8 Memoirs I Read in March

Not a memoir, but a REAL Time Magazine from the 50s!

March was International Women’s Month, in case you hadn’t heard. I decided to make that my reading theme for the month of March and it was a GREAT IDEA. I struggled a bit with stress and anxiety throughout the month, and it was helpful to constantly have the words of talented, brave, resilient, and funny women in my ear. 

Here are eight GREAT memoirs written by women. YES, even the Real Housewives ones!!! I don’t feel comfortable rating them, because it’s like… people’s lives? I don’t feel good telling Dorinda Medley her life is only a 3 out of 5, or Viola Davis that her life is a 5 out of 5 when her childhood was spent in such abhorrent conditions. 

White, Not-Quite Housewives 

Bad Mormon - Heather Gay

After the latest season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, I was feeling pretty “meh” about Heather Gay. She was off this season, and then there was the black eye and it was like WHAT IS GOING ON, GIRL? I read her memoir because, admittedly, I wanted to hear all the Mormon stuff!! 

I ended up liking the book altogether because I find Heather to be a generally sweet, funny person. She’s also really smart, ambitious, and creative. She won an entrepreneurial award and throughout her adulthood, as an actual housewife, she kept starting business ventures out of her hobbies. Her marriage was horrible from the start, they had no chemistry, but she adores her children. She even spoke kindly of every single housewife on her show. It’s obvious she’s really gracious! However, I thought it was weird that she only “stopped” being Mormon when the show started. I thought it was a MUCH BIGGER blowout. I guess I’d rewrite that part if I could!

Make It Nice - Dorinda Medley 

How can we not love Dorinda? Yes, she gets insanely mean when she’s drunk, but she’s also fucking hilarious. She might have the most catchphrases of any other cast member of any franchise. From “Clip! Clip! Clip!” to “JOVAANNNNIIII” and of course, “I cooked, I cleaned, I MADE IT NICE!” 

Dorinda’s memoir was a good read because she’s just a great, down-to-earth type of person. She’d always been that way on the show, except when drunk. She loved growing up in the Berkshires, she loved living in England with her first husband, she loved Richard, she really had nothing bad to say about anything. Sure, there were some sad times, but mostly she was grateful and had a pretty good life. 

Both memoirs were similar in the sense that they were two white people with normal upbringings, strong family units and lots of opportunities. 

The Funny Girls 

I Remember Nothing - Nora Ephron 

Just do yourself a favor and read all of Nora Ephron’s books. Her essays read like letters from a friend. She’s funny, poignant, thoughtful, and honest. There were lots of funny stories about her strong-willed mother, experiences writing novels and movies, and one play that didn’t do so well. Her books are like a breath of fresh air, she just embraces life for what it is, and even though she has many comments about how terrible it is, she doesn’t pine for it to change.

My Mother Was Nuts - Penny Marshall

I grew up when Nick at Nite played shows from the 50s (I Love Lucy), 60s (Dick van Dyke, Happy Days), and 70s (Mary Tyler Moore, Laverne and Shirley). Those were the GOOD OL’ DAYS. In a weird way, I grew up watching Penny Marshall and always found her funny and her face memorable. Her book is SO FUCKING FUNNY. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by her, and I was constantly laughing out loud. 

The best parts were about growing up in New York, having a daughter at 18 with her college boyfriend in Santa Fe, then moving to Los Angeles because her brother (Robert Marshall) was working in Hollywood and she could ride his coattails. And she did! Penny was friends with everyone - from all the early SNL people, Lorne Michaels, Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks, etc. She dated Art Garfunkle when Carrie was dating and then married Paul Simon! She directed ALL the movies - Big, A League of their Own, Riding in Cars with Boys. She didn’t like Drew Barrymore, which I thought was funny. 

Also, her mother was truly nuts.

Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher

I saw this show live in 2008 and it was one of the greatest days of my life. I didn’t really know much about her when my friend Jeremy asked me to go. I had never even seen a Star War! However, she blew me away. It was so fucking funny. I got the book afterwards and read it often. My favorite quote of all time is, “If my life weren’t funny, then it would be true… and that’s unacceptable.” 

I listened to it this time and it was as funny as ever. I wish she talked as much about Penny Marshall as Penny Marshall talked about her… but she spoke plenty about Paul Simon and all the horrible things he said about her in his songs! And all the rehab stuff, of course. And of course her father’s famous affair with Elizabeth Taylor. Yet mostly, she spoke about her mother.

It was a bit sadder reading this and knowing how both her and her mother died. It’s still one of the saddest stories ever. 

The Singers! 

Just Kids - Patti Smith

I had been wanting to read this book and kept putting it off… mostly because I didn’t know who Patti Smith, or Robert Mapplethorpe, was. I heard great things about it though so I decided my month of female-led memoirs was the perfect time. I really enjoyed it. They really did have a great love story, considering he was a gay man. Their relationship was so special, and that era - the 60s and 70s - seemed so magical. And also terrifying! 

Sounds Like Me - Sara Barreiles 

I was never a die-hard Sara B fan, but lately she’s been all over the things I like. First, there was her musical, Waitress, which has the best soundtrack ever that I’m still not over like six years later. Then she was cast in Girls5Eva created by Tina Fey and she is SO GOOD! THEN she was in the revival of Into the Woods on Broadway! Now I am a huge Sara B fan, and after reading this book I honestly like her even more. 

She wrote this when she was just coming off her Waitress chapter of life, and it was so inspiring. She had always wanted to be on Broadway and couldn’t believe she was finally getting her chance. Fun fact: She auditioned to be Cinderella in Into the Woods years back! She talks about Waitress being her Cinderella/Into The Woods moment, and I wanted to tell her “SARA! YOU GET TO STAR IN THE SHOW LATER IN YOUR LIFE!!!!” I never believed in manifestation until READING THAT!! 

The Viola Davis! 

Finding Me: Viola Davis

This was BY FAR the best performance of the bunch. Viola Davis is a national treasure. 

I’ll admit, however, that I decided to listen to this memoir because I realized how biased my reading list was this month. I chose authors that either mirrored my experience, or that accomplished specific things I wanted to accomplish. Naturally, many of those women were white. I decided to close out my month of reading with Viola Davis’ memoir because I had heard amazing things and I really did want to read it! It was FANTASTIC, and sad, and amazing. 

Let me just say that within the first few chapters SEVERAL animals die. I do not like anything where animals die, or are even hurt. I can’t even watch the animated film Oliver! because of it!!!! NEVERMIND ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN! So I had to stop listening to this and calm down a few times, but it was still an amazing story of a woman who overcame an incredibly difficult life to become A FUCKING EGOT WINNER!