MEMOIR AND ESSAYS
DEAR GIRLS
Ali Wong
Each graphic tale
of sex, personal
grooming, childbirth
and motherhood in
standup comedian
Wong’s perceptive
and filthy memoir is
set up as a letter to
her daughters—who
are preschool age.
THE
UNWINDING
OF THE
MIRACLE
Julie Yip
Williams
Born blind, Yip
Williams survived
her grandmother’s
desire to have
her euthanized
and thrived as
an adult. Then a
terminal cancer
diagnosis changed
everything.
THE SOURCE OF
SELF-REGARD
Toni Morrison
The literary titan
and Nobel laureate’s
last book published
before her death
collects 43 of her
most illuminating
essays, lectures and
eulogies from the
past four decades.
TRICK MIRROR
Jia Tolentino
The essayist’s insights
are sharp whatever
the subject, whether
the ghoulish rise of
Internet culture or the
weddingindustrial
complex—especially
when she examines
her own complicity.
ONCE MORE
WE SAW STARS
Jayson Greene
After losing his
2yearold daughter
in a tragic accident,
Greene grapples
with living in a world
without her, reckons
with his grief and
ultimately finds a way
back to hope.
HOW WE FIGHT
FOR OUR LIVES
Saeed Jones
Jones, a poet who
grew up gay in Texas,
marries his com
mand of language
and imagery with his
desire for power over
his existence and
identity and, some
times, over others.
THICK
Tressie McMillan
Cottom
The sociologist
meditates on
“thickness,” both
as it relates to her
way of taking up
physical space and
to her field, where a
“thick description” is
one offering proper
context.
OVER THE TOP
Jonathan Van
Ness
The effervescent
Queer Eye star details
the adversity he
faced growing up in
the rural Midwest
and reveals that he is
HIVpositive. He has
become a prominent
advocate for that
community.
THE UNDYING
Anne Boyer
Diagnosed with
breast cancer as a
41yearold single
mother living pay
check to paycheck,
Boyer is outraged by
the dialogue around
the disease, from its
portrayal on TV to
“pinkribbon culture.”
GOOD TALK
Mira Jacob
In her graphic mem
oir, Jacob considers
life experiences
past and present to
answer the difficult
questions posed by
her young biracial son
ahead of the 2016
presidential election.
SURVIVAL MATH
Mitchell S.
Jackson
Jackson’s retelling of
his youth in Portland,
Ore., comprises found
poems, footnotes,
“victim statements”
from women he’s
treated poorly and
“survivor files” from
his male family
members.
Morrison’s
pieces explore
blackness,
womanhood,
language, art
and more
Jacob’s
graphic memoir
features her
own mixed
media art
After losing
their daughter,
Greene and his
wife eventually
welcomed
another child