Must-Listen Memoirs

Dave Grohl
Author and Narrator

In this memoir, Dave Grohl tells engrossing stories of his lifetime. It begins with his childhood in Springfield, Virginia, teaching himself drums and dreaming of being a musician someday. Then he tells of his early adult years on the West Coast, where he was rocketed from starving artist to a member of the biggest band in the world at that time, Nirvana.

Having achieved all his wildest dreams by age 25, but also witnessing firsthand the price of fame, Dave spent his next 25 years carefully crafting his life exactly as he wanted it - with equal measures of music, family, and friends. He shares some really epic stories starring some of the biggest names of our time, and he tells some really touching stories starring his mom, his wife, and his children.

You don’t have to be a fan of Nirvana or the Foo Fighters to enjoy this memoir! Dave Grohl tells stories about the phases of life and how they change you. Throughout this memoir, we see Dave strive to become a musician, and then to be so much more, including a father who puts his kids ahead of his career.

Qian Julie Wang
Author & Narrator

At seven years old, author Qian Wang moved with her family from China to America in 1994. Before the move, her parents were successful professors. Despite the Chinese word for America, Mei Guo, meaning beautiful country, life ends up much harder for the family here. Her parents are not here legally, which means their work put them in sweatshops instead of classrooms.

Qian escapes to libraries to avoid the teachers and classmates who shun her limited English. Over time, she masters the language by studying books like The Berenstain Bears, and begins to glimpse some of the magic of New York City, like Christmas at Rockefeller Center. However, her world changes again when her mom gets sick.

This memoir gives a unique insight into the hidden life and struggles of children trying to thrive in a place where they must also remain hidden in many ways.

Viola Davis
Author & Narrator

Viola Davis grew up in a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Throughout her childhood, she dealt with poverty, abuse, and racism. Reflecting on those challenges, in this memoir she speaks about these experiences with straightforward, brutal honesty. Hearing the story of how she got from there to Julliard is one you really need to hear in her own voice.

Her career has not been without struggles, many of which stem from the trauma of her upbringing. But she takes you along from the ride as she wins her first Tony, and then her first Oscar, learning along the way about the importance of self-love and acceptance.

Finding Me was a 2022 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Memoir & Autobiography.

Scott Kelly
Author and Narrator

Astronaut Scott Kelly has traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) four times, including spending a record-breaking year aboard the ISS. In this memoir, chapters alternate between candid accounts of his 2016 year in space, his colorful childhood, and years of training that led him there, including his earlier career as a Navy Captain, a fighter pilot, and an engineer.

Scott Kelly and his identical twin, Mark, are both astronauts, and both have spent time at the ISS. When Scott agreed to spend a year in space - more than any other American - Mark stayed on Earth as a control subject, allowing medical experts to compare and discover the effects of extended time in space on the human body.
Kelly - a true scientist at heart - writes and narrates in a very clear and straightforward manner, while still injecting plenty of humor and heart.

Trevor Noah
Author and Narrator

Born a Crime is the true story of Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s childhood and early adulthood. His rise to success was unlikely based on his beginning. Trevor was born in South Africa in 1984 to a white father and black mother. His parents could have been imprisoned for five years - or worse - for conceiving him. He spent his early years largely hidden from life outside because his mother feared (with good reason) that he could be removed from her custody because of the apartheid rules of segregation.

When the era of white rule officially ended in the early 1990s, the family’s troubles evolved with the times. From attempted kidnappings and domestic violence to high school dating, you’ll find a mixture of relatable and shocking stories that keep you engaged with every page.

In true Trevor Noah fashion, you'll be entertained while also receiving an education on life in apartheid South Africa. You will laugh and cry as you listen to him narrate his own poignant and honest stories.

Additionally, Trevor speaks eight languages and draws upon each of them throughout his stories. The audiobook allows you to hear the correct sounds and pronunciations for each language.

Nina Totenberg
Author and Narrator

In this memoir, NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg provides an intimate look at two women who paved the way for future generations.

Four years before Nina was hired at NPR, and twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, the two sat down together for the first time. Nina called Ruth to inquire about Ruth's legal brief in which she asked the Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional to discriminate on the basis of sex. This brief came at a time in history when it was common for women to be fired for becoming pregnant, and at a time when women couldn't get a mortgage in their own name.

That first meeting was the beginning of a 50-year friendship between the women. The two would each have a hand in the changing roles of women in the United States over that half century. While they were busy tearing down professional and legal barriers, they were also dear friends who saw each other through personal joys and losses.

This memoir also talks about Nina's relationships with other fascinating women and men, including Cokie Roberts, and Supreme Court Justices William J Brennan, Jr. and Antonin Scalia, among others.

Bono
Author & Narrator

For more than forty years, U2 has been a dominant force on the rock charts. Lead singer Bono is a cultural icon on and off the stage, and is finally sharing his story in his own words. The memoir is divided into forty chapters, each titled as a U2 song.

In the beginning, you’ll learn about his personal life. From the death of his mother when he was 14, to his 40+ year marriage and children, you’ll get new insight to what makes him who he is. There are also plenty of stories about his time with his bandmates and how they became so influential in the music industry.

Outside of his family and music, Bono is also an activist and shares his passion for leaving the world a better place in the final third of the book. He doesn’t just throw money at issues, he invests his own time and labor into campaigning for change, so he spends a large portion of the book reflecting on his wide-ranging advocacy on major issues.

While the printed copy of this memoir includes a drawing by Bono for every chapter, the audiobook is narrated in his lyrical Irish voice and you’ll be treated to snippets of songs.

Tom Vitale
Author & Narrator

Written by the long-time director and producer of Anthony Bourdain’s travel food show, In the Weeds takes you on an adventure around the world. Bourdain, Vitale, and their crew filmed in dangerous locations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and Iran.

The book covers what it was like to be on this journey, and how they managed to film in areas so hard for Westerners to visit. There’s a focus on what it was like traveling with Bourdain, on and off-camera.

Skip this one if you’re sensitive to the topic of suicide. Vitale shares some morbid comments Bourdain made over the years on the subject of death, prior to taking his own life. There’s also plenty of adult content and language. For a look a Bourdain’s life from his own point of view, try Kitchen Confidential or World Travel: An Irreverent Guide.

Anne Glenconner
Author & Narrator

Even the juiciest Hollywood tell-alls have nothing on this royal memoir from Anne Glenconner, who was a friend and official Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Margaret, and who The Guardian aptly describes as a "posh old lady who isn’t afraid to talk dirty."

In early 2019, Glenconner agreed to consult with Helena Bonham Carter and Nancy Carroll to help them prepare for their respective portrayals of Princess Margaret and Glenconner in Season 3 of "The Crown." These meetings prompted Anne to begin writing her memoir to tell the stories in her own words.

The book covers her full life to date, from her teenage years through her late 80s. While Princess Margaret is involved in some of the stories, the book is not directly focused on the royal family. Instead, it's all about the ups and downs of Anne's unbelievable life.

We highly recommend listening to this one as an audiobook because Anne Glenconner narrates it herself and her proper British voice adds magic to her often not-proper stories. Don't listen to this one with kiddos around!

Ben Folds
Author and Narrator

This memoir from singer-songwriter Ben Folds, the former frontman of the band Ben Folds Five, chronicles his 1970s North Carolina working-class childhood and his artistic coming of age. It digs deep into the experiences that shaped him, and imparts hard-earned wisdom about both art and life.

Although Folds reveals his embarrassing stories and hard-learned life lessons, compared to many musician autobiographies filled with sex and drugs, you'll find this one to be pretty tame. Instead, he has written a charming and honest memoir, filled with heart and life lessons that are as poetic as his lyrics.

If you love music, you'll enjoy how he discusses the creative process and music theory even if you aren't specifically a Ben Folds fan. We highly recommend listening to this memoir rather than reading so that you can hear Ben's wry observations in his southern drawl. You'll also be treated to bits of piano, bass, and singing throughout the book.

Michelle Obama
Author and Narrator

Let us start by saying that Michelle Obama's memoir is not about politics - in fact, she is pretty blunt about her disdain for politics throughout this book. Of course, she does talk about her experience as the wife of a politician and as the First Lady of the United States of America, where she used her platform as an advocate for women and girls around the world.

This memoir, however, is much more of an in-depth reflection about her early life experiences and the all-too-familiar struggle to find the right balance between career and family, especially under the microscope of the media.

The first of three sections in Becoming focuses on Obama's upbringing on the South Side of Chicago and her education at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She speaks honestly about the experience of being a working-class black student at an elite, predominantly white campus. In the second section, she talks about her marriage and career before becoming First Lady. And in the final section, she shares about living at the most famous address in the world.

Both a gifted writer and narrator, Obama has written a deeply personal memoir filled with humor, wit, emotion, and refreshing honesty about both her triumphs and disappointments - both public and private.

If you've already read Becoming, consider picking up Michelle's 2022 memoir, The Light We Carry.

Tom Felton
Author & Narrator

You may not recognize Tom Felton’s name, but we’re willing to bet that you know him well as Harry Potter’s nemesis, Draco Malfoy. In this highly-rated memoir, Tom shares what it was like to land such an iconic role at the age of 12 and to spend the next decade of his life in the wizarding world. This memoir goes well beyond the Harry Potter franchise, however. Tom speaks openly and honestly about all of his other experiences as well, including his later struggles with depression and substance abuse.

Reviewers praise Tom’s audiobook narration, calling it raw, authentic, and heartwarming. The book does include some harsh language, so keep this in mind if you’re thinking of listening to this book alongside any younger Harry Potter fans. The printed copy also includes photos though, so you might want to flip through it while you listen.

Jenna Bush Hager
Author and Narrator

To most of the world, George and Barbara Bush were the President and First Lady of the United States, but to Jenna Bush Hager, they were something even more important - they were Gampy and Ganny. In this heartfelt and touching memoir, Jenna paints an intimate portrait of all four of her grandparents - the Bushes, who lived in the national spotlight, and the Welches, who lived a much quieter life as a home builder and a home maker in Midland, Texas.

Throughout this moving book, Jenna recalls her favorite memories of her grandparents and shares the lessons they taught her about respect, humility, kindness, living a life of passion, and appreciating the beauty in the smallest things.

The audiobook, read by Jenna herself, brings these stories to life. You experience both her joy and sorrow as she celebrates the memories of her grandparents and mourns their loss.

Prince Harry
Author and Narrator

In this intimate memoir, Prince Harry tells his story, beginning when he learned of his mother's tragic death at the tender age of 12.

We all remember the image of two young boys - two princes -walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is his side of the story finally made public. After his mother's death, he struggled at school, struggled with anger, and with loneliness. Because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

After his teen years, he found purpose and structure during his two combat tours with the British Army. But after the military, he felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks.

Above all, Harry dreamed of finding true love and some sense of normalcy. He hoped to start a family of his own, and to somehow protect them from the media scrutiny that ended his mother's story so tragically.

The Book Girls Say... While many question the accuracy of Harry's stories, we found that reading the book for ourselves and then comparing it to the twisted headlines about the contents of the book demonstrates how much the press has demonized him over the years and painted different pictures of him to suit their needs.

We both appreciated that he didn't skip the hard stuff that shows he is not perfect, and listening to the audiobook we could feel how relieved he was to be able to share his side of things without a filter. We know people have different opinions, but we both really enjoyed listening to all his stories just like we have other memoirs.

We highly recommend this book in audio format, read by Prince Harry himself.

Minka Kelly
Author & Narrator

Actress Minka Kelly had an unlikely path to her role of a lifetime as Lyla on Friday Night Lights. Her mother worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, while her estranged father Rick was a member of Aerosmith.

Growing up with her mother, they bounced around the country, relying on different friends and family to have a roof over their heads. Sometimes, they lived in storage units. When she reconnected with her father, she made her way to LA and trained as a surgical nurse before landing her first big acting role. Now, she is also a philanthropist dedicated to helping women overcome their own adverse backgrounds.

Some readers are looking for behind the scenes gossip from her acting career, but you won’t find that in this inspirational and heart-breaking life story.

Paris Hilton
Author & Narrator

In one of the most surprising memoirs of 2023, Paris Hilton bares all in a whole new way. While you may remember her as the party-girl heiress turned early reality-star in the early 2000s, today she’s a thriving mom and wife.

From the outside, she had everything a girl could want and more. However, as a child and teen, she struggled with undiagnosed ADHD and rebellious behavior. In a desperate move to save their daughter, Rick and Kathy Hilton sent Paris to “emotional growth boarding schools” for two years, where she was abused mentally, physically, and sexually.

In this memoir, Paris shares her ugly past and how she’s transformed into a successful entrepreneur and activist. While the cover is classic Paris pink, and she will make you laugh along the way, reviewers warn that your heart will be broken as your eyes are opened to the dangers of Emotional Growth Boarding Schools.

Rob Lowe
Author and Narrator

We knew Rob as a talented actor from his days on the West Wing and Brothers and Sisters, but we didn't know what to expect from his memoir. In short, we were blown away by his intelligence, charm, and ability to talk openly about his insecurities and his mistakes, as well as his successes.

The book begins with Lowe's early years in Ohio, where he discovered his love of acting. Then you'll hear about his teen years in the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, California, where he spent his time making home movies with many not-yet-famous friends. His first big break came when he was cast in The Outsiders, but being thrust into stardom came at a price as he took part in the wild excesses of the 1980s. He speaks honestly about his quest for sobriety and his desire to build a solid family, and how his later career successes benefitted from both.

Lowe is a wonderful writer, but we highly recommend the audiobook because there is nothing better than hearing a storyteller tell his own stories - it's a much more personal and intimate experience. Not only is he a brilliant narrator, he also does wonderful impressions of his famous friends and acquaintances throughout the book.

Clint Hill
Narrated by George Newbern

In this memoir, Clint Hill reflects on his 17 years on the White House Secret Service detail under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, shedding light on the personalities of five of the most powerful men in the world, and giving a unique insider perspective on many historical events of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Clint Hill also wrote another memoir - Ms. Kennedy and Me - about his time as Jackie Kennedy’s personal secret service agent throughout her years as First Lady. Both of Hill's memoirs are vivid and insightful without feeling gossipy, and he provides an in-depth look at the politics of the day without feeling political.

While Clint Hill did not narrate his own memoirs, the audio versions are very well done and make you feel as if you've been transported back in time to witness all of the events first hand.

Mendek Rubin
Narrated by Myra Goodman (co-author) and Jason Vande Brake

Mendek Rubin was born into a Hasidic Jewish family in Poland in 1924, and he survived three horrific years in concentration camps while nearly his entire family was murdered in Auschwitz. He arrived in America in 1946 with no money or professional skills, but he was a brilliant inventor and ultimately achieved great business success.

After Mendek passed away in 2012, his daughter, Myra, found an unfinished manuscript in which he shared intimate details about his journey to emotional healing after the war. While this book will appeal to those interested in World War II history, it's very much a story for our time - one filled with insights about how to find joy amid the darkness, how to feel safe in a dangerous world, and how to choose forgiveness.

This memoir is a unique work of posthumous father-daughter collaboration that tells Mendek's story, and portions of the audio are narrated by his daughter.

by Sally Field
Author and Narrator

Sally Field is one of the most celebrated, beloved, and enduring actors of our time. Thanks to her infectious charm and captivating personality, and the fact that we've seen her on TV and the big screen for most of her life, it's easy to feel like we know her. But in this memoir, Fields opens up about the highs and lows of her star-studded career, but also about her difficult childhood that was marked with both abuse and neglect. She speaks with raw honesty and humility, but never with self-pity.

In Pieces is an inspiring story of life as a woman in the second half of the 20th century, and it's made all the more powerful by hearing it in her own voice.

Jessica Simpson
Author & Narrator

If you would have told us a year ago that Jessica Simpson's memoir would be a five-star read and make our "best books of the year list," we would have scoffed.

But it's good. Really good.

Open Book is full of heartfelt self-examination with sides of juicy celeb gossip and humor. It's a true tell-all, and Jessica is bold enough to address the mistakes she has made, along with the mistakes of others when they directly impacted her.

She somehow found the perfect balance of speaking honesty about reality of situations without bashing or only telling the negative. Each story has a purpose and depth.

Hearing her voice break at times adds more emotion, and listening to the audio version really makes you feel like you're listening to a friend.

Yousef Bashir
Author and Narrator

Growing up in Gaza on a farm located beside an Israeli settlement military base, Yousef was a young Palestinian boy who loved soccer. He was 11 years old when Israeli soldiers ordered his family to leave their home, but his father refused, even when the soldiers moved in and seized the top two floors. For the next five years, three generations of Yousef's family lived as prisoners in their own home, but his father insisted that they coexist peacefully.

At the age of 15, Yousef was already questioning his father's belief in peace when he was shot in his own front yard by an Israeli soldier, leaving him in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down for the next year. But it was also Israeli doctors who saved his life and eventually helped on his road to recovery.

Through this experience, Yousef was forced to grapple with the empathetic words of his father, who believed so strongly in peace over retribution, that he eventually also became an outspoken activist for peace.

Hearing Yousef tell his story in his own voice makes his powerful tale even more compelling.

Dolly Parton
Author and Narrator

Each of Dolly Parton's songs tells a story of her real-life experiences, and in this book she shares those stories behind her lyrics and the journey she was on when she wrote them. This includes her insights about her financially poor upbringing in a house that was rich with love, her long marriage, her faith, and her remarkable career as a country music icon and pop culture legend.

While we highly recommend listening to Dolly narrate her own memoir because you really can't beat hearing her stories and listening to her sing the lyrics in her own iconic voice, keep in mind that the format of the audiobook doesn't follow the printed book exactly. The audio uses an interviewer/interviewee style of narrative, while the text of the book is more concise but contains lots of never-before-seen photos and rare memorabilia from Parton's personal archives. For this one, we highly recommend getting both formats, and listening to the audio as you follow along in the book.

The audiobook of Songteller is included free with an Audible membership as of June 8, 2023.

Lori Gottlieb
Narrated by Brittany Pressley

Even a therapist needs someone to talk to! Lori Gottlieb is a Los Angeles therapist who helps patients through a myriad of life's challenges, but when a crisis causes her world to come crashing down, she seeks the help of a therapist of her own.

In this very candid and personal memoir, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both a clinician and a patient. She breaks down many of the stigmas about mental health, sheds light on the benefits of therapy, and paints a vivid and funny portrait of what it means to be human.

Maya Angelou
Author and Narrator

Born in St. Louis in 1928, Maya Angelou grew up to become one of the most influential voices of the 20th century - a poet, educator, civil rights activist, historian, actress, filmmaker, and much more. In this memoir, first published in 1969, Maya recounts her childhood from the ages of three through sixteen.

As a young child, Maya and her brother are "shipped" to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother, where they endure both the pain of abandonment and prejudice. At 8-years-old, the two return to live with their mother in St. Louis, where her mother's boyfriend rapes Maya. After returning to Arkansas, Maya is so traumatized by the abuse she endured that she stops speaking for several years.

Read in Maya's distinctive deep and lyrical voice will transport you back in time to the Jim Crow South where you'll feel like you're walking alongside her.

Alex Trebek
Narrated by Ken Jennings and Alex Trebek

For more than three decades, Alex Trebek hosted Jeopardy! His presence on television brought him into the homes of millions of Americans each and every night, making him feel like a close friend. But throughout this time, Trebek resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life.

After announcing his diagnosis with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Trebek was so overwhelmed with gratitude for the outpouring of love and well wishes he received from fans that he finally decided to write a book about his life. He said, "I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year."

In his memoir, Trebek shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, and philanthropy. He also answers some of the questions he was asked most often by fans of the show.

Trebek wanted to narrate as much of his own audiobook as possible, but because of his illness, he worried that his voice would give out, so he called on Ken Jennings - the most successful contestant in the history of Jeopardy! - to narrate other portions of the book for him.

Matthew McConaughey
Author and Narrator

Since his teenage years in Texas, Matthew McConaughey has kept journals not only to capture his life but to evaluate what works and how he could be his best. His notebooks spanned everything from his foreign exchange year abroad in Australia through his first acting gig, wild travels to rural Africa after an intense dream, and every major life decision.

To write Greenlights, McConaughey set out to the wilderness again, armed with only these journals to keep him company. The result is an honest and raw look at an unbelievable life. He’s extremely intelligent, spiritual, and unconventional in ways that may inspire you to be a bit bolder in your own life.

That said, this book isn’t a great option if you avoid books with crude languages or scenes. It’s truly a tell-all about his life and he doesn’t hold back in sharing moments others may avoid.

We highly recommend the audiobook narrated by McConaughey himself because, well, who wouldn't want to listen to that voice telling you his life story? This is another memoir where you might want to read along in the hard copy of the book as well, because the pages are also filled with lots of his handwriting, as well as photos of some events that you might have to see to believe.

Bill Bryson
Author and Narrator

Bill Bryson is famous for his humorous travel writing, but in this nostalgic and hilarious memoir he reflects on growing up in middle-America in the 1950s in the middle of the baby boomer generation. Using his childhood imaginary super-hero persona to tell his story, he tells his story of growing up in Des Moines, bringing to life his loving but eccentric family.

If you've never read a Bill Bryson book before, then we'll just warn you that you'll get both a great book and an ab workout from laughing so hard, especially when listening to Bryson's deadpan narration.

Bryan Stevenson
Author and Narrator

As a young attorney in Montgomery, Alabama, Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit law office dedicated to helping poor, incarcerated, and wrongly condemned defendants.

One of EJI's first clients was Walter McMillian, a young Black man who was wrongly convicted of, and sentenced to death for, the murder of a young white woman.

Author and attorney Bryan Stevenson's compassion and conviction surrounding the pursuit of true justice is made all the more powerful by hearing the stories of the EJI in his own voice.

Bruce Springsteen
Author and Narrator

After performing at the 2009 Super Bowl, Bruce Springsteen was so exhilarated that he wanted to document the experience in writing. That instinct triggered 7 years of work documenting his life from childhood through the roaring success of his E Street Band.

The book is written with the words of a songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences.