The Best Memoirs From Your Favorite Celebrity Book Clubs

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Fictional stories offer a peek into writers' imaginations, but memoirs allow readers to get to know the person behind the writing on a much more personal level. Another's life story can be an insightful reminder that nobody's life is perfect, no matter how much social media tries to convince you otherwise by only showing the highlight reels.

If you've been looking for a read to keep you grounded and remind you of what's actually important in life, it may be time for you to put that novel aside and make room on your TBR for some memoirs. From the best celeb memoirs of the 2020s to survivors, activists, and people from all different walks of life sharing their extraordinary stories, the options are truly endless. Not sure where to start looking for an eye-opening and raw memoir? You may just want to turn to your favorite celebrity book club.

There's no doubt that celeb book clubs tend to favor works of fiction, but from time to time, they spotlight real-life journeys. And oftentimes, these powerful journeys can be just as moving as a dramatic novel. Some stories remind us that we aren't alone in our struggles, and others will leave you in awe and completely shift the way you see the world. If you're ready to embark on a journey that'll leave an impression on your heart, we've put together a list of the best memoirs from your favorite celebrity book clubs.

"We Will Be Jaguars" by Nemonte Nenquimo is our pick for best memoir from Reese's Book Club. This riveting memoir is often named as one of the highest-rated reads from Reese's Book Club, and its reviews speak for themselves. While it has a smaller pool of reviews than the other memoirs on this list, its strike rate is incredible. A rare 90% of nearly 10,000 Goodreads reviewers rated the memoir four stars or higher.

Nemonte tells the story of the Waorani people and their will to be more than a footnote in history. It is a pulse-pounding account of the clash between the Amazon's emerald heart and the soulless reach of the oil industry, as well as the many missionaries determined to evangelize, no matter the cost. Nemonte's story is a haunting testament that when the will to exist is strong, it can resist any force trying to silence it.

A five-star Goodreads reviewer wrote, "We need to be honest about the harm that's been done in the name of Jesus ... The least we can do is acknowledge the pain and damage that's been caused. Reading Nemonte's story is one small way to bear witness." If you read to expand your horizons, then you'll want to give some time to the Waorani people and their story of justice through Nenquimo's memoir.

If you stay up to date with Oprah's Book Club, you might have expected "Finding Me" by Viola Davis, or "From Here to the Great Unknown" by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. While those modern memoirs dominate multiple charts, Elie Wiesel's "Night," Oprah's January 2006 pick, is the undeniable touchstone memoir of the book club.

Despite reading it more than nearly two decades ago, "Night" remains one of the most impactful memoirs our writer has ever read. Oprah herself said she was 'not the same' and she gained 'courage from [Wiesel's] courage' after finishing the tragic memoir. Wiesel shares with readers an unshakable record of a life that was lived in daily terror, fought to not be erased by hatred, and somehow managed to survive the loss of his parents and younger sister.

Trust us when we tell you this book will likely have you sobbing on multiple occasions, and it will change you. More than 700,000 Goodreads readers awarded the book five stars, and many reviewers share the same story: there was life before "Night" and life after reading it. One five-star reviewer noted, "So much pain and suffering are thrown at you from the pages that one cannot comprehend it all in the right perspective. One can only move forward as the victims in this book did."

"Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner isn't just the best memoir selected by Dua Lipa's Service95 club; it's also the continuous number one Amazon bestseller in Asian & Asian American biographies. Zauner, who is also at the helm of the band Japanese Breakfast, wrote this book to remember her mother and what it felt like losing her. In the process, she crafts a roadmap for anyone navigating the aftermath of great loss. Beyond the grief, "Crying in H Mart" is a book that also explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters, as well as Zauner's biracial identity.

Like many authors who write memoirs, Zauner found writing the book to be a cathartic journey. She told Lipa in a Service95 interview, "It was a really difficult process, but it was also so healing in many ways ... I was able to understand my mother in a much deeper way and understand our relationship ... and find forgiveness for a lot of the people in my life, including myself."

A five-star reviewer described this memoir perfectly. "['Crying in H Mart'] is a remarkable book about a very human experience that many will face in some form or another when they lose someone vital to their life. Michelle told her story with raw candor and the added depth of her mixed heritage and love of Korean food that bound her to her mother was so compelling that I read the whole book in a day!"

When it came to selecting the best memoir from the Read With Jenna book club, we knew "Solito" by Javier Zamora deserved our readers' attention. Told from the perspective of the author's 9-year-old self, "Solito" is the story of Javier's journey from El Salvador to the U.S. The author admitted in a 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he had avoided looking back at his life for a long time. One day, Zamora's therapist told him, "You really need to spend time with this 9-year-old. You've been running away from him, but you can't. This boy is going to follow you until you die."

It took two decades, but the author knew his therapist was right and he needed to stop running. This resulted in "Solito." An Amazon reviewer only gave the memoir four stars because they felt it needed a sequel. "Javier doesn't dwell on the politics of immigration, whether legal or illegal. His only goal is to be reunited with his parents ... I would have liked to have read more about his experiences after he crossed the border. Perhaps a second memoir is in the works," the reviewer wrote. 

93% of more than 10,000 Amazon reviewers gave the book a four-star rating or higher. One reviewer gave the book five stars, noting, "An amazing story of persistence, determination and love. If you want to read about what immigrants will sacrifice to live in the US, here's a first-person account. Beautifully written in the author's voice ... at age 9."

"Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke was introduced in January 2025 by Dakota Johnson's TeaTime Book Club as a book 'so inspiring it may just set you on a journey to the best year yet.' We want our readers to be forewarned that this isn't your typical storytelling style memoir. Instead, it's a book comprised of ten letters that the poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote to a 19-year-old soldier. 

In these letters, he tells the soldier about listening to what the inner voice has to say, the importance of patience, and that life's biggest questions aren't always meant to be answered right away. After our writer read the letters, she felt it was a much-needed reminder for herself and others today who are constantly seeking instant results and gratification. Rilke's words serve as a gentle reality check and encourage us to stop rushing toward the next best thing and learning to enjoy the process of just being where we are. 

So many other readers found the book to be life-changing. A Goodreads review with more than 800 likes simply wrote, "These letters rewired my whole brain chemistry," and another review jokingly said, "This man just casually writing the most profound things I have ever read in a letter to his pal, meanwhile I spend 10 minutes figuring out how to sign off an email."  

For our list of the best memoirs from celebrity book clubs, we made sure not to solely rely on star ratings or bestseller lists. Instead, we prioritized stories that felt the most raw and unfiltered and had something to teach. A good memoir doesn't just tell readers what happened, but actually leaves them feeling as if they were walking in someone else's shoes. 

As we centered our focus on these elements, our list ended up with just one celeb memoir, "Crying in H Mart." We found that the most resonant stories don't really come from unrelatable Hollywood sets and lavish lives, but from everyday people whose lives were defined by experiences that challenge our perspective and remind us what it truly means to be human. 

With that said, just because we didn't prioritize ratings doesn't mean we turned a blind eye to them. Once we had a decent number of memoirs, we looked at reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to ensure the stories we would introduce were well-rounded, easy to follow, and worth the read and emotional investment. This helped us bring our list down to five memoirs that not only have an average four-star rating or higher, but are also well worth our readers' time.