Memoir Nation

Marion Roach Smith on Why Your Memoir Should Not Be About You

This is a wonderful episode for listeners ready to dive into topics ranging from aboutness, how to think about what you’re writing, and why your memoir should not be abou

David Lauerstein on Truth-Telling as an Act of Defiance

This week’s guest, David Lauterstein, joins us to talk about art and writing and purpose. Lauterstein’s book couldn’t NOT catch our eye. Sodomy Gods is a provocative titl

Murray Hill on Purpose as a Lifeline

Given our deep love of the show “Somebody, Somewhere,” Memoir Nation is thrilled to have Murray Hill as a guest on the show. We’re celebrating his new memoir, Showbiz! My

Ebony Walden on the Travel Memoir

This week we’re honoring the power of the travel memoir, which is a popular subgenre of memoir—and a place where exploration meets self-discovery. The act of travel in fa

Jessy Easton on Writing the Hard Thing

This week’s show explores writing the hard thing—and how releasing the hard thing into the world frees us from the burden of carrying secrets and being anything less than

Terria Smith on How Our Adventures Shape Us

There’s so much self-understanding to be gleaned from how we move in the world. This week Brooke and Grant explore adventure and migration and living abroad, springing fr

Captain Nia Gilliam on Monoculture Moments in Memoir

We’re taking the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11 to explore monoculture moments in memoir. These are collective events that we’ve all gone through togeth

Reyna Grande on Finding Beauty in Your Prison

We are back from our summer break with the first guest of our ninth season, Reyna Grande, in conversation about her new book, Migrant Heart. In this book, Reyna examines

Andre Dubus III and Marya Hornbacher on The Cost of Telling the Truth

This is the last of our summer Best-Of episodes, this one featuring clips from our interviews with Andre Dubus III and Marya Hornbacher. Yes, these two authors are legacy

Roxane Gay and Myriam Gurba on Refusing to Be Nice

These two former guests are partnered for their clear-eyed take on the world and their unwillingness to back down. Roxane Gay and Myriam Gurba are as loved as they are re

Jose Antonio Vargas and Beth Macy on Memoir That Changes Culture

During the month of August, Memoir Nation revisits its favorite guests of the past year. This week we’re pairing up powerhouse authors Jose Antonio Vargas and Beth Macy,

Kwame Alexander and E. Jean Carroll on the Power of Staying the Course

Happy August, Memoir Nation! As is our custom, we bring you our favorite guests of the past year, partnered by theme. This week we chose Kwame Alexander and E. Jean Carro

Roz Hernandez on the Freedom and Success of Not Being for Everyone

These week comedian Roz Hernandez opens up her heart and her story to us—and shares about the acceptance that comes when you stop trying to be “for everyone.” As a transg

Emily Rapp Black on Writing the Hardest Things

Memoir Nation explores the hardest things this week with guest Emily Rapp Black. Her new book is I Would Die If I Were You, part memoir, part how-to, that supports writer

Siri Hustvedt on Grief as Unrequited Love

This week’s show is a meditation on grief and the ways it weaves itself into our writing. Guest Siri Hustvedt says so many profound things about the writing process, abou

Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman on the Importance of Indie Media (and Celebrating the Relaunch of “The Rumpus”)

This week we’re taking a bit of a departure from all things memoir to celebrate independent media with Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman, who bought “The Rumpus” in 2025. We’

Rosebud Baker on Tragedy + Time = Memoir

So much of what’s funny stems from what’s terrible and tragic, and the funniest people are also often the darkest ones. This week we explore that truth with comedian Rose

Beronda Montgomery on Memoir as Testimony

This week’s show is a nuanced exploration of the various and creative ways memoir can be an exploration of identity, culture, and history, and how in unearthing our own s

Ronit Plank on Memoir Advocacy

This week’s episode will be a fast favorite because guest Ronit Plank is speaking the language of a memoir advocate. We get right to the heart of so many things that make

Eleni Sikelianos on How Subject Shapes Story

Form, form, form. We can’t stop circling it on Memoir Nation because everyone has a different approach to it. Mostly we’re taught that once you know your form, you can po