In the search for #relatable content, look no further than these stories of people doing remarkable things. These memoirs are all compelling, hopeful, and empowering, making them the perfect additions to your TBRs.
6 YA Memoirs to Add to Your TBR
1. I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout
After facing a surprising backlash from her school community regarding her sexual assault, Prout decided to use her voice to help all sexual assault survivors. Her memoir I Have the Right To shines a light on the institutions that turn a blind eye to such instances of abuse. With the statistics as high as they are regarding sexual assault, this is an empowering, important ready for everyone.
2. Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson
Hutchinson was depressed. He was also an outsider because of his sexual orientation. Eventually, everything combusted leading to an attempt to take his own life. When depression starts talking, it’s hard to convince yourself it’s not telling you the truth. Hutchinson did make it out okay, though. More than okay. And his story is one of hope that everybody should read.
Be sure to check it out when it hits stores this summer!
3. Tweak by Nic Sheff
A must read for anyone who was moved by “Beautiful Boy” starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet. In his memoir, Sheff recounts his struggle with drug addiction beginning in his teen years. This heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful, story is remarkably compelling. It’s a tough read, but so, so important.
4. Soaring Earth by Margarita Engle
Engle lived a life between two places: the lush island of Cuba, and the isolated, hard reality of Los Angeles. As she gears up for high school, the wave of change notable in the 1960s takes hold of everything in her life. It’s a love letter to education, grassroots movements, and identity in a tumultuous world.
5. Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle
Engle was torn between two places: Cuba and Los Angeles. And at the worst possible time: revolution has broken out in Cuba, causing Engle to fear for her far-away family. Then, the Bay of Pigs Invasion creates hostile US/Cuba relations. This is a stunning, poetic, historical read that contemplates the multiple meanings of home.
6. Obsessed by Allison Britz
Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in a nice town until her sophomore year of high school. After awaking from a nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, Britz couldn’t shake the possibility of it being a warning. What started with avoiding sidewalk cracks moved into an extremely difficult obsession with “fixes” to her brain’s conjured dangers. Finally, after asking for help, Britz received an obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnoses. Then, she found hope.