The Fashion Journal team shares the best memoirs they’ve read by women and non-binary authors
WORDS BY FASHION JOURNAL
All kinds of stories, from harrowing to heartwarming.
Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault, domestic abuse and addiction.
At Fashion Journal, we love sharing stories written by women and non-binary people. We love reading them, too. We’ve got a particular penchant for non-fiction tales, those womxn-driven memoirs that offer raw, honest insights into experiences so different (or similar) to our own.
Interested to hear how others navigate the world? Head to our Life section.
Below, we asked the Fashion Journal team and contributors to share some of their favourite memoirs written by women and non-binary authors. Scroll on for all kinds of stories, from harrowing to heartwarming.
Tell Me Again by Amy Thunig
Recommended by: Daisy Henry, Fashion Journal Contributor
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Tell Me Again is a memoir from Gomeroi academic, Dr Amy Thunig. Each chapter reads as a short essay where Amy talks about their experiences growing up impoverished, having parents that battled addiction and navigating the world as a ‘nerdy, queer, autistic’ kid. It’s a humanising story that contrasts moments of trauma and hardship with those of love, support, resilience and understanding.
I opted for the audiobook version of this, partially because Amy narrates it herself which I found added a level of intimacy, and I couldn’t stop listening. Amy is honest and empathetic, and their prose was beautiful, yet incredibly accessible.
Get it here.
Hit So Hard by Patty Schemel
Recommended by: Izzy Wight, Fashion Journal’s Editorial Assistant
I picked up Hit So Hard while immersed in a ’90s grunge scene deep-dive. Patty Schemel was the drummer in the seminal rock band Hole, which also happens to be one of my favourites. While I’ve read a decent number of coming-of-age music memoirs peppered with tales of hard partying, Hit So Hard was one of the most introspective. Hole’s dizzying rise to fame was paralleled by Patty’s harrowing battle with drug addiction, and Hit So Hard is, at its core, a story of redemption. I will preface this one with an overarching content warning, though, so proceed with caution.
Get it here.
Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord
Recommended by: Daisy Henry, Fashion Journal Contributor
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Calling all Dolly Alderton fans! If you’re one of the countless people who devoured Everything I Know About Love, then look no further. Beginning just as her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her, Notes on Heartbreak is an honest, hilarious and scarily relatable depiction of navigating life in your 20s and rediscovering who you are without your partner.
Whether you’re in a relationship or falling out of one, anyone can take something from this book. I underlined so many insightful sections about love, friendship and the importance of building a strong relationship with yourself. It’s the ideal book to read and to gift to your closest friends.
Get it here.
Late Bloomer by Clem Bastow
Recommended by: Shaeden Berry, Fashion Journal Contributor
Writer and researcher Clem Bastow wasn’t diagnosed with autism until the age of 36 – and when they were, it was as if all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fell into place. Late Bloomer is an exploration of their childhood never quite fitting in, their role as an entertainment journalist and, throughout it all, a challenge to the broader assumptions of autism and a study into its history. Frank, funny, witty, warm, hilarious and heartbreaking all in equal turns, this memoir isn’t just for people who have been diagnosed with autism, but essential for everyone in the deeper insight it offers into the diagnosis.
Get it here.
Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Recommended by: Maggie Zhou, Fashion Journal’s Branded Content and Features Editor
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This is one of my favourite books, ever. Michelle Zauner, also known as musician Japanese Breakfast, pours out her heart in this memoir. Infused with intimate moments about food, family, love and grief, it’s a deeply moving and compelling story. At the heart of it, it’s about the relationship between a daughter and her Korean mother. I read this when I was living alone for a month and it had me crying multiple times.
Get it here.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Recommended by: Cait Emma Burke, Fashion Journal’s Editor
I read Patti Smith’s much-hyped memoir, Just Kids when I was in my first year of university. I borrowed a weather-beaten copy from a guy who lived a few rooms down from me at my university hall (seriously, it looked like he’d put it through the washing machine by mistake).
He informed me its appearance was due to it being lent out so many times, which to me is the mark of a great book. I was already a Patti fan before reading this, and as the 1970s is my most-loved era, I tore through this memoir. She has a beautiful, evocative way of writing, and paints such vivid pictures for the reader – trust me, you simply will not be able to put it down.
Get it here.
My Body Keeps Your Secrets by Lucinda Osborne-Crowley
Recommended by: Shaeden Berry, Fashion Journal Contributor
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In this powerful, earth-shattering, sometimes confronting and always compassionate memoir, Lucinda Osborne-Crowley explores the impact of trauma, abuse and shame on the body through her own experience of being raped at the age of fifteen. Lucinda combines her own story with those of others she has spoken to, crafting a brave, unflinching and thoroughly researched look at how trauma rewrites the biology of our bodies and the very real weight of shame.
Get it here.
The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar
Recommended by: Shaeden Berry, Fashion Journal Contributor
An exploration of female resilience and the role of motherhood, The Mother Wound is a memoir that details the harrowing circumstances of the murder of Amani Haydar’s mother at the hands of her father. Dealing with the unimaginable loss while five months pregnant, the novel follows Haydar as she reassesses her parent’s relationship, confronts her own upcoming motherhood and comes up against a justice system geared against victims of gendered violence. A powerful, urgent and devastating memoir.
Get it here.
How To Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
Recommended by: Izzy Wight, Fashion Journal’s Editorial Assistant
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Cat Marnell is a slightly controversial storyteller, but I unashamedly love her. And this book. It’s raw, ridiculous, horrendous and glamorous, a raw retelling of the rise and fall of Conde Nast dropout, Cat Marnell. At 26, Cat was a prescription drug addict, an “alcoholic-in-training” and a beauty editor at one of the (now-defunct) top magazines in America, Lucky. If you, like me, are fascinated by 2000s fashion magazine culture, tales of drug addiction and the lives of the New York elite, How To Murder Your Life is for you.
Get it here.
For more of the best books by female authors, head here.
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