Memoirs have gotten a bad rap lately, due to to the recent rise of confessional literature that reads like an teenager's diary. But if you think memoirs have to be sappy, saccharine, and self-indulgent, you haven't read the best nonfiction in the game. A well-written memoir tells a true story about a period in a person's life. But unlike an autobiography, a memoir doesn't have to span the writer's entire lived experience. Some of the most popular memoirs deal with just a short period of time, a single instance, or life event that has made an impact on the author or which makes a compelling story. They can be lyrical, straightforward, funny, poignant, or some combination of all of the above. Memoirs make great books for people who love nonfiction or those who enjoy emotionally resonant stories about real people. These are some of our favorites memoirs, both new ones released in 2019 and reliable classics that every nonfiction fan will want to add to their reading list.