Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
In his new memoir, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo writes his family’s story into the history books of immigration.
Nonfiction
All My Cats by Bohumil Hrabal
Vulnerable and wise, Hrabal’s gorgeous memoir subtly probes the depths of a fragile, troubled psyche, turning a subject as potentially benign as pet ownership into a platform of interlocking drama and introspection.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
In her new memoir, Machado tells a story of abuse that often goes unrecognized, exploring what happens when we don’t have ready narrative models for our experiences.
The Collector of Leftover Souls by Eliane Brum
Eliane Brum’s journalism is a challenge to those of us living lives of comfort and privilege. Our task is to be the reporter she strives to be: one who mostly listens.
Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
Perry, in the legacy of James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Kiese Laymon, employs the epistolary form to craft an intimate meditation on the fears, hopes, and responsibilities of raising two Black boys in America.
Black is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, And Mine by Emily Bernard
Emily Bernard writes she is “most interested in blackness at its borders, where it meets whiteness, in fear and hope, in anguish and love.” She examines this intersection closely, with her own life as a case study, to see where the pieces fit together neatly, and where their edges collide.
Since When by Bill Berkson
Since When is unlike any poet’s memoir I’ve ever read. It’s a treasure.
The Promise of Failure by John McNally
McNally is a kind companion who mines his own seasons of discouragement to offer others reasons to persist.
The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward
We don’t just grow up with Daley-Ward in this memoir—we grow up with the terrible as well. It is a haunting presence in her life, perhaps an imaginary friend. It is cruel, toxic, impossible to get rid off.