The Best Memoirs and Biography of 2025 for Adults | Multnomah County LibraryLike this list

16 items

• Memorial Days

  Brooks, Geraldine,

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  This one hit to my core - so personal, so poignant, and so beautiful. This one has all of the feels and provides incredible perspective on grief and love. - Laura L.

• Ginseng Roots

  a Memoir

  Thompson, Craig, 1975-

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  Local author Craig Thompson returns to his roots (literally and figuratively), speaking to the personal outcomes of his success as a graphic novelist but also contextualizing it within his unusual upbringing. - Kyle T.

• Right Story, Wrong Story

  How to Have Fearless Conversations in Hell

  Yunkaporta, Tyson,

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  Tyson Yunkaporta casts an Indigenous lens on contemporary society, challenging us to face conflict and embrace conversation to find our way onto the right track with a sense of humor. - Sharon P.

• The Last American Road Trip

  a Memoir

  Kendzior, Sarah,

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  Kendzior has published several books since 2016 examining the growing cracks in our political, economic, and cultural systems in precise, accessible language. This book works with those themes in a personal narrative about a family road trip. -…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Careless People

  a Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

  Wynn-Williams, Sarah,

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  The lost idealism mentioned in the title is that of the author's as it appears the executives of Facebook never had any. The more they reveal themselves to her, the more they can be understood as people who really couldn't care less. - Heidi H.

• Better

  a Memoir About Wanting to Die

  Rebolini, Arianna,

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  I was moved by the clarity and openness in which Rebolini writes about her depression and suicidality. - Emily C.

• So Gay for You

  Friendship, Found Family, & the Show That Started It All

  Hailey, Leisha, 1971-

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  If you love the famous T.V. show 'The L Word', you will love hearing about Shane and Alice's actors lives leading up to the show and during it. You will laugh, cry, and finish this book with a warm heart. - Ash W.

• Sucker Punch

  Essays

  Koul, Scaachi,

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  This book will make you laugh, feel bad about society, reflect on all types of relationships, and then laugh again. Scaachi Koul should be someone who's work you never pass over. -Marten M.

• Visitations

  Egbert, Corey, 1988-

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  At the crossroads of religious faith and mental illness, Corey recounts the summer his mother kidnapped her own two kids as she spiraled into worse and worse paranoia. - Dan J

• Raising Hare

  A Memoir

  Dalton, Chloe,

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  This book will make you want to gaze into the amber eyes of a wild hare. It’s touching and full of marvels - Erika B.

• Murderland

  Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers

  Fraser, Caroline,

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  Horrifying and compelling. Highly recommended for those who already are familiar with the true crime genre, or those who enjoy shocking environmental exposés. Willa M.

• One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

  El Akkad, Omar, 1982-

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  Be ready to cry, face the reckoning, and feel compelled to take action. A better world is possible, "This is the book for our time." -Emily L.

• Soft as Bones

  a Memoir

  Sage, Chyana Marie,

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  Such a personal story - captivating and poetic. - Rachel M.

• Deciding to See

  the View From Nathan's Bus

  Vass, Nathan,

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  This might be the best book you never heard of! Nathan is a real Seattle bus driver (and artist) whose interactions with his guests on the bus filled me with hope, and joy of our shared humanity in troubled and all other times. He changed my…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Bees

  the Women Who Rocked Lithuania

  Magicdusté, Akvilė,

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  This is at once charming and chilling - young women form a rock band, and the KGB doesn’t like it. A touching portrait of the struggle to be an artist in a repressive, authoritarian society. - Erika B.

• Best Books of 2025, chosen by Multnomah County Library staff

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  There's something for everyone in our lists for preschoolers, kids, tweens, teens and adults.Explore Multnomah County Library. New titles, recently rated, and recently tagged by the library community.