This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000
This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000

Sarah Finnan

‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a job’
‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a...

Dominique McMullan

Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset
Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset

IMAGE

This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views
This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views

Megan Burns

6 classic movies worth watching over Easter
6 classic movies worth watching over Easter

Jennifer McShane

The friend zone: How to navigate finding friends as an adult
The friend zone: How to navigate finding friends as an adult

Sarah Gill

Supper Club: Fearne Cotton’s haddock burrito, punchy salsa and homemade guacamole
Supper Club: Fearne Cotton’s haddock burrito, punchy salsa and homemade guacamole

Meg Walker

New life has been breathed into this Victorian Portobello home thanks to a revamp that’s full of personality
New life has been breathed into this Victorian Portobello home thanks to a revamp that’s...

Megan Burns

This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000
This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000

Sarah Finnan

My Career: Archivist at Guinness Eibhlin Colgan
My Career: Archivist at Guinness Eibhlin Colgan

Sarah Finnan

Image / Editorial

#IMAGEReads: Six memoirs you should read at least once


By Jennifer McShane
12th Jun 2019
#IMAGEReads: Six memoirs you should read at least once

For those who are looking for a break from fiction, there’s nothing like reading a memoir, which is comprised of a fascinating life captured impeccably on paper.


Whether it be a life-changing journey, heartache or the childhood they could never forget, a selection of these author’s autobiographical tales have gone down as some of the best in history and firmly deserve a place on your bookshelf. Prepare to be moved, inspired and empowered by the below stories and ensure that they all get a read at least once.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

9781447225997All Creatures Great and Small

Having a bad day, a rough week or do you simply need cheering up? We dare you to read All Creatures Great and Small or any of Herriot’s celebrated memoirs and not crack a smile. These charming stories of a country animal doctor are truly a delight and the stuff of which dream holiday reads are made of. Read it and prepare to feel uplifted.

Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti

y648

Jessica Valenti, a US blogger, and writer is easily one of the most recognisable feminists of her generation, and her memoir, Sex Objects, is a funny, sometimes heartbreaking look at her life and her daily experiences with sexism and misogyny. It’s out next week (June 7th) and one to pack in your holiday suitcase. Lena Dunham fans will love it.

The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank

9780141315188

This iconic story is over 60 years old and today would have been her 90th birthday. Her story hasn’t lost any of its power; it’s as moving today as when it was first published decades ago. Anne Frank’s story is by now so well known, yet the details still astound; the fear and the claustrophobia in the secret Annex, different shades of human behaviour and endurance all captured so eloquently by a girl who was just 15 at the time of her death in Bergen-Belsen. Her family life quickly became a nightmare as she and her loved ones endured the hellish circumstances of deportation and it’s impossible for her words to have anything but a profound effect on the reader; it’s beautiful, heartbreaking and should be overlooked by no one.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

61K2brgIMrL

Novelist and hiker extraordinaire Cheryl Strayed embarked on an amazing 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in the United States in 1995 as a journey of self-discovery following her mother’s death, and this had a profound effect on her life. Her experience formed the basis of a best-selling novel and film Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon. While the film was a good effort, it doesn’t compare to Strayed’s writing which is raw, brilliant and emotive. She’s at a crossroads; distraught and looking to start again as she begins her redemptive trek and by the end of it all, her life outlook has completely changed. It’s a gorgeous, riveting, and open-hearted read. Start with this and you’ll want to devour everything Strayed has ever written, but follow with Tiny Little Things right after.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

{DF893D17-E7B1-4578-A02E-8A052E7E9903}Img100

Cheery it’s not, but what it is, is an Irish classic. McCourt’s memoir is renowned for its raw depiction of his impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York, and Ireland. It deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996. Brace yourself for serious heartache as his life in Limerick in the 1930s and 40s is described with realism and grittiness. Despite the hardship of his life, many passages are told with heartfelt humour and charm. This is a must-read memoir.

My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem

my-life-on-the-road

The feminist icon delves deep into her upbringing and chronicles her early days of fighting for women’s rights around the world; it’s a brilliant read.


Main photograph: Unsplash