LitQueuelitqueue

After

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamist Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs

Elissa Wall

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Without a Doubt

    Marcia Clark1997

    The lead prosecutor of the O.J. Simpson trial details her personal history and the legal strategies used during the case.

    Same earnest register, still memoir

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • No Archive Will Restore You

    Julietta Singh2018

    The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

    earnest → meditative, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    earnest → bleak, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

    A.J. Jacobs

    A journalist spends one year attempting to follow every rule and commandment in the Bible as literally as possible.

    earnest → playful, still memoir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Tuesdays with Morrie

    Mitch Albom1994

    A journalist reconnects with his dying college professor for weekly lessons on life. They discuss aging, regret, and love as the professor declines.

    earnest → tender, still memoir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    Same earnest register, still memoir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

    Bill O'Reilly

    A minute-by-minute narrative of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent manhunt for the conspirators.

    earnest → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • American Kingpin

    Nick Bilton2017

    This account follows Ross Ulbricht as he builds the Silk Road dark web market and the federal agents who spend years tracking him down.

    earnest → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

    Jon Krakauer

    A journalist recounts the 1996 Everest disaster. He details the logistical failures and the storm that killed several climbers.

    earnest → tense, still memoir

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • No Archive Will Restore You

    Julietta Singh2018

    The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

    earnest → meditative, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • M Train

    Patti Smith2015

    A musician travels to various cafes and gravesites around the world. She reflects on her late husband, her favorite books, and her daily rituals.

    earnest → elegiac, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Broken

    Shy Keenan2008

    The author recounts years of severe physical and sexual abuse by her parents. It follows her journey toward survival and activism.

    earnest → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Fact of a Body

    Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich2017

    A lawyer investigates a 1992 murder case while confronting her own history of childhood trauma. It blends true crime with personal memoir.

    earnest → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • A Child Called "It"

    Dave Pelzer1987

    A memoir of the author's childhood survival against severe physical and psychological abuse by his mother in California.

    earnest → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2