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"

This Is Me: A Reckoning
The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness
Thirst: Twelve Drinks that Changed My Life
Ghost Stories
Mother Tongue
Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging
Anxietyland
  • 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, 487 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Jun 11 - Jun 25, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Chock Full of Nuts by Jakob Williams
    Chock Full of Nuts: My 28 Days Inside a Premier Psychiatric Hospital and the Shocking Truth

    Release date: Jul 14, 2026
    Chock Full of Nuts is a raw, unflinching memoir that explores the enduring flaws in the institutional treatment of mental health, tracing its stagnati ...more
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 10 copies available, 1929 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Jun 12 - Jun 26, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Lust by Erika Lust
    Lust: Pleasure, Performance, Power
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    Release date: Oct 13, 2026
    We're giving away early reader copies of LUST! ...more
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 75 copies available, 1807 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: Jun 08 - Jun 28, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • I'm Glad My Mom Died
    This Is Me: A Reckoning
    The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness
    The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir
    From Here to the Great Unknown
    Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself
    When We See You Again
    Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
    Death and the Gardener
    Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
    Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home
    »Mama, bitte lern Deutsch«: Unser Eingliederungsversuch in eine geschlossene Gesellschaft
    Cher: The Memoir, Part One
    Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer
    Ghost Stories
    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)
    1,877 books — 1,759 voters
    The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsViciously Yours by Jamie Applegate HunterCatching Fire by Suzanne CollinsThe Three Witches and The Master by Max NowazBeing a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For by Sara Pascoe
    Favourite young adult books
    1,770 books — 1,767 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
    6,515 books — 7,744 voters
    The Cosmic Experience of One by Jasun EtherAn Accidental Philanthropist by Winsome Dunn McIntoshSapiens by Yuval Noah HarariA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill BrysonFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
    Best 21st Century Non-Fiction
    2,164 books — 1,811 voters

    An Accidental Philanthropist by Winsome Dunn McIntoshPlaying Ball by Vernon DavisThe Last Folk Hero by Jeff PearlmanThrough My Eyes by Tim TebowThe League by John Eisenberg
    Best Memoirs/Autobiography/Travel
    1,428 books — 1,292 voters
    Freakonomics by Steven D. LevittThe Cosmic Experience of One by Jasun EtherA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill BrysonFirst Time Dad by James        MacdonaldLean In by Sheryl Sandberg
    Interesting and Readable Nonfiction
    4,518 books — 3,049 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

    Shannon L. Alder
    If you haven't cried at least once while writing a chapter of your inspirational book, then you have to ask yourself if your're writing fiction. ...more
    Shannon L. Alder

    I had a long talk with my dear Fat Mary that night, because I had many questions. Could someone actually be beaten to death by such a nun? Did Mother Rufina, the new Superior, know that Sister Clotilda was so cruel? Who let her work with children? Could nuns go to hell? Fat Mary told me she didn’t know the answers to my questions, but she reminded me that it was her role to take my worries and burdens and keep them for me until a time when I could understand them.
    Maria Nhambu, Africa's Child

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