Biography and memoir
A Year with Wendy Whiteley by Ashleigh Wilson
There’s something about those cool girls who hang out with dangerous boys: think Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, and of course, Wendy Whiteley. Wild, smart, stylish, artistic and hypnotic, they were often tagged with the term ‘muse’, but they were so…
Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami was the first fiction writer who spurred me into reading books. He is a constant reminder of why I enjoy reading, and it is an honour for me to write this review, and a treat to discover the…
Tell Me Again: A Memoir by Amy Thunig
The best memoirs immerse readers in the world of the author, becoming a viewfinder through which you experience not just the events of someone’s life but also the perspective and frame of mind that underpin those moments. Gomeroi academic Amy…
A Question of Age by Jacinta Parsons
Jacinta Parsons’ superpower is that she is an utterly compelling communicator. She resonates with people all over Australia because she is unafraid to speak the truth with honesty, warmth and humour. This empathetic approach to life is clear in her…
The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays by C.J. Hauser
When C.J. Hauser’s personal essay ‘The Crane Wife’ was first published in The Paris Review in 2019, it quickly became a viral sensation. This essay charts Hauser’s research trip to monitor whooping cranes on the gulf coast of Texas, only…
Raised by Wolves: A Memoir with Bite by Jess Ho
Having worked in hospitality since they were 15 years old, Jess Ho has extensive knowledge of Melbourne’s food scene and its evolution over the last two decades. In high school, they did the usual shifts at a fast-food grease pit…
Holy Woman: A Divine Adventure by Louise Omer
Louise Omer was not born into a religious family. Like many teenagers, she began to feel like an outsider during adolescence, rejected by friends and her twin brother, Ben, who had withdrawn from family life to seek out an identity…
Big Beautiful Female Theory by Eloise Grills
Eloise Grills’ debut book is a boisterous examination of beauty standards, sexuality, misogyny, consumerism and the cruel vicissitudes of modern life. Part memoir, part cultural commentary, the book shapeshifts between prose and vibrant, energetic illustrations. It’s not really a graphic…
What Goes Unsaid: A Memoir of Fathers Who Never Were by Emiliano Monge & Frank Wynne (trans.)
One night in 1958, Carlos Monge McKey dies in an accident at his workplace, leaving his wife and children behind. Four years later, with a different face, he returns.This incident plants a bitter seed of dissatisfaction and longing for three…
Swimming Home: A Memoir by Judy Cotton
The succinct title of artist Judy Cotton’s wonderful memoir, Swimming Home, is watertight; it immediately conjures up images of tidal currents and the fearsome mystery of deep water, alongside hopeful shallow rifts. Art critic Sebastian Smee has described Cotton…
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