Books like

Books like Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island

12 books with a reading profile close to Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island by Regina Calcaterra. Practical, inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.

1

Girl in a Band

by Kim Gordon

Also clear-cut · memoir, narrative

In this memoir, Kim Gordon traces her trajectory from a visual arts upbringing in Los Angeles to the center of the New York City post-punk scene.
2

Cash

by Johnny Cash

Also clear-cut · memoir, narrative

Johnny Cash details his life from his childhood in the Arkansas cotton fields to his decades as a country music icon.
3

The Sound of Gravel

by Ruth Wariner

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · memoir, narrative

Ruth Wariner’s memoir details her upbringing as the forty-second child of her father within a polygamist Mormon colony in Colonia LeBaron, Mexico.
4

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir

by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

Also clear-cut · memoir, narrative

Patrisse Khan-Cullors recounts the systemic pressures that shaped her life in Van Nuys, California, focusing on the heavy policing and incarceration of her brother, Monte.
5

The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star

by Nikki Sixx

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

Nikki Sixx documents the peak of his addiction through journal entries written between 1986 and 1987.
6

What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love

by Carole Radziwill

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · memoir, narrative

Carole Radziwill narrates her life from a working-class childhood in Suffern, New York, to her career as an ABC News producer and her marriage into the Kennedy-Radziwill family.
7

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

by Clemantine Wamariya

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

In 1994, six-year-old Clemantine Wamariya and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre, leaving their parents behind.
8

The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss

by Anderson Cooper

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

This memoir records an email exchange between journalist Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, initiated during her ninety-first year.
9

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom

by Shari Franke

Also practical and inward-looking · memoir, narrative

Shari Franke recounts her life as the eldest child of a prominent YouTube family, chronicling the transition from public digital stardom to a private existence defined by extreme isolation and physical discipline.
10

Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains

by Jon Krakauer

Also clear-cut · memoir, narrative

In this collection of non-fiction reports, Jon Krakauer chronicles the high-risk pursuits of ice climbers and mountaineers.
11

All You Can Ever Know

by Nicole Chung

Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

Nicole Chung grew up as a Korean child adopted by a white family in a predominately white Oregon town.
12

A Piece of Cake

by Cupcake Brown

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · memoir, narrative

Cupcake Brown chronicles her life starting from the sudden death of her mother, which triggered a descent into a predatory foster care system.

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