Bound Together 2023: Nonfiction: Memoirs
Hua Hsu, Katya Cengel, and Ander Monson are among the Alta Journal contributors who released deeply personal books in the past two years. Explore our full roundup.
THIS ISN’T GOING TO END WELL: THE TRUE STORY OF A MAN I THOUGHT I KNEW, By Daniel Wallace
ALGONQUIN BOOKS • APRIL 2023 • 272 PAGES • $28 HARDCOVER
Daniel Wallace had long looked up to his friend and brother-in-law, William Nealy, so when Nealy died by suicide, Wallace was distraught. Here, he oscillates between memoir, elegy, and excavation to recount details, stories, and heartbreaking truths about Nealy—discovering more about his friend in death than he did in life—and reveals intimate, often difficult realizations about himself.
IRMA: THE EDUCATION OF A MOTHER’S SON, By Terry McDonell
HARPER • APRIL 2023 • 256 PAGES • $26 HARDCOVER
When Terry McDonell’s father died suddenly, the author’s mother, Irma, made a choice to do whatever she must for the sake of her only son. In this heartwarming homage, McDonell revisits his childhood to contemplate his mother’s love, sacrifices, and powerful role in his life—especially as he becomes a parent in his own right.
PREDATOR: A MEMOIR, A MOVIE, AN OBSESSION, By Ander Monson
GRAYWOLF PRESS • SEPTEMBER 2022 • 272 PAGES • $16 PAPERBACK
Ander Monson has seen the 1987 sci-fi movie Predator 146 times. In this memoir, he presents the trajectory of his life, from a childhood spent between Michigan and Riyadh to his experience of fatherhood, while offering an in-depth analysis of the movie. Monson shares how the film captured his mind, fueled his imagination, and gave him a greater understanding of male friendship.
LIFE B: OVERCOMING DOUBLE DEPRESSION, By Bethanne Patrick
COUNTERPOINT PRESS • MAY 2023 • 208 PAGES • $26 HARDCOVER
Bethanne Patrick has battled depression throughout her life. In this poignant account, she delves into her past, investigates the cycles of her illness, and criticizes the stigma surrounding it. She also looks to the future, sharing her mechanisms for acceptance of mental health issues and ways to cultivate resilience.
A WALK ACROSS DIRTY WATER AND STRAIGHT INTO MURDERER’S ROW, By Eugene S. Robinson
FERAL HOUSE • AUGUST 2023 • 256 PAGES • $25 PAPERBACK
Eugene S. Robinson has done nearly everything: worked for media moguls, competed in martial arts, played in bands across the world, hosted a German talk show, and much, much more. His memoir gives readers a front-row seat to all of it. With unflinching honesty, he looks back on his time in the punk and hardcore scenes in California during the 1980s and speaks about race in the Bay Area.
STAY TRUE, By Hua Hsu
DOUBLEDAY • SEPTEMBER 2022 • 208 PAGES • $26 HARDCOVER
When author Hua Hsu was an undergrad at UC Berkeley in the 1990s, he befriended Ken. Initially, Hsu, drawn to counterculture and exploring off the beaten path, was unimpressed by Ken’s mainstream interests. But as the two became close, Hsu realized they were both outsiders of a sort. In this Pulitzer Prize–winning memoir, a 2023 Alta Journal California Book Club pick, Hsu narrates the story of their friendship, its tragic end, and what he has been searching for since.
STRAITJACKETS AND LUNCH MONEY, By Katya Cengel
WOODHALL PRESS • SEPTEMBER 2023 • 200 PAGES • $18.95 PAPERBACK
In this excavation of her childhood trauma, Katya Cengel examines her stay in a psychosomatic unit when she was just 10 years old and digs deep to uncover the truth behind facilities like it. Cengel’s account is a personal one: she candidly addresses her relationship with her father and her feelings before and after treatment.
I’VE HAD TO THINK UP A WAY TO SURVIVE: ON TRAUMA, PERSISTENCE, AND DOLLY PARTON, By Lynn Melnick
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS • OCTOBER 2022 • 264 PAGES • $27 HARDCOVER
Poet Lynn Melnick found healing in an unlikely place: Dollywood, Tennessee. Recovering from drug addiction, sexual assault, other violence, and trauma, Melnick found a North Star in the lyrics and ethos of Dolly Parton (like the author, an artist and a feminist), and here she unpacks her own life one Parton song at a time.
