LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

Michelle Obama

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Story of My Life

    Helen Keller1903

    Helen Keller describes her early years, her loss of sight and hearing, and her education under Annie Sullivan. It includes her personal letters.

    warm → earnest, still memoir

    pace0·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.

    warm → meditative, still memoir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    warm → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+3

  • 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.

    warm → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

    Frank W. Abagnale

    A teenager poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer to cash millions in fraudulent checks. He evades the FBI across several countries.

    warm → playful, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    warm → tense, still memoir

    pace+2·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    warm → earnest

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    warm → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    warm → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    warm → elegiac, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

warm → 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+1·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    warm → tense, still memoir

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+3

  • 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+1·prose0·bleak+3