Books like Hunger by Roxane Gay

Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, *Fun Home*, chronicles her complex relationship with her father, a funeral-home director, and her own coming-of-age as a lesbian, using intimate drawings and witty narrative.

Explore Michelle Obama’s public voice through 200‑250 curated quotations, organized into 75 themes, spanning her early career as a Chicago corporate lawyer, her roles in the city government and University of Chicago, up to the 2008 presidential election.

A compelling biography of Susannah Cahalan's battle with encephalitis and the challenges of diagnosis and recovery.

A groundbreaking memoir that blends personal narrative with rigorous theory, charting Maggie Nelson’s queer romance, pregnancy, and the politics of love and family.

Saeed Jones’ memoir, winner of the Kirkus Prize and Stonewall Book Award, traces the journey of a young black gay man from the South as he navigates family, love, and identity across America.

At 26, Frannie Hunter returns home to confront a chaotic family: an anorexic Harvard‑bound sister, a mother in an affair, a Food Network‑obsessed father, and a grandfather planning her wedding. While working as a waitress, she battles her own self‑destructive habits and navigates complex family ties.

A tender and lyrical memoir of a gay man's love story, winner of the Lambda Literary Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

A compelling exploration of mental health, gender, and institutionalization, blending journalism and psychological insights with the author's harrowing personal story of living as a man.

Henrietta Bennett, a Southern heiress, thrives as a jazz‑era socialite and publishing heir before her fierce lesbian romances provoke scandal and a life of addiction. Her story blends glamour, alcoholism, and LGBTQ history.

Imani Perry’s biography unearths Lorraine Hansberry’s vibrant life, from her groundbreaking work on civil rights and politics to her candid identity as a lesbian, offering a comprehensive view beyond her famous play.

A powerful memoir of Charles M. Blow’s rise from a childhood marked by violence and racism in segregated Louisiana to becoming a leading journalist and public intellectual.

A vibrant collection of biographies celebrating bold African‑American women who shaped history, from suffragists and civil‑rights leaders to pioneering artists and scientists.

Already a book club favorite, Hunger is Erica Simone Turnipseed's captivating follow-up to A Love Noire, in which heartache fans the flames of lust when freethinking Noire and Innocent, her urbane African ex, reunite. Noire and Innocent are both having a thirtysomething crisis. A beleaguered graduate student, she's got no money, no man, and no Ph.D.—yet. His former identity as a successful investment banker and eligible bachelor has disappeared. A year of predoctoral research in Haiti leaves Noire drained. And a trip home to Cote d'Ivoire offers Innocent little more than intermittent sexual gratification. In the aftermath of 9/11, Noire and Innocent are back in New York City and find solace in each other's beds. But even that arrangement collapses under the weight of Innocent's revelation that he has unfinished business in Africa. For Noire and Innocent, patching together their unraveling lives becomes an exercise in hope and humility. With Hunger, Turnipseed lives up to the promise of A Love Noire, maturing into a writer who fearlessly explores the intersection of sex, love, identity, and loss in a cross-cultural context.

A candid memoir in which celebrated African‑American actress Cicely Tyson shares her journey through the world of film and stage, reflecting on her career, convictions, and the evolving landscape of American entertainment.

Melissa Febos’ Abandon Me is a candid memoir that explores family, love, and identity, weaving her upbringing, relationships, and desire into a raw, psychologically insightful narrative.

Tracy K. Smith’s memoir traces her coming of age, grappling with African‑American identity, family history, and her mother’s cancer death, while exploring the meaning of home and the bond between mother and daughter.

John Lahr’s biography offers an intimate, thoroughly researched portrait of Tennessee Williams, exploring his family, creativity, sexuality, and legacy as a transformative American playwright.

A poignant memoir that traces James Ellroy’s quest to uncover the truth behind his mother Jean’s 1958 murder in Los Angeles, blending personal grief with investigative narrative.