FOR MEMOIR OBSESSIVES

Heartland (Scribner) by Sarah Smarsh

Sarah Smarsh grew up in Kansas in the 1980s and ’90s, a product of generations of poverty and teen moms. Her memoir is a fascinating and heartfelt look at what it means to be poor in a country of abundance and wealth.

The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border (Riverhead Books) by Francisco Cantu

This memoir by a former US Border Patrol agent takes a look at both sides of the America-Mexico divide with the clear-eyed vision of having experienced it on a daily basis. Incredibly moving.

Becoming (Crown) by Michelle Obama

The bestselling autobiography from the ex-first lady is revealing, honest, moving and a welcome departure from typically safe political-spouse memoirs.

Educated (Random House) by Tara Westover

Growing up in a survivalist family in the Idaho mountains, Tara Westover had never been to see a doctor, and she was 17 when she first stepped into a classroom. Desperate for a new kind of life, she went to college, eventually getting her Ph.D. from Cambridge University. A tale of family ties and reinvention.

So Close To Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know (St. Martin’s) by Retta

The “Parks and Recreation” star shares the secrets of her success, ditched dreams of medical school and subsequent move to Hollywood in a collection of hilarious essays that will have readers giggling long after they turn the last page.

The Restless Wave (Simon & Schuster) by John McCain

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here,” writes John McCain in this moving memoir. “I have some things I’d like to take care of first, some work that needs finishing and some people I need to see. And I want to talk to my fellow Americans a little more if I may.” We’re glad he did, and although he is no longer here, he lives on in his last book.