My All-Time Favorite Narratively Memoirs
Thinking of submitting to our Memoir Prize and looking for inspo? Dive into 5 of the best personal essays we've ever published, from one about an epic teenage prank to another about a runaway mom.
The very best memoirs go beyond beautiful language and show us exactly what the writer felt at that moment in time, which is what makes them so relatable, whether or not you’ve ever experienced something similar to what the author has gone through. These five essays are among my favorite pieces we’ve ever published, because in each one, the author really digs deep to make their unique experience intensely relatable.
If you’re thinking about submitting to the Narratively 2024 Memoir Prize — you only have till this Thursday! — and you’re in need of some inspiration, look no further…
1. Searching for the Woman Who Saved My Immigrant Family from Homelessness
Story by Shaheen Pasha
In this time of Islamophobia and hatred, I needed to understand what made a white stranger open her home to us.
2. Diary of a Bachelor Who Suddenly Became a Solo Dad to a Teenage Girl
Story by Kern Carter
I was an 18-year-old father who couldn’t be there for his baby. I know, you’ve heard this one before. How about this part? Twelve years later Krystasia’s mom walked away and never came back.
Story by Ray W. Hayden
In gritty 1980s New York, one West Village flophouse became a last-chance refuge for addicts, criminals, LGBTQ runaways, and anyone with nowhere left to go. And my mom was their queen.
4. My High School’s Secret Fantasy Slut League
Story by Lena Crown
Our wealthy California school had a hookup game where boys “drafted” girls, then tracked their sex acts. A decade later, my classmates still debate whether “FSL” was harmless teenage hijinks or a symptom of toxic rot in our elite enclave.
5. The Teenage Prank That’s Lasted 60 Years
Story by Clay Jennings Desmond
I was a bored high schooler when I made up a harmless story about the creature from the sandpits. Decades later, its legend still haunts our small Southern town.
Did reading these essays get you excited to submit your own memoir piece to the 2024 Narratively Memoir Prize? If yes, don’t sleep on it. It closes this Thursday, December 19!
This story was originally published on May 2, 2024, and has been updated.