I'm looking for a non celeb memoir to read

[Shosha1]

Any ideas.

I don't like misery books either.

I recently enjoyed Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan - it's a memoir about the relationship between mothers and daughters - a very quick read as you will get engrossed and finish it quickly

Not non-celeb - but a friend of mine recommended Chris Packhams autobiog- it's on my to read list, apparently a moving account of his childhood and his aspergers.

Sort of a memoir, I recently read and absolutely loved H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald _ I read it for my book group and we were split 50/50 between those who loved it and those who didn't - so not for everyone maybe, but if it's your sort of thing you'll love it.

It looks as if you are interested in crime, so you might like Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton - he's a criminal psychologist and has been worked on some very famous cases.

I'd also recommend Do No Harm by Henry Marsh - not exactly a memoir but very interesting recollections of cases by a neuro surgeon.

Stephen Kings "On Writing" is also rather good. It's a memoir as well as a guide on the craft of writing and is completely absorbing.

I really enjoyed Gerald Durrell's biography.

Also - Message From an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran - I loved this although it was heartbreaking.

I read Alan Cumming's memoir a few weeks ago and it was a brilliant read, very moving without being self-pitying.

And if you want something really unusual, try the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi about growing up in Iran in the time of the revolution

i second this, its really really good. There is also a film made of it in the same artistic style as the book which was true to the book and a really good watch.

The travel memoirs of Martha Gelhorn. She was a WW2 reporter, travel writer and sometime wife of Ernest Hemingway.
Wonderful early feminist with an engaging writing style.

An Evil Cradling by Brian Keenan was both horrific and inspiring about the strength of someone in an extreme situation.

Atul Gawande books are good - lessons from surgery that cross over into real life

Think someone said Duuchess of Devonshire already, I second that.

There's a Margaret Forster that's called 'A Diary of ' something or other. I liked that.

Lots of books written about Brian Clough, all very interesting.

Some of these sound great.

My recommendation - Zeitoun by Dave Eggars - story about someone who stayed in New Orleans after the hurricane and floods and what happens to him. Amazing (and underrated) book.

Anyone mention Unbroken yet? (sorry not RTFT)

I came on to say The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, but see someone has beaten me to it.

Extraordinary story.

I also came on to say The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Incredible book.

Also a bit different is London - The Biography, by Peter Ackroyd.

Second the Gerald Durrell autobiography, too, and I loved all 6 of Maya Angelou's memoirs.

I'll second Spike Milligans war memoirs, absolutely hilarious but also such a good insight into the Second World War. Also Vera Brittans testament of youth books. Gerald Durrells books if you like eccentric animal types and Redmond O'hanlon has written some fascinating and funny memoirs about his various jungle expeditions.

Try 'Coming Clean' by Kimberly Rae Miller.

Child of Happy Valley by Juanita Carberry
Testament of Youth - Vera Brittain

Please no more ghastly Mitford sisters - not sure what our obsession with them is...
Horrible bunch of fascists. I believe one of them gave birth to Hitler's child.

I love My Space by Sally Morgan, an Australian Indigenous woman. It's woven in with both her mother and her grandmother's experiences. Quite confronting but brilliant.

One of the Mitfords was indeed a fascist and associated with Hitler. That is part of what makes it an interesting read!

oh yes it is fascinating that our ruling class are a crowd of ugly Nazis, utterly fascinating! That Nancy was a prize biatch as well, not to mention the vile Mosley woman.

but anyway that is one thing, but what bugs me is our utter fascination for such a sad shower of fuhrer shagging fascists.

Just had to add Toast by Nigel Slater.

I recommend The Outrun by Amy Liptrot and The Fish Ladder by Katherine Norbury.

The Outrun is about the author"s struggles with alcoholism and her slow recovery through moving back home to Orkney. She begins to write about nature and her observations are fascinating.

The Fish Ladder is about the author's travels to the sources of various rivers in the company of her daughter whilst recovering from a miscarriage. It's very poignant. There's also her search for her birth mother and serious illness along the way. A brilliant read - sad but also uplifting and positive.

I'd recommend The Hospital by the River - it's by a British doctor helping women with horrendous deformities caused by childbirth in Ethiopia.

Fifty Dead Men Walking by Martin McGartland. About an MI5 agent working inside the IRA. Amazing & fascinating read.