Contrary to popular opinion, memoirs are not as boring as people think. If you think it boring then you might have been reading the wrong books. When you read the captivating stories about some women figures, then you will be reminded that the memoir genre is a very important one as well as addictive to read.
The stories will also remind you that despite the seeming physical frailness, women are resilient and powerful. Role models like Michelle Obama have taken time to pen down their stories and we have collated 5 of these kinds of stories we think we worth your time.
- “The Girl Who Smiled Beads” by Clemantine Wamariya
The story follows Clemantine’s sojourn after the Rwandan genocide. She and her sister spent six years as refugees migrating through seven other African countries without any knowledge of whether their parents were alive or not. Eventually, they make it to the US and stumble into a privileged life. She writes a story of the struggle to rationalize the life she had been given with the life she had been forced to run away from.
- “Becoming” by Michelle Obama
The former first lady of the United States of America shares a candid reflection of her journey from a little girl who grew up on the South Side of Chicago to an accomplished lawyer, mother and being the First Lady.
- “Unbowed” by Wangari Maathai
The Nobel prize winner, who passed away in 2011, shares her life’s story in this book. From being raised in rural Kenya, to developing the transformative Green Belt Movement in 1966 for empowering women and combating food instability in the country to being jailed, beaten and bruised; Maathai writes about being unbowed through it all making her memoir one to read.
- “The Last Black Unicorn” by Tifanny Haddish
Funny girl Tiffany wasn’t born laughing or trying to make people laugh. If the expression “laugh to keep from crying” makes sense to you, then you might understand why Tifanny Haddish became a comedian. Her book accounts her experience growing up in foster care to enduring sexual abuse. She tells the painful story with good humour making her truly a unicorn.
- “The Mother of Black Hollywood” by Jenifer Lewis
This book reveals how Lewis went from battling bipolar disorder to recovering from sexual addiction and proving that some of our biggest screen divas have fought numerous battles and come out on top.
