The Best Memoirs of 2020 From 'Untamed' to 'The Meaning of Mariah Carey'
They may be based on reality, but they'll still help you escape for a little while.
Yes, everything sucks right now and most of us are reading fiction to escape the current reality we're living in, but learning about someone else's reality technically counts as an escape too...right? The incredible new memoirs of 2020 range from life-changing (see: Glennon Doyle's Untamed) to juicy (yes, I'm talking about Jessica Simpson's Open Book), giving us an inside look into these authors' lives and sharing lessons that we can apply to our own. Take a deep breath, then dive into the best memoirs of the year, ahead.
'Here for It' By R. Eric Thomas
R. Eric Thomas is one of the most hilarious writers around, further proven in his collection of heartfelt memoir-in-essays, Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, about growing up as an outsider and discovering what self-acceptance truly means.
Available February 18, 2020
'More Myself: A Journey' By Alicia Keys
Experience Alicia Keys like you never have before in her memoir, More Myself, which takes readers on a journey from the artist's days growing up in Hell's Kitchen and Harlem all the way to stardom as she grapples with acknowledging her self worth and letting go of perfection.
Available March 31, 2020
'Hell and Other Destinations' By Madeleine Albright
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was the first female to hold the position, knew she could do anything she wanted when she left the office in 2001. Now, she's reflecting on her decades-long career in her new memoir, Hell and Other Destinations.
Available April 14, 2020
'Girl Decoded' By Rana el Kaliouby
Egyptian-American scientist Rana el Kaliouby was raised by one of the first female computer programmers in the Middle East and a father who valued tradition. Still, that didn't stop her from moving to America and pursuing her goal of bringing humanity—facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language—to technology. Girl Decoded chronicles Kaliouby's journey of founding a prominent software company, and learning about her own humanity along the way.
Available April 21, 2020
'The Chiffon Trenches' By André Leon Talley
People in the fashion industry couldn't wait to get their hands on André Leon Talley's memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, which chronicles the iconic Vogue fashion editor's decades-long career and his relationship with prominent figures like Anna Wintour, Andy Warhol, and Karl Lagerfeld.
Available May 19, 2020
'Stray' By Stephanie Danler
Stephanie Danler's Stray shares the heartbreaking story of the Sweetbitter author's life that ends up taking a turn when she's forced to return to Southern California. There she confronts her past and her relationships with her mother, who struggled with alcoholism and suffered a brain aneurysm, and her father, who abandoned her family when she was three.
Available May 19, 2020
'Fairest' By Meredith Talusan
Meredith Talusan takes us through their life growing up as a boy in a rural Philippine village and later immigrating to the United States, where they transitioned to become a woman. In Talusan's powerful memoir, they navigate race, class, sexuality, and how they fit into it all.
Available May 26, 2020
'I Tried to Change So You Don't Have To' By Loni Love
As Marie Claire's Entertainment Director Maxwell Losgar perfectly puts it, Loni Love's writing is "written as someone who has long been wise beyond her years." Here, the actress/comedian/television host shares how she learned to embrace her flaws and take control of her destiny.
Available June 23, 2020
'Memorial Drive' By Natasha Trethewey
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey's Memorial Drive recounts her lived experience after her former stepfather shot and killed her mother when Trethewey was 19 years old, reflecting on how her loss led her to become the person she is today.
Available July 28, 2020
'Carry' By Toni Jensen
Toni Jensen's powerful memoir, Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, demonstrates what it's like to live as an Indigenous person in America, subjected to gun violence, racism, and a cultural landscape that has yet to correct its historical injustices.
Available September 8, 2020
'Everything Beautiful in Its Time' By Jenna Bush Hager
In Everything Beautiful in Its Time, Jenna Bush Hager shares personal stories and lessons she's learned from both her maternal and paternal grandparents—the latter Americans know as former First Lady Barbara Bush and President George H. W. Bush.
Available September 8, 2020
'What Can I Do?' By Jane Fonda
You may remember Jane Fonda, icon, getting arrested multiple times last year for hosting weekly climate change protests in front of the Capitol. Now, she's telling her story in her new memoir, What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action, in hopes of inspiring all of us to pay attention to the most existential threat our planet faces.
Available September 8, 2020
'Find the Helpers' By Fred Guttenberg
Anybody who has tragically lost a loved one will find comfort in Parkland dad Fred Guttenberg's Find the Helpers, where he shares how he's found purpose after losing his 14-year-old daughter to gun violence and his brother to 9/11-induced pancreatic cancer within a span of four months.
Available September 22, 2020
'Nothing Like I Imagined' By Mindy Kaling
While not a traditional memoir, Mindy Kaling's hilarious collection of essays, Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes), is an e-book slash audio collection where the actress reflects on motherhood, the pros of being single, how she deals with anxiety, and more.
Available October 6, 2020
'A Promised Land' By Barack Obama
In the first of two volumes, POTUS 44 recounts the lows and highs during his years in office, both personally and professionally, all while emphasizing the importance of preserving our democracy amid the challenging times we’re living in.
Available November 17, 2020
'Survival of the Thickest' By Michelle Buteau
Michelle Buteau, who frequently made appearances on Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams' 2 Dope Queens podcast, recently released Survival of the Thickest—a collection of essays where the comedian and actress reflects on her life growing up "Caribbean, Catholic, and thick" in New Jersey, and essentially every life decision she's made after that.
Available December 8, 2020
