Books like

Books like Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

12 books with a reading profile close to Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama. Inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.

1

H is for Hawk

by Helen Macdonald

Also inward-looking and contemplative · biography, memoir

After her father’s sudden death, Helen Macdonald buys a captive goshawk named Mabel to cope with her grief.
2

Into the Wild

by Jon Krakauer

biography, memoir

In 1992, Chris McCandless abandoned his possessions and middle-class expectations to live off the land in the Alaskan interior.
3

The End of Eddy

by Édouard Louis

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Eddy Bellegueule grows up in a poor village in northern France, in a family where men are expected to be tough and unemployment and alcohol are common.
4

Paula

by Isabel Allende

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Isabel Allende began writing this chronicle in 1991 while sitting bedside in a Spanish hospital where her daughter, Paula, lay in a porphyria-induced coma.
5

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

by Jeanette Winterson

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Jeanette Winterson’s memoir returns to her upbringing in a strict Pentecostal household in Northern England, expanding on the lived reality behind her debut novel.
6

This Boy's Life

by Tobias Wolff

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

Tobias Wolff’s memoir recounts his nomadic upbringing in the 1950s as he travels across the United States with his divorced mother to escape an abusive boyfriend.
7

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

by Dani Shapiro

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

In 2016, Dani Shapiro submitted a DNA kit for analysis, expecting to confirm her Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
8

Truth & Beauty

by Ann Patchett

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Ann Patchett narrates the decades-long friendship between herself and the writer Lucy Grealy, beginning at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
9

Wat ik nooit eerder heb gezegd

by Celeste Ng

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Set in 1970s Ohio, the narrative begins with the death of Lydia Lee, the favorite daughter of a mixed-race couple.
10

Chronicles, Volume One

by Bob Dylan

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

Bob Dylan sidesteps the traditional chronological life story to focus on three specific periods of his career: his 1961 arrival in Greenwich Village, the 1970 recording sessions for New Morning, and the 1989 production…
11

Moab Is My Washpot

by Stephen Fry

Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

In this memoir, Stephen Fry recounts his first twenty years, focusing on his turbulent education at various English boarding schools and his eventual imprisonment.
12

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

by Jeanette Winterson

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

Jeanette Winterson’s semi-autobiographical novel follows Jeanette, a young girl adopted into a strict Pentecostal household in Northern England.

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