My favorites are those that sound like they were written by people I'd actually sit down and have a cuppa with in real life, rather than "literary" sounding stories. The best memoirs combine the honesty of a journal with the gravitational pull of a great novel.
I've always hoped to one day have an adventure worthy of retelling this way--I talk about my day to day nonsense all the time on the Internet, and have told a few true stories that might not be out of place in a memoir, but still, up until recently I haven't really thought that anything that interesting would ever happen to me.
Now I'm beginning to think it just might. I'm thinking of travel and adventure as things that do happen to "people like me" (meaning broke-ass fat girls too shy to order their own pizza), if I gird my loins and make them happen. What these memoirs show me is that anyone can live an extraordinary life if they remain open to the possibility that something new and wonderful could be around the next corner.
Here are my favorites, in no particular order; they include single-author memoirs as well as collections of true tales:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Amazing Adventures of DietGirl by Shauna Reid
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Book of Shadows by Phyllis Curott
Holy Cow: an Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald
I'm the One that I Want by Margaret Cho
Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster
Fun Home: a Family Tragiocomic by Alison Bechdel
No Touch Monkey! and Other Travel Lessons Learned too Late by Ayun Halliday
The May Queen: Women on Life, Love, Work, & Pulling it All Together in Your 30s, edited by Andrea N. Richesin
Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write from the Road, edited by Jennifer L. Leo
Got one to recommend? Do so in comments!
For the record, adventure can happen any time and any place. But if you want to go out and look for it, I totally encourage you to do so! The world is such an amazing place and it's just waiting for you to get out of the house to see it.
I don't think I've read any biographies of adventure-having' females, but I'll keep my eyes and ears open for you.
And you know that if you wrote your memoirs that there'd be loads of folks to read it, right?
Posted by: Jaka Merriman | September 09, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I'm quite fond of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Especially the chapter where she describes the whole process of attempting to get her turkeys to breed. That had me in stitches.
Posted by: Nadia | September 09, 2009 at 02:30 PM
Without Reservations
Becoming the Enchanter
Longing for Darkness
I love this genre too!
Posted by: Sjh | September 10, 2009 at 06:35 AM
Does Mutant Messages from Down Under count?
It is one of my favorite "finding yourself" books!
Posted by: Kim Turcotte | September 10, 2009 at 06:50 AM
Sand in my bras is a definite favorite! I really enjoyed the story of "all natural girl" and the Ellen Degeneres flying phobia...
Posted by: Brandi | September 11, 2009 at 09:44 AM
Ayun Halliday is the best! She has food/cooking memoir of sorts as well called "Dirty Sugar Cookies," which is hilarious.
Posted by: Michelle | September 18, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Hi, I'm living my own adventure right now, working on 101 goals to complete in 1001 days. I take it day by day, dreaming and planning in equal measure. :)
I really enjoying Show Me The Magic which is the story of a woman travelling through Benin, a country not much visited. It's a trip where she learns a lot about the people and herself.
Posted by: Ms Alex | September 19, 2009 at 04:32 AM