8 Favorite Memoirs from Instagram’s @BooksandPolkaDots’s Bookshelf

Eye-opening and utterly gripping, Koren Zailckas’s story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics—yet—but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgment. Following her from her first sip of alcohol at fourteen to her decision to stop drinking in her early twenties, SMASHED is an astonishing literary debut.

Amanda Knox was arrested for murder in 2007 when her roommate in Italy was found dead in their apartment. Her memoir, WAITING TO BE HEARD, recounts her innocence, the anguish she was put through during 4 years of prison, her struggle to follow the continuous changes in court rulings, and the incredibly divisive media coverage throughout it all.

This humorous memoir is a look at moments throughout Mindy Kaling’s life—from her career as an actress to her interesting dating life to having immigrant parents, she tells stories that many can relate to. She’s hilarious and this book reads like a page out of your friend’s diary.

A photo posted by Megan | Connecticut (@booksandpolkadots) on Oct 19, 2014 at 10:49am PDT

Susannah Cahalan awakes in a hospital room, strapped to the bed. Crazy? Psychotic? Mental breakdown? BRAIN ON FIRE is her story of a devastating autoimmune disease misdiagnosed over and over—all while it appears she is losing her mind.

A photo posted by Megan | Connecticut (@booksandpolkadots) on Sep 21, 2014 at 4:36pm PDT

YouTube sensation Mamrie Hart’s memoir is told through a series of drinking stories—and reads like you are reminiscing while out on a night of fun with your best friend. It is a hilarious look at the good and the bad—and even has some cocktail recipes to go alongside her retellings!

A photo posted by Megan | Connecticut (@booksandpolkadots) on Jun 20, 2015 at 9:18am PDT

In 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City and subjected to 9 months of rape, torture, and absolute fear. In this memoir, Elizabeth explains how she was able to persevere during this time and move on after her safe return home.

A photo posted by Megan | Connecticut (@booksandpolkadots) on Oct 11, 2014 at 7:09am PDT

After being abducted by a friend’s father, Michelle Knight spent more than a decade locked inside a Cleveland house being raped and tormented daily. Most assumed she ran away, which resulted in little effort to find her, but she never gave up hope that she would one day escape.

What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Never before has there been a first-person account from someone who went through this hell and survived. In A LONG WAY GONE, Ishmael Beah recounts his story with heartbreaking honesty: how at the age of 12, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By 13, he’d been picked up by the government army and found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with urgent importance and literary force.