Memoirs & Personal Stories Books

Could you write what you write if you weren’t so tiny, Joan? —Eve Babitz, in a letter to Joan Didion, 1972Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in the wrack, ruin, and filth of her apartment, a stack of boxes packed by her m…

A national bestseller and American Book Award winner, The Best We Could Do is an intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family’s journey from war-torn Vietnam from debut author Thi Bui.In what Pulitzer Prize–winning no…

The book opens in 1909 with her grandmother's birth - and foot-binding - when China was under the last emperor, moving through Mao Zedong's rule, especially the Cultural Revolution during which Jung's parents were subjected to hor…

When Lea Ypi discovers a photo of her grandmother, Leman, honeymooning in the Alps in 1941 posted by a stranger on social media, she is faced with unsettling questions.Growing up, she was told records of her grandmother’s yo…

After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, The Pythons made their last performance together in 1983 in the hugely successful MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE. Writing and acting in films and television then took over much of Mi…

From the No.1 bestselling author of Do No Harm, an entrancing and uplifting meditation on the gift of life. ‘A book to treasure and reread’ Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human BeingAs a retired brain surgeon, Henry Marsh …

In Arab culture, tradition often dictates an individual’s role in a family, with personal desires subsumed in favour of unity. So, what happens when Queer Arabs challenge and re-imagine these expectations? This Queer Arab Fa…

Rosita Sweetman tells with irresistible dry humour the story of how she fled from a turbulent upbringing into a relationship that became marked by emotional abuse. Set against the backdrop of mid-20th century Ireland, her narrati…

From one of our most powerful writers, a classic work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo,…

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King Part memoir, part masterclass by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, …

Food has always been an integral part of Stanley Tucci’s life: from stracciatella soup served in the shadow of the Pantheon, to marinara sauce cooked between rehearsals and costume fittings, to home-made pizza eaten with his child…

Charly Gaul is a forgotten cycling legend. Once a household name across Europe, the diminutive Luxembourger won the 1958 Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia twice. A unique rider, Gaul was supremely gifted at climbing and resilie…

A Cosmopolitan best book about sex and intimacy that everyone should read!'Funny, wise, revelatory – a revolution wrapped in a love story' - Natasha Lunn, author of Conversations on Love'Hopeful, funny, sexy – a book I'm going to …

I'm the manager of a very unusual bookshop. I have access to over ten thousand books, and I'll recommend the perfect one for you. 80,000 COPIES SOLD IN JAPAN THIS IS A LOVE STORY. A LOVE STORY ABOUT BOOKS. Nanako Hanada's life ha…

In The Hard Crowd, Kushner gathers a selection of her writing from over the course of the last twenty years that addresses the most pressing political, artistic, and cultural issues of our times and illuminates the themes and real…

‘The strangest thing about jealousy is that it can populate an entire city – the whole world – with a person you may never have met.’ These words set the framework for The Possession, a striking portrait of a woman after a love a…

Alexei Navalny’s poisoning in 2020 by the Russian security services was a global news event.In 2024 he died in a brutal Arctic prison. He began writing Patriot whilst recovering from his poisoning; it ends with his secret prison d…

At eight, Sean Connery saved him from drowning.  At thirteen, desperate to hook up with Janis Joplin, he attended his aunt Joan Didion's legendary LA launch party for Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. In his early …

In the years following his disappearance, George Mallory was elevated into an all-British hero - handsome, charismatic and daring, he was the 'Galahad' of Everest, who had died while taking on the ultimate challenge. But he was al…

Born in 1958, the only child of a dinner lady and a sheet-metal worker, Geoff Dyer grew up in a world shaped by memories of shortages and the Second World War. But far from being a story of hardship overcome, Homework is a celebra…

The lead singer and songwriter for the Red Hot Chili Peppers presents a searing, candid memoir that captures the bright and dark moments of his life and career, including his descent into drug addiction, and their influence on his…

A deeply moving and brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book of days by the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train. More than 365 images chart Smith’s singular aesthetic - inspired by her wildly popular Instagra…

From the bestselling neurosurgeon and author of Do No Harm, comes Henry Marsh's And Finally, an unflinching and deeply personal exploration of death, life and neuroscience.As a retired brain surgeon, Henry Marsh thought he underst…

The Kennedy name has long been synonymous with wealth, power, glamor, and above all else integrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the pattern of Kennedy men physically and psychologically abusing women …

An intimate exploration of the life, craft, and legacy of one of the most revered and influential writers, an artist who continues to inspire fans and creatives to cultivate practices of deep attention, rigorous interrogation and …

A raw and powerful memoir of addiction and recovery, across three continents and multiple drugs, from early childhood through adulthood.Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping …

Most of us have a conversation we’re avoiding. From the bestselling author of With the End in Mind, this is a book about the conversations that matter and how to have them better – more honestly, more confidently and without regre…

In a career spanning over three decades, Ronnie O'Sullivan's journey to becoming the greatest snooker player of all time has been filled with extremes.A teenage snooker prodigy, Ronnie turned professional with the highest of expec…

The fourth volume of Michael Palin's widely acclaimed diaries finds him embracing the first decade of a new century. In Travelling to Work, the third volume covering the years 1988-1998, Michael's career took an unexpected directi…

For nearly 60 years Mr George Lucas led a double life. A mild-mannered civil servant by day, by night he was a fixture of London's colourful underground gay scene - a twilight world of petty crime, louche pubs and public toilets. …