LitQueuelitqueue

After

Counting the Cost

Jill Duggar2023

5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower

More like it

Same elegiac register, still memoir

1 more ↓

  • A Living Remedy

    Nicole Chung2023

    A daughter recounts her parents' declining health and the failures of the American healthcare system. It is a memoir about grief and class.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Argonauts

    Maggie Nelson2015

    A memoir of the author's relationship with her partner and her pregnancy. It mixes personal narrative with academic theory on gender and family.

    elegiac → meditative, still memoir

    pace+1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    elegiac → bleak, still memoir

    pace+1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Education of Henry Adams

    Henry Adams

    A man writes a sardonic third-person account of his life and his failure to adapt to the technological shifts of the late 19th century.

    elegiac → sardonic, still memoir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Unfinished

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas2021

    The actress details her childhood in India, her time in American schools, and her transition from pageantry to a global film career.

    elegiac → earnest, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Whiskey in a Teacup

    Reese Witherspoon2018

    Reese Witherspoon shares recipes, interior design tips, and personal stories centered on Southern lifestyle and hospitality.

    elegiac → warm, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business

    Dick Van Dyke2011

    Dick Van Dyke recounts his career from radio to sitcoms and film. He focuses on his work ethic, his co-stars, and his personal struggles.

    elegiac → warm, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Sun and Her Flowers

    Rupi Kaur2017

    A collection of short, illustrated poems organized into five stages of growth. It covers themes of loss, trauma, and self-healing.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+3·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Pillow Thoughts

    Courtney Peppernell2016

    A collection of short poems and prose pieces organized by emotional state. It focuses on themes of heartbreak, healing, and loneliness.

    elegiac → tender

    pace+3·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+3·prose-1·bleak-2

Heavier

elegiac → bleak, still memoir

3 more ↓

  • Wasted

    Marya Hornbacher1998

    A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

    pace+2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • A House in the Sky

    Amanda Lindhout2013

    A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

    elegiac → tense, still memoir

    pace+2·prose0·bleak+1

  • A River in Darkness

    Masaji Ishikawa2018

    A man describes his thirty-six years living in North Korea after moving there from Japan. He recounts extreme poverty and his eventual escape.

    pace+2·prose0·bleak+1