Unlike the autobiography, which tells a chronological life story, a memoir is a nonfiction book in which the author writes about a particular time or experience in their life. There are many subgenres in this category, including parenting, travel, reading, and various time-restricted projects, like hiking a famous trail or cooking every recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
The absent parent subgenre has produced numerous works, poignant explorations of the mysteries that shape a child’s life well into adulthood. Often the writers have been abandoned by a parent, either through death or neglect. They are left to make sense of themselves within the shadow of loss.
Here are five good ones.
1.
The author is the product of an affair between Steve Jobs and his high school girlfriend. Their estrangement is rocky, and Lisa bares the brunt of it. Over time, he becomes a more involved parent, even asking his daughter to move in. He is an eccentric, eating a spare vegan diet and asking blunt questions about her sexuality. He also erupts at people over seemingly minor infractions. On his death bed, he expresses remorse for his behavior. Sadly, the damage has been done.
2.
The author is twenty-five when her mother dies. She finds herself drawn to the Korean food that bonds them. This is a fascinating and poignant examination of how culture and tradition bind people. It’s beautifully written. It’s that rare book that will make you simultaneously crave food and miss your mother.
3.
The author is famous for his fiction, but I think this may be his best work. It is a gut-wrenching memoir about his mother, an abusive and alcoholic member of the Spokane tribe. She has experienced terrible tragedy and ekes out an existence in HUD housing. They have a complicated relationship that includes a three-year estrangement and the author willfully missing her death. The spare descriptions pack a punch.
4.
At age ten, the author was living temporarily with her father when he was brutally murdered. The crime is still unsolved when, as an adult, she begins an investigation. By probing the event, she learns about her family, community, and her late parent. It’s a riveting story that kept me up late.
5.
In 2016, the author capriciously submitted a DNA sample to a genealogy site only to be rocked by a family secret. The man who raised her was not biologically related to her. From this gripping premise, I was on the edge-of-my-seat as the author unearthed her family secret and considered connecting with her other family. This is a Top 25 book for me.
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