Don’t miss the best new biographies and memoirs from the past month, hand-picked by our editors! We’ve rounded up this month’s biggest and buzziest biographies and memoirs — including the true story of a couple shipwrecked at sea, an insightful portrait of John Hancock’s life, and more!

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	While waiting for rescue, a shipwrecked couple fought for their lives — and their marriage WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Bill Bryson recommends this “enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit” After a year at sea, Maurice and Maralyn’s sailboat sank, and they spent months adrift together in a tiny raft. How did they manage to get along — and get out alive? “I was shocked it wasn’t fiction” (Elle) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers ‘A picture of postwar England unlike any other’ (Financial Times) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: With honesty and humor, award-winning writer Geoff Dyer reflects on his humble beginnings, the misadventures of his adolescence, and more One of 2025’s most anticipated books, according to The Guardian, The Times, Vulture, and more This “heartfelt book by a supremely intelligent writer” (Jeffrey Eugenides) examines Britain’s changing landscape in the 1960s and 1970s Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers On a remote Norwegian island, a septuagenarian carries on a dying tradition WHY IT’S READWORTHY: The author of The Shepherd’s Life recounts his transformative season working with Anna, an elderly woman caring for wild eider ducks and collecting their down Rave reviews from John Banville, Paula Hawkins, and George Saunders, who calls it “not only a modern classic, but one we very much need right now” “A wistful depiction of a vanishing way of life, this will move readers” (Publishers Weekly) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers The first Black woman to become a US senator tells her story WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Born into racial segregation in Chicago, Carol Moseley Braun overcame countless obstacles on her path to making history “A woman of many firsts… details how her identity shaped her experiences in her personal and professional life” (NPR) This compelling memoir is a “forthright and impactful overview of an impressive and storied life in public service” (Booklist) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers Jonathan Gluck was told he only had months left to live. That was over 20 years ago WHY IT’S READWORTHY: At 38, Gluck was diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer. In this moving memoir, he reflects on dealing with chronic illness and coping with uncertainty — and considers what almost dying has taught him about living “Navigates the dire straits of mortality with eloquence, wit, and intelligence” (Susan Orlean) From an award-winning journalist who was previously an editor at New York Magazine and Vogue Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers There was more to this Founding Father than his splashy signature WHY IT’S READWORTHY: This “thoughtful” biography of the first governor of Massachusetts is “a solid addition to the literature of the American Revolution” (Kirkus Reviews) Discover an unsung Founding Father’s life, legacy, and lasting impact on US history — from his involvement in the Boston Tea Party to his contentious rivalry with Samuel Adams “It is welcome news to have a biography that presents a compelling case for a reappraisal” (The New York Times) Fans of Ron Chernow should pick this up Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers ‘This inquiry into what makes a good life will resonate with readers of all faiths’ (Publishers Weekly) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: An award-winning journalist details coming of age under the strain of post-9/11 Islamophobia — and navigating cultural identity, religion, and fatherhood “His storytelling balances humor with reflection… Warm and insightful” (Kirkus Reviews) “What does it mean to be American? What does it mean to be a good person? What does it mean to have faith? Ismail… makes finding the answers a total pleasure” (New York Times bestselling author Suzy Hansen) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers One of 2025’s most anticipated books, according to The New York Times, Vulture, and more WHY IT’S READWORTHY: After a sudden breakup, novelist Catherine Lacey found herself adrift — and as she began cataloguing her life and relationships, she wound up with writing that blurred the line between fact and fiction “Memoir collides with invention in a brilliant interrogation of art, faith, and relationships” (The Guardian) “A genre-bending book that grapples with the diffuse and uncategorizable enormity of personal loss… A literary haunting that will burrow under your skin” (Kirkus Reviews starred review) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon See other formats and retailers A deeply personal look at one of the most beautiful places on earth — and what it means to its people WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “A well-crafted work combining memoir, ethnography, history, and sharp-edged journalism” (Kirkus Reviews) In this moving narrative, a journalist explores the displacement of Native Hawaiians and her fight to retain her family’s ancestral land “Required reading for anyone who wants to understand the history of land in Hawai’i ― and for that matter, this land we now call the United States” (Rebecca Nagle, author of By the Fire We Carry)