Rita Moreno

I read this memoir every summer, it’s just so good. Starting from her childhood in Puerto Rico, Moreno paints a rich picture of the world and the brother she left behind when her mother unexpectedly picks her up to travel to New York for new opportunities and a new husband. There it is a dull, grey place full of ticks, snow and some harassers who shout insults at her in a foreign tongue but if there was one thing that was always with her, it was spirit and talent. She delves into her career from being discovered as the Latina Liz Taylor, her new name and the sterotypical roles she got before she became a bonafide hit with West Side Story.

She also delves into her low points like her suicide attempt brought on by her tumultuous relationship with Brando, among other things as well as the other loves she had like Elvis Presley before meeting her husband where it was not always the perfect marriage as it was praised for. Self-reflective without being too deprecating, this is a honest look into her life, her insecurities and flaws. However if you’re not a reader, you can just watch her documentary which is basically the same thing. She did this memoir as a play too so she’s memorized huge swaths of this.

Americanized by Sara Saedi

This was such a good book. Lots of books can say it’s laugh out loud funny, this really is. I think I read this annually and without a doubt even knowing what’s coming, I still laugh till it hurts. 

Saedi has a way of making something complicated as the immigration system and the Iranian revolution accessible and understandable to this naive reader. Furthermore, it has the heart that comes from retelling family bonds and heartfelt stories. Sincerity and camaraderie bleeds through the pages highlighting the point that illegal or not, different cultures or not, some experiences are universal and we can always find things in common

Too Much is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Towards Adulthood by Andrew Rannells

This self-reflective memoir takes you from Rannells’ humble beginnings in a small Midwestern town and his very first audition at children’s theatre where he froze. Any other kid may have given up and assumed theatre wasn’t for them, not he. He kept going, and going, searching for that elusive spotlight and thrill of an audience all the way to New York. It doesn’t go into his fame at Book of Mormon, in fact it stops after he gets his first role on Broadway as a swing in Hairspray. But it’s not about the fame, it’s about growing up as he learns to navigate his feelings towards boys which not an accepted thing in Nebraska including a statuatory emotional abusive relationship, his relationship with his parents and such lifechanging events like his father’s death. He talks about summer stock, and club hopping, all those things that make up life in NY as a young adult.

In short, it is like talking to a friend. If your friend was incredibly self-aware and witty. He doesn’t hide that growing up can be messy, but that’s probably the point as he emphasizes that we’ve all been there, lost , arrogant, scared, hopeful, loving and heartbroken all at once. It’s just being human cuz no one’s got it all figured out including him.

You have no idea by Vanessa Williams and Helen Williams

This memoir has two sides to every story for as Vanessa retells the years of her work on the pagent circut to winning Miss America to the fallout of her nude photos, there’s Vanessa’s mom, Helen Williams to share her side of things. This creates a unique balanced book sharing the history and bond of two women who love and respect each other even if they don’t always agree. It’s enjoyable and I love reading Helen’s no nonsense yet sensible perspective on things as well as Vanessa’s reflections on the high and lows of her life in the spotlight.

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom

If you enjoyed Bloom’s fantastic musical comedy series, Crazy Ex Girlfriend or any of her raunchy, darkly hilarious music videos on youtube, you should go by this book now. It holds her signature wry humor (with a musical chapter you can hear her sing online!) on stuff like sex, working on a Golden Globe winning show, bullying, comedy and her love life in various forms (chapters, essays, old poems and handdrawn amusement park). But it’s not all fun and giggles even though one chapter did have me put down the book because I was laughing so hard. She also gets real about her mental illness and its effect on her through her life as well as her numerous insecurities. Just as raw and humorous as Rachel herself.

Three other memoirs that I had just read that I really enjoyed but I haven’t reread enough to make it to the top 5 list are,

All are very eloquent, self aware, and in Amy’s case, very funny and I can’t wait to reread them again soon.