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Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
NOTE: This list is for non-fiction only.
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A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
1 |
The Diary of a Young Girl
by
4.20 avg rating — 4,103,371 ratings
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2 |
The Glass Castle
by
Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 1,335,287 ratings
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3 |
Night
by
4.38 avg rating — 1,341,405 ratings
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4 |
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt, #1)
by
4.15 avg rating — 652,986 ratings
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5 |
Eat, Pray, Love
by
Elizabeth Gilbert (Goodreads Author)
3.64 avg rating — 1,826,148 ratings
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6 |
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
by
Mitch Albom (Goodreads Author)
4.20 avg rating — 1,166,370 ratings
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7 |
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 555,408 ratings
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8 |
Into the Wild
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 1,172,829 ratings
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9 |
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
by
4.30 avg rating — 572,328 ratings
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10 |
Running with Scissors
by
Augusten Burroughs (Goodreads Author)
3.77 avg rating — 401,382 ratings
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11 |
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by
4.37 avg rating — 286,822 ratings
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12 |
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1)
by
4.27 avg rating — 226,350 ratings
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13 |
Man's Search for Meaning
by
4.37 avg rating — 843,339 ratings
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14 |
A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer, #1)
by
Dave Pelzer (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 456,552 ratings
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15 |
All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small, #1-2)
by
4.35 avg rating — 156,141 ratings
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16 |
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1)
by
4.39 avg rating — 368,116 ratings
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17 |
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
by
4.48 avg rating — 350,475 ratings
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18 |
Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools: Tuck into a Slice of Andalucían Life (Old Fools, #1)
by
Victoria Twead (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 4,253 ratings
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19 |
Me Talk Pretty One Day
by
4.01 avg rating — 715,675 ratings
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20 |
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by
Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 855,070 ratings
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21 |
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
by
4.30 avg rating — 121,177 ratings
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22 |
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog
by
4.14 avg rating — 475,865 ratings
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23 |
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by
Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 791,782 ratings
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24 |
Bossypants
by
3.96 avg rating — 1,045,224 ratings
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25 |
Educated
by
Tara Westover (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 1,795,053 ratings
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26 |
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by
4.16 avg rating — 192,909 ratings
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27 |
John Adams
by
4.08 avg rating — 374,464 ratings
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28 |
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.34 avg rating — 312,214 ratings
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29 |
The Last Lecture
by
4.26 avg rating — 360,456 ratings
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30 |
Infidel
by
4.20 avg rating — 92,183 ratings
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31 |
The Story of My Life
by
4.08 avg rating — 150,411 ratings
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32 |
Just Kids
by
Patti Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 339,038 ratings
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33 |
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
by
4.39 avg rating — 993,374 ratings
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34 |
The Complete Maus
by
4.58 avg rating — 247,893 ratings
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35 |
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time
by
Greg Mortenson (Goodreads Author)
3.66 avg rating — 358,296 ratings
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36 |
Lucky
by
3.77 avg rating — 101,535 ratings
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37 |
The Color of Water
by
James McBride (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 132,217 ratings
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38 |
The Complete Persepolis
by
4.40 avg rating — 201,260 ratings
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39 |
Black Like Me
by
4.11 avg rating — 69,341 ratings
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40 |
Mary Edwards Walker: America's Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient
by
Ammar Habib (Goodreads Author)
4.37 avg rating — 7,947 ratings
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41 |
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
by
3.66 avg rating — 139,075 ratings
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42 |
Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain
by
George Mahood (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 7,718 ratings
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43 |
Steve Jobs
by
Walter Isaacson (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 1,338,760 ratings
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44 |
Girl, Interrupted
by
3.94 avg rating — 271,521 ratings
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45 |
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by
3.92 avg rating — 290,925 ratings
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46 |
Two Old Fools on a Camel: From Spain to Bahrain and Back Again (Old Fools, #3)
by
Victoria Twead (Goodreads Author)
3.83 avg rating — 2,241 ratings
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47 |
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by
Barack Obama (Goodreads Author)
3.94 avg rating — 230,060 ratings
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48 |
The Year of Magical Thinking
by
3.93 avg rating — 289,015 ratings
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49 |
I Grew My Boobs in China (Sihpromatum #1)
by
Savannah Grace (Goodreads Author)
3.74 avg rating — 1,647 ratings
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50 |
Playing Ball: Life Lessons from My Journey to the Super Bowl and Beyond
by
4.29 avg rating — 10,407 ratings
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51 |
Lost in Yaba: Down and Out in Laos
by
Walt Gleeson (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 1,638 ratings
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52 |
Cheaper by the Dozen (Cheaper by the Dozen, #1)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 44,392 ratings
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53 |
Becoming
by
Michelle Obama (Goodreads Author)
4.44 avg rating — 1,169,717 ratings
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54 |
Out of Africa
by
3.91 avg rating — 47,300 ratings
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55 |
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by
4.07 avg rating — 438,721 ratings
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56 |
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by
4.13 avg rating — 132,646 ratings
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57 |
Escape
by
3.98 avg rating — 46,100 ratings
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58 |
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by
4.18 avg rating — 364,766 ratings
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59 |
West with the Night
by
4.15 avg rating — 40,464 ratings
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60 |
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by
3.69 avg rating — 182,979 ratings
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61 |
The Lullaby Illusion: A Journey of Awakening
by
Susan Joyce (Goodreads Author)
3.76 avg rating — 972 ratings
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62 |
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
by
4.49 avg rating — 785,447 ratings
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63 |
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by
Malala Yousafzai (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 614,759 ratings
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64 |
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death
by
3.98 avg rating — 76,500 ratings
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65 |
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds (Story of Elsa, #1)
by
4.16 avg rating — 33,694 ratings
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66 |
A Million Little Pieces
by
3.69 avg rating — 261,673 ratings
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67 |
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character
by
Richard P. Feynman (Contibutor)
4.27 avg rating — 214,569 ratings
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68 |
The Liars' Club
by
3.94 avg rating — 71,347 ratings
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69 |
The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era
by
4.24 avg rating — 946 ratings
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70 |
Dry
by
Augusten Burroughs (Goodreads Author)
4.03 avg rating — 97,833 ratings
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71 |
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by
Barack Obama (Goodreads Author)
3.83 avg rating — 168,855 ratings
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72 |
Browns Town 1964: The Cleveland Browns and the 1964 Championship
by
4.18 avg rating — 515 ratings
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73 |
'Tis
by
3.74 avg rating — 65,649 ratings
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74 |
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by
Alison Bechdel (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 198,552 ratings
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75 |
Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities
by
3.99 avg rating — 90,556 ratings
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76 |
The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
by
4.21 avg rating — 6,243 ratings
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77 |
Through My Eyes
by
3.94 avg rating — 12,998 ratings
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78 |
Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca?
by
Alan Parks (Goodreads Author)
3.60 avg rating — 2,145 ratings
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79 |
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by
4.28 avg rating — 197,358 ratings
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80 |
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
by
3.97 avg rating — 57,076 ratings
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81 |
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 42,933 ratings
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82 |
Prozac Nation
by
3.64 avg rating — 63,573 ratings
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83 |
QB: My Life Behind the Spiral
by
4.26 avg rating — 3,557 ratings
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84 |
Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time
by
4.11 avg rating — 2,153 ratings
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84 |
America's Game: The NFL at 100
by
4.02 avg rating — 562 ratings
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86 |
The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
by
4.19 avg rating — 3,597 ratings
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87 |
Survival in Auschwitz
by
4.34 avg rating — 84,553 ratings
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88 |
The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother
by
4.01 avg rating — 1,790 ratings
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89 |
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
by
4.14 avg rating — 81,175 ratings
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90 |
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by
Steve Martin (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 106,051 ratings
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91 |
Montana: The Biography of Football's Joe Cool
by
4.05 avg rating — 703 ratings
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92 |
My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
by
4.17 avg rating — 62,270 ratings
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93 |
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
by
4.35 avg rating — 52,918 ratings
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94 |
Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard
by
3.98 avg rating — 1,945 ratings
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95 |
You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television
by
3.97 avg rating — 3,703 ratings
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96 |
A Piece of Cake
by
4.25 avg rating — 38,019 ratings
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97 |
All Things Bright and Beautiful (All Creatures Great and Small, #3-4)
by
4.35 avg rating — 82,481 ratings
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98 |
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by
3.87 avg rating — 62,185 ratings
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99 |
SUGAR BEAR: Life Lessons, Leadership, and the Legacy of a High School Coach
by
Chris Heeb (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 449 ratings
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100 |
Cash
by
4.02 avg rating — 25,140 ratings
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 76 (76 new)


This is fabulous. six stars


Can we get them removed? One of the reasons I came to look at this list was to find good biographies to add to my TBR list, so I want to be sure I'm not reading a book I think is a biography then discover it was fiction.

Can we get them removed? One of the reasons I came to look at this list was to find good biographies to add to my TBR list, so I want ..."
Please don't remove them - even those are fiction-biography books, this list is still gorgeous.




http://www.amazon.com/Playboy-Virgins...

#113 A Thousand Splendid Suns
#128 Memoirs of a Geisha
Shall I delete? Any others that need to go?

NOTE: This list is for non-fiction only.
Hopefully, this will stop the tide of fiction.



In regards to the 60 Minutes episode that aired April 17, 2011: "Greg Mortenson’s work as a humanitarian in Afghanistan and Pakistan has provided tens of thousands of children with an education. 60 Minutes is a serious news organization and in the wake of their report, Viking plans to carefully review the materials with the author."'


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
NONE of the "Little House" series is autobiography. When confronted by a journalist about the scene in one of the books in which a family member is chased by ravenous wolves, which of course is not something wolves do to humans, LIW replied with great dignity that she had not intended to write history; she intended to write stories for children.
This author does have an actual memoir, but it doesn't, at least in my opinion, hold the charm and interest level that her children's series commands.
Oh wow...I'm going to find that whole series here, aren't I? Removed from #124, see above, Farmer Boy:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
..and less than 1 minute later, I find the entire series in one boxed set; I wasn't so clairvoyant as to see it coming, but expected to find it one title at a time...and likely I still will. Anyway, gone from #194:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
From #466 On the Banks of Plum Creek:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Also from page 5, The Long Winter:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
P.6 Little Town on the Prairie
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Also from p6 Those Happy Golden Years
and The First Four Years
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
p. 10, By the Shores of Silver Lake:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
#744, removed for being fictional, Great Expectations:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Travel book removed from #209:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Removed:
The Winds of War, fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
and Good Grief, also fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...


Take another look at the title of the listopia. Memoir, biography, autobiography. McCullough is dull as dirt, imho, but his books are clearly within the parameters of the listmaker.
If you see fiction and want me to pull it, give me titles and tell me what page each is on, and I'll be happy to do it. I have a little time right now and will check the list to see what jumps out at me.

It was a memoir by an Iranian?-I think- woman who was imprisoned and coerced into marrying her prison guard for a while and now lives in Canada. I wanted to show my mum it, but I can't remember the name of it. I recall it had a picture of a woman looking off a building on the front cover. If anyone can help that'd be awesome. Thanks.

This constitutes spam, and is inappropriate for a Goodreads listopia discussion. I have flagged the comment.
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by MARK MILLHONE
Beautiful, honest memoir that appeals to both men and women which is so rare. It is very funny, but have your kleenex near by and the phone numbers of family members handy to tell them you love them and value them