Autobiography

An autobiography (from the Greek, αὐτός-autos self + βίος-bios life + γράφειν-graphein to write) is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.

Closely associated with autobiography (and sometimes difficult to precisely distinguish from it) is the form of memoir. However, an autobiography typically focuses on the "life and times" of the writer, while a memoir has a narrower, more intimate focus on his or her own memories, feelings and emotions.

Also see Biography Memoir and Memoir.
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New Releases Tagged "Autobiography"

The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience
Great and Unfortunate Things
All That's Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir
I'm a Lot: Surviving Myself and All the People I've Been
The Solo Honeymoon: A Brief Beautiful True Love Story
Dad, Love, Me: A Memoir
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter
  • When We're in Charge by Amanda Litman
    When We're in Charge: A Playbook for How to Show Up, Lead Well, and Go Home Happy
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    Release date: Sep 22, 2026
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 25 copies available, 2178 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Aug 23 - Sep 22, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Under the Naga Tail by Mae Bunseng Taing
    Under the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian Genocide
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    Release date: Feb 07, 2023
    We’re giving away 100 copies of James Taing’s book, Under the Naga Tail. Enter today!
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    Format: Kindle book

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    Availability: 100 copies available, 329 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Sep 09 - Sep 23, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • The Intangibles by Nick Paumgarten
    The Intangibles: Friendship, Fatherhood, and the Love of the Game

    Release date: Nov 10, 2026
    Enter to win an advanced reader copy of THE INTANGIBLES!
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 20 copies available, 1247 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Sep 10 - Sep 24, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • I'm Glad My Mom Died
    This Is Me: A Reckoning
    Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About
    Counsel, the Courtroom Is Open: Lessons from More Than a Half-Century in Law and Life
    From Here to the Great Unknown
    Cancel Me If You Can
    All That's Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir
    The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir
    Trash! A Garbageman's Story
    The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness
    Yearbook
    Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton
    Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
    »Mama, bitte lern Deutsch«: Unser Eingliederungsversuch in eine geschlossene Gesellschaft
    Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith
    Freakonomics by Steven D. LevittBorn To Rise by Lorna  BlakeA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill  BrysonFirst Time Dad by James        MacdonaldLean In by Sheryl Sandberg
    Interesting and Readable Nonfiction
    4,649 books — 3,487 voters
    Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
    Africa (fiction and nonfiction)
    1,897 books — 1,799 voters

    The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsNight by Elie WieselAngela's Ashes by Frank McCourtEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
    Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
    6,710 books — 8,324 voters
    John Adams by David McCullough1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
    Best American History Books
    2,303 books — 3,118 voters

    The New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderBetween the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi CoatesThe Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm XBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee BrownThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
    Books White People Need to Read
    1,484 books — 1,898 voters
    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. SalingerA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty  SmithBreakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories by Truman CapoteExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
    Tales of New York City
    1,754 books — 1,345 voters

    The Diary of a Young Girl
    Becoming
    I'm Glad My Mom Died
    Educated
    Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
    Bossypants
    The Autobiography of Malcolm X
    The Glass Castle
    I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
    When Breath Becomes Air
    Night
    The Woman in Me
    Yes Please
    Spare

    In order to survive her tumultuous childhood, Mary created another Fat Mary, a companion and consoler, who took away her hurts, fears, and questions and kept them safe until Mary was older and mature enough to process the abuse and neglect she had endured.
    Maria Nhambu

    When you dance with the Africans, unless it is a ritual dance like a wedding or harvest or rain dance, there’s no right or wrong way to dance. There’s only movement. And the more you express your feelings as you move, the better you feel when you’re done…When I dance the African Way, I show my feelings with my body instead of hiding them in my heart. When I dance, I know I’m alive here and now. My body and soul are in harmony.
    Maria Nhambu, Africa's Child

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    Tags contributing to this page include: autobiography, auto-biography, and autobiographies