Books like Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb

A candid memoir of Trevor Noah’s childhood in apartheid‑era South Africa, blending humor, heart, and social insight as he navigates a world where he was never meant to exist.

Jeannette Walls' memoir chronicles her turbulent childhood in a dysfunctional, itinerant family, detailing poverty, alcoholism, and homelessness across the United States as she seeks stability and personal growth.

Elie Wiesel's autobiographical memoir chronicles his childhood in a Hungarian ghetto and his harrowing survival in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, exploring the horrors of the Holocaust and its lasting moral impact.

Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s poignant memoir chronicles his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer and his reflections on life, medicine, and mortality.

A candid memoir by psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb that blurs the line between therapist and patient, revealing the universal quest for meaning, love, and healing within personal and clinical journeys.

Jung Chang paints a vivid portrait of China’s social conditions, tracing the lives of families and women from the 1920s through the Cultural Revolution in a personal, biographical style.

Barack Obama’s memoir traces his early life, the loss of his father, and a search for identity that shaped the future president.

Johann Hari investigates the roots of depression and anxiety, arguing that modern lifestyles—not chemical imbalances—are the primary culprits, and presents nine real causes along with seven alternative solutions.

A moving non‑fiction account of Richard B. Pelzer’s abusive childhood, detailing his family’s hidden violence and his eventual liberation.

Maya Angelou's heart journey into the heart of New York City, Harlem, and Martin Luther King's movement, filled with unforgettable vignettes and poignant moments of her tumultuous life and relationships.

The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. presents King's own words—letters, diaries, recordings—edited by Dr. Clayborne Carson, offering a vivid portrait of the civil‑rights leader and the era he shaped.

Avenging the skies, Chuck Yeager shares the story of his daring aviation career, detailing triumphs in his own words for readers from middle school to college.

From Kay Redfield Jamison - an international authority on manic-depressive illness, and one of the few women who are full professors of medicine at American universities - a remarkable personal testimony: the revelation of her own struggle since adolescence with manic-depression, and how it has shaped her life. Vividly, directly, with candor, wit, and simplicity, she takes us into the fascinating and dangerous territory of this form of madness - a world in which one pole can be the alluring dark land ruled by what Byron called the "melancholy star of the imagination," and the other a desert of depression and, all too frequently, death. A moving and exhilarating memoir by a woman whose furious determination to learn the enemy, to use her gifts of intellect to make a difference, led her to become, by the time she was forty, a world authority on manic-depression, and whose work has helped save countless lives.

A Teenager's Journey chronicles Richard B. Pelzer’s struggle with childhood abuse, substance use, and suicide as he seeks independence and healing in adolescence, ultimately finding hope through a supportive surrogate family.

A memoir recounting Luis J. Rodriguez's experiences as a member of a street gang in Los Angeles.

A heartfelt young‑adult narrative that follows a Cherokee boy’s growth, weaving family ties, cultural tradition, and personal discovery against a historical backdrop of North American Indians.

Kelly Corrigan’s memoir recounts her life as the sole daughter of businessman George Corrigan, intertwining her upbringing, family bonds, and the shared battle with cancer that tests and strengthens their relationship.

Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels, shares his experiences growing up in Cascade, Idaho.

Ken Dornstein’s memoir follows his journey to uncover the life of his brother David, a promising writer who died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, and to finish the novel his brother began.