3 Powerful Memoirs From Underground Authors Booklovers Should Read

Memoirs offer a deeper appreciation for the written word. It opens us to the wider world of empathy with experiences that are unique to the author, yet universal to its readers.

Here are three such memoirs written with tolerance, integrity and the potential to alter your view of the world for the better.

1. Negative Space by Lilly Dancyger

Negative Space by Lilly Dancyger is a true testament to the power of family love and an ode to a father gone too soon. With gorgeous prose and beautiful illustrations, she explores her relationship with her father who succumbed to heroin addiction when she was only 12 years old.

In an attempt to understand him, she revisits his artistic pursuits that painted a vividly idealistic picture on young Dancyger’s mind. Intellectually fulfilling, and emotionally compelling, this is a memoir that will grab hold of you and not let go.

Find the book on Amazon.

2. The Part That Burns by Jeannine Ouellette

Dense with insight, and packed with hope, Jeannine Quellette’s memoir, The Part That Burns, is a story of survival, recovery and growth following a childhood with an erratic, mentally unbalanced mother and a sexual predator of a stepfather.

Her metaphorical language and lyrical prose captures her resilience as she transforms the ugliness and pain into courage and positive growth. This is an unflinching memoir that will resonate with trauma survivors everywhere.

Find the memoir here.

3. When She Comes Back by Ronit Plank

In When She Comes Back, Ronit Plank shares her extremely well-written story of being abandoned by her mother and being coerced into adulthood at a very young age. Despite the inherent sadness, Plank’s integrity and empathy takes the reader on a quest for understanding a child’s struggle to make sense of her world.

Whether it be separation, divorce or loss of a parent, this is a warm hug of a memoir for anyone going through a hard time.

Get the book from Amazon.