LitQueuelitqueue

After

A Writer's Diary

Virginia Woolf1953

5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower

More like it

Same meditative register, still memoir

1 more ↓

  • True North: A Memoir

    Jill Ker Conway

    The first female president of Smith College describes her move from Australia to America and her academic career in the 1960s.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Argonauts

    Maggie Nelson2015

    A memoir of the author's relationship with her partner and her pregnancy. It mixes personal narrative with academic theory on gender and family.

    Same meditative register, still memoir

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    meditative → bleak, still memoir

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Education of Henry Adams

    Henry Adams

    A man writes a sardonic third-person account of his life and his failure to adapt to the technological shifts of the late 19th century.

    meditative → sardonic, still memoir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Unfinished

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas2021

    The actress details her childhood in India, her time in American schools, and her transition from pageantry to a global film career.

    meditative → earnest, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Bird by Bird

    Anne Lamott1994

    A writer shares personal anecdotes and advice on the daily habits and psychological hurdles of the writing life.

    meditative → warm, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Whiskey in a Teacup

    Reese Witherspoon2018

    Reese Witherspoon shares recipes, interior design tips, and personal stories centered on Southern lifestyle and hospitality.

    meditative → warm, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Sun and Her Flowers

    Rupi Kaur2017

    A collection of short, illustrated poems organized into five stages of growth. It covers themes of loss, trauma, and self-healing.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+3·prose-2·bleak0

  • Pillow Thoughts

    Courtney Peppernell2016

    A collection of short poems and prose pieces organized by emotional state. It focuses on themes of heartbreak, healing, and loneliness.

    meditative → tender

    pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    meditative → playful

    pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1

Heavier

meditative → bleak, still memoir

3 more ↓

  • Wasted

    Marya Hornbacher1998

    A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

    pace+2·prose0·bleak+2

  • A House in the Sky

    Amanda Lindhout2013

    A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

    meditative → tense, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2

  • A River in Darkness

    Masaji Ishikawa2018

    A man describes his thirty-six years living in North Korea after moving there from Japan. He recounts extreme poverty and his eventual escape.

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2