talks about how everyone said she should not be the narrator of the audiobook because she has marble mouth a little bit, but I can’t imagine anyone else telling the story so tenderly and flamboyantly too. Huge love for this one.

Caroalbers · Answer

Anything by Leslie Jamison is you’re looking for memoir.: I think her writing voice is so distinct and so to hear her inflections, emphases, etc makes the book so much better.

Phillips Mitchell · Answer

Matriarch by Tina Knowles: I would listen to the dulcet voice of Beyoncé and Solange’s Texan mom while hitting a tennis ball against a wall for hours last summer 😄

Elena · Answer

The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch: This memoir knocked me down and kept me afloat. The writing is striking and Lidia’s story is unforgettable. This memoir has stayed with me and I think part of that was hearing the author read it. Lidia’s life is grounded by feeling at home in the water, and tracing how it fuels her survival and her art, even while she is yanked from it by violence, addiction and grief.

Now a motion picture directed by Kristen Stewart which I have not yet seen.

Nyn · Answer

Nofx hepatitis bathtub audiobook: Jaw droppingly entertaining. Perfect for a long car ride in a large group

Rose Lachman · Answer

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, by Belle Burden:  I didn’t imagine I would be so moved by - or even finish - a memoir of a rich white woman being left by her rich white husband. And yet.

Rose Lachman · Answer

I am, I am, I am: Seventeen brushes with death , by Maggie O’Farrell: The frightening mundanity of the fragility of life. I cried at the end.

Rose Lachman · Answer

Solito, by Javier Zamora: Incredible storytelling of his walk through the desert to join his parents in the US, narrated from his child perspective. Gripping, heart warming and breaking.

Wynne · Answer

I’ll Show Myself Out: I found this book to be hilarious and delightful. I have now read it twice. I am not a parent so can’t speak exactly to how true it is to the experience of being a mom, but the book feels very raw/vulnerable. I feel like she talked about parts of motherhood that I don’t always see discussed (the tedium of it, the experience of explaining terrible things to tiny humans). It’s great on audio!!

Wynne · Answer

Know My Name by Chanel Miller: This gets a big CW for sexual violence, but is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. It will likely leave you feeling hopeless about our justice system and treatment of survivors of sexual violence, but also hopeful/inspired by the strength and courage of people (particularly Chanel). It’s a really powerful book.

Michaela · Answer

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah: I recommend this book a lot! Noah details his childhood growing up mixed-race in South Africa, where interracial relationships were illegal at the time (hence the title). It's an incredible story, and he tells it with humour and heart. He also really challenged my perspective and how I view the world in ways I really appreciate and still think about.

April · Answer

Leslie F*cking Jones: Loved this but I’m recommending it as an audiobook. I think with memoirs if the person who wrote it is reading it to you, listen to it instead. Storytelling is a lost art and something about it feels comforting. Plus I love her.

Izzy · Answer

Bluets: I wanted to recommend Bluets and so I double checked, the audiobook is read by Maggie Nelson herself. I could read this 1000x and it will still feel like my heart is breaking for the first time.

Catherine Davis · Answer

Famesick: 5/5 Brilliant writer and to hear it in her voice inspired so much compassion from me.

Meez Stephanie · Answer

Unreconciled by Jesse Wente: He’s a broadcaster so his writing and reading of the memoir is excellent. I worked with him at CBC radio and knew very little of his story, so this  was an eye-opener for me in many ways.

Mike Boutté · Answer

Acid for the Children: Amazing listen through life choices and self discovery by someone who an incredibly open mind.

Emily Copp · Answer

Yes, Please: I’m a big fan of her podcast, Good Hang, and recently relistened to her book. Amy’s sketch and acting career is goofy humor, but this book is a precursor to the thoughtful, friendship-driven podcast host I’ve come to truly love!

Lulu Lefferts · Answer

Leslie F*cking Jones: I haven’t been in a mood to listen to an audiobook memoir lately but I have heard legend of this one. So much so that I’m kind of afraid to listen because my expectations are now so high.

Robby O’Connor · Answer

Priest Daddy (Patricia Lockwood): Nonfiction works best for me for audiobooks and this memoir is an absolute banger. Read by the author, it will certainly make you laugh, but it’s more than just a ha-ha book. Highest of high recommends.

pairofgeese · Answer

I’m glad my mom died: As someone who rarely reads or listens to memoirs, I inhaled this. I didn’t know much about the author (her childhood fame came after my time), but it is written in a way where you aren’t expected to come in with prior knowledge about her life. A heartbreaking story about growing up as a child actor with an abusive mum, but somehow told with humour, wit, and the hindsight of someone who has done their fair share of work in therapy.

Maribeth · Answer

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett: Technically a collection of essays… but they’re personal and so in my unprofessional opinion, it sufficiently counts as memoir.

You’ll get a peek into her world, her bookstore, her fascinating life, and when the audiobook ends you will glow with inspiration, inspired by her graciousness, curiosity, and vibrancy.

Ann Patchett is a national treasure.

JaperMoon · Answer

The Meaning of Mariah Carey: I was not prepared for how much i loved this.

Emmmily · Answer

This Will Only Hurt A Little: Fun, well-read, great for a roadtrip.

the lacey edit · Answer

Parker Posey: You’re On A Plane - a “me”-moir in her words. I love listening to this book. Her voice is fabulous and she takes you on a magical journey. Cleverly, the premise is you are sitting next to Parker Posey on a plane and she is telling you the story of her life. I have listened to this book a half dozen times it’s so entertaining - good for long car rides or even a plane ;)

Gio · Answer

Darling Days: A Memoir by iO Tillett Wright: Been on the shelf for a while now and finally picked it up. Maybe it’s living in NYC, maybe it’s family stuff, maybe it’s now having kids, maybe it’s heading into the heat of summer, who knows but I couldn’t put it down.

dhblikes · Answer

Careless People, read by the author who FaceBook tried to shush: It literally answers the question,

”How did we get here?” —it was recommended by my memoir writing teacher who listened to it and offered it as a great example of  writing when it came out last Spring .  Sooooo gooood!!

Libby · Answer

Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile: If you are a Brandi Carlile fan, it's amazing because the audiobook includes a relevant song after every chapter where you get to hear her pour her soul into a song that is really meaningful to her.

Grace Rogers · Answer

Rabbit: A memoir: Eye opening to learn more about growing up in Atlanta during the crack epidemic