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By Louise Julig

Memoirs are my favorite thing to read, so I have read a ton of them. Here are some of my favorite memoirs by LGBTQIA+ authors. Some are more specifically about the author's LGBTQIA+ experience, some touch on it only peripherally, but all are worthwhile. Enjoy! 

 

In 2023, any earnings from my shop will be donated to the Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition in San Diego County.

 

Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California who writes Be Your Own Hero, a newsletter about being brave in small moments. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.

bookcover for Unprotected: A Memoir

Unprotected: A Memoir

Billy Porter 

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Hardback

$28.00

$26.04

More than just another celebrity memoir. Billy Porter tells his compelling story with true vulnerability and verve. I highly recommend the audiobook just to hear how he says, "Well—werk!"

bookcover for Gender Queer: A Memoir

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Maia Kobabe 

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Paperback

$24.99

$23.24

This accessible graphic memoir grapples with issues of gender identity and asexuality, and was the #1 most-banned or challenged book of 2021. For high school and above.

bookcover for Whip Smart: The True Story of a Secret Life

Whip Smart: The True Story of a Secret Life

Melissa Febos 

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Paperback

$18.99

$17.66

This book covers the time from this bisexual author's junior year of college to midway through grad school when she worked as a professional dominatrix in a midtown Manhattan dungeon. She was also, for at least half that time, a high-functioning heroin addict. It is not only a fascinating insider’s look at a hidden subculture, but also a keen interrogation of the ways we so often lie to ourselves and the freedom that comes from finally seeing the truth.

bookcover for In the Dream House: A Memoir

In the Dream House: A Memoir

Carmen Maria Machado 

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Paperback

$18.00

$16.74

Carmen Maria Machado's swirling, experimental forms lead the reader through this memoir of relationship abuse survival and emotional redemption.

bookcover for The Rules Do Not Apply: A Memoir

The Rules Do Not Apply: A Memoir

Ariel Levy 

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Paperback

$19.00

$17.67

One of my favorite memoirs ever. Beautifully written narrative of what it feels like when life just doesn't end up the way you thought it would. The author's bisexuality informs the narrative although it isn't central to the story.

bookcover for I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir

I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir

Josh Kilmer-Purcell 

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Paperback

$17.99

$16.73

Ten months in the life of a drag queen named Aqua by night/PR pro by day involved in a turbulent romance with a male escort/call boy. Funny, immediate, riveting.

bookcover for Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Mira Jacob 

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Paperback

$22.00

$20.46

In this graphic memoir, Jacob explores the messy bonds of family through the lens of growing up as a child of Indian immigrants in New Mexico in the 80s and being the mother of a biracial child in New York City in the 2010s. Not explicitly about LGBTQIA+ identity, but includes portions of her (awkward, hilarious) experiences as a bisexual woman.

bookcover for Happy-Go-Lucky

Happy-Go-Lucky

David Sedaris 

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Hardback

$29.00

$26.97

Happy-Go-Lucky delves into more reflective, deeper, and more vulnerable places than any of his previous collections, and has risen to be one of my Sedaris favorites because of it. Great on audiobook.

bookcover for Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Alison Bechdel 

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Paperback

$18.99

$17.66

The now-classic graphic memoir that went on to become a hit broadway show. Bechdel explores the relationship with her troubled, closeted father after his suicide while reflecting on her own lesbian coming of age. Read one, see the other.

bookcover for Fire Shut Up in My Bones

Fire Shut Up in My Bones

Charles M. Blow 

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Paperback

$17.99

$16.73

Searing memoir by NYT columnist Charles Blow. Recently adapted into an opera of the same name by Terence Blanchard, the first opera by a Black composer to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera.

bookcover for Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen

Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen

Jazz Jennings 

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Paperback

$12.99

$12.08

Eye-opening and candid memoir from an extremely poised young woman who knew who she was from a very young age.

Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California who writes Be Your Own Hero, a newsletter about being brave in small moments. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.