Memoirs/Biographies/Autobiographies I Read in 2022




I read a few memoirs/biographies/autobiographies in 2022. I also read a few books that were nonfiction but had elements of memoir to them. Those can be found in Nonfiction Books I Read in 2022. I enjoy memoirs that show me both what is possible and what isn't as well as how people use their lives for the betterment of society.


Chasing America: Notes from a Rock 'n' Soul Integrationist by Dennis Watlington grabbed my soul and wouldn't let go. Watlington's story reached deeper than my heart. I winced as I read about his childhood, especially his exile to his grandmother's home in the South. I blinked back tears at his mistakes recognizing them being a child but also recognizing that as a Black child he didn't have that luxury. I laughed at his blunt descriptions and self-deprecating humor. I felt my discomfort with some of his blunt language and had to check in with myself as to why. Watlington tells the story in a way that had me wanting to call him D as many of his friends did. I felt like I knew him because he didn't hold back in talking about both his virtues and his foibles yet there were a couple of places where he skipped things that seemed to be important to the story. I also wanted to know more about the people in his life. Overall, I would highly recommend this well-written, engaging book about one Black man's struggle to find his place in America.


Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis with Michael D'Orso is a gripping, engaging, and enlightening account of John Lewis's life and his work within the Civil Rights Movement and move into politics. I was drawn into Lewis's story from the beginning. He tells the joys and the hardships of his life with equal attention to detail. He talks about his strengths and shortcomings with clear insight and intention. While he often tries to minimize his role and shine the light on others, the facts detailed in Walking with the Wind make it clear that John Lewis lived a life dedicated to shining a light on injustice and creating a more equitable world for all. I highly recommend Walking with the Wind to all people and would go so far as to say it should be assigned reading in our high schools. 


Self-Consciousness by John Updike isn't what I expected in the least. I bought this book several years ago at a dinner given for Updike in Boise, Idaho. He spoke at the dinner and was quite interesting. I got the chance to have him sign my copy and to exchange a couple of words with him. Every time I started to read the book in the intervening years, I thought about that dinner and decided to "save" it for later. Sadly, it's not as easy or enjoyable a read as I expected. These memoirs written as long reflection-type essays often reflected the quintessential White Protestant male position though there were moments when he clearly wrestled with that position. The sense of self-consciousness muddled with his sense of entitlement was hard for me to get past or really to even reconcile. I wanted to enjoy this book much more than I did.



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