Why was Susanna Kaysen really hospitalised? Her memoir Girl, Interrupted turns 30 this year. It investigates whether she was ‘mad’, or medicalised for a ‘chaotic’ life that defied gender norms.
Journalist Shannon Molloy was sexually abused as a child, by another young person. He talks to experts, and to other men who’ve experienced sexual abuse, to make sense of his experience.
Kate Legge’s husband was chronically unfaithful. So was his father, who was forced to leave the family home after revealing his mother’s affair. Legge reflects on generational love and infidelity.
Why are we so utterly in thrall to upper-crust tales of privilege, riches and scandal? Because it’s a great story of wealth, heritage and survival in the modern world.
When the global press first reported on Prince Harry’s Spare, they were doing so from the Spanish translation – an expert explains the surprisingly significant impact this had on its interpretation.
Daniella Mestyanek Young grew up in the Children of God cult, also known as The Family. She escaped aged 15, then joined the US army after college – and recognised similar systems of toxic control.
Over 100 life stories of Holocaust survivors have been published through a Holocaust survivors’ memoir program. Listening to survivors narrate their stories is a powerful learning experience.
Prince Harry’s long-awaited memoir tells a story of a troubled young man, traumatised by the death of his mother when he was just 12. And a man, closer to his 40s, who remains angry and anxious.
Vince Copley lived a long, impressive life, helping to make a better world for Aboriginal people. Born on a mission in 1936, he died aged 85, just after finishing his memoir, on 10 January 2022.
Family estrangement feels shameful and isolating: but if you’ve experienced it, you’re far from alone. Sharing true stories can help reduce shame and create awareness.
Fighting became a metaphor for Donna Lyon to recover from her childhood abuse. When her boxing career finished, she wondered if boxing – combined with creative writing – could help others like her.
Detention at Manus Island was not the same as detention at Auschwitz, writes Jordana Silverstein. But the historical insights from those who were in those places echo through time, across generations.
In her new memoir, Stella Prize winner Heather Rose reflects on overcoming childhood trauma and adult pain with spiritual work. But our reviewer wishes it allowed moments of ‘pause or ambiguity’.
Mala, a Polish Orthodox Jewish woman, escaped the Warsaw ghetto early in the second world war and survived by passing as a Catholic. A new book tells her story.