Biography nonfiction books

Real Life, Real Stories: Memoirs and Autobiographies

by Shelby D., Evening Supervisor

Hi! This is Fiction 101 where I talk about books and genres — from cozy reads, to mysteries, to fantasy, and everything in between. Last month, in honor of the Summer Reading Program, I focused on adventure fiction. This month, I’m going to talk about memoirs and autobiographies.

Memoirs and autobiographies are true stories that the author tells about themselves — a memoir is about a specific period of time in an author’s life while an autobiography covers the author’s entire life. Both are written by the author, as opposed to a biography which is a true story about a person, but written by someone else. Memoirs bring insight into other people and their lives, providing content that can be relatable and possibly help readers process their own experiences. Other times, these books can grant awareness into the lives of others. In my opinio