There’s nothing like diving into an inspirational life story, and 2026 is bringing several amazing memoirs to the table. From stage and screen icons to governors and scientists, these voices dig into identity, illness, justice, faith, fame and starting over. Here are the most anticipated memoirs coming out in 2026.

Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block

A haunting, funny and tender reckoning with childhood, Block’s memoir tracks the year his mother pulled him from school and remade learning at the kitchen table. As he navigates isolation, big Texas skies and a family’s fragile hope, he discovers the strange freedom and cost of living off-syllabus. For readers who love literary voice, mother-son stories and hard-won empathy, this is luminous and raw in all the right ways.

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When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

Plant biologist Montgomery braids science, personal history and Black American memory into an astonishing walk through seven trees that witnessed—and shaped—our nation. From sycamores that sheltered escape to cotton that scarred generations, she shows how botanical knowledge is lineage, resistance and love. Part field notebook, part elegy, part call to care, this is the rare memoir that deepens how we see our neighborhoods, our ancestors and ourselves.

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Where We Keep the Light by Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania’s governor turns inward to trace the throughline of faith, family and service—across door-knocking campaigns, governing in a crisis and the night a fire upended his home. Shapiro writes with candor about resilience, public life and the people who taught him where the “light” lives. Politics aside, this is a values-forward memoir about purpose, parenting and showing up when it’s hardest—catnip for readers of inspiring leadership stories.

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A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot

After discovering her husband drugged and assaulted her—and filmed the attacks—Pelicot became her own first responder, investigator and witness. This fierce memoir chronicles the painstaking path to justice and the reclamation of body, voice and future. Feminist and ultimately life-affirming, it reads like a thriller but lands as testimony. For readers of Chanel Miller and Deborah Copaken, it insists that shame belongs to the perpetrator, not the survivor.

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It’s Never Too Late by Marla Gibbs

At 94, the sitcom legend (The Jeffersons, 227) tells the story behind the laughs: a turbulent childhood, a bold move west and the grit it took to claim power in a business that rarely hands it to Black women. Candid and funny, Gibbs proves reinvention has no expiration date—offering playbook-level wisdom on work, love, friendship and getting what you’re worth. A joy for TV fans and late-bloomers alike.

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You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

The Emmy-winner opens the door on childhood fame, the roles that defined her, and the 2021 MS diagnosis that redrew every map. Applegate writes with sharp humor and unflinching tenderness about identity, pain, friendship and choosing joy anyway. This is a love letter to her people, her body—on its hardest days—and to anyone learning how to let go of the script and author a braver, truer life.

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Phases by Brandy Norwood

From teen phenom to R&B icon, Brandy maps the eras that shaped her: meteoric fame, image battles, heartbreak, motherhood and the quiet work of becoming. With candor and lyricism, she revisits the hits and the hard nights, sharing the creative practices, therapy and faith that steadied her. A tender, grown-woman tell-all about voice—musical and personal—and the power of starting over as many times as it takes.

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What Mattered Most by Ty Herndon

Country star Ty Herndon names his truth: addiction and recovery, a suicide attempt, career detours and becoming the first openly gay male country artist at the time. Written with songwriter’s heart and survivor’s clarity, this memoir is equal parts road story and redemption arc. Fans of music memoirs and brave second acts will dog-ear the hope here—proof that telling the whole story can set a life, and others, free.

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Arsenio: A Memoir by Arsenio Hall

The late-night groundbreaker takes you backstage—Cleveland kid to cultural catalyst—recounting electric interviews, friendships (Prince! Maya Angelou!), and why he stepped away. Hall is generous, hilarious and disarmingly open about ambition and reinvention. It’s a pop-culture time capsule and a blueprint for staying curious, humble, and game. If you love entertainment history with heart, this is a front-row seat you won’t want to miss.

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I Choose Me by Jennie Garth

From 90210 fame to midlife reset, Garth reflects on love, divorce, co-parenting and the hard practice of choosing yourself without choosing against others. With humor and a best-friend vibe, she gets real about anxiety, body image, friendships that hold and the small daily habits that changed everything. A warm, practical memoir for anyone rewriting their rules—and a gift for ’90s girls who grew up with Kelly Taylor.

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Famesick by Lena Dunham

Dunham interrogates the bargain of public life—how notoriety and illness intertwined, what ambition cost and why she built a creative life that doesn’t devour her. The voice is intimate, thorny and funny as ever; the insights, bracingly clear. Whether you loved or side-eyed Girls, this is a sharp, self-aware portrait of a woman learning how to be seen on her own terms. Radical candor, minus the performative gloss.

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Never Mind the Happy by Marc Shaiman

The award-winning composer behind Hairspray and Mary Poppins Returns riffs through a stream of high and low backstage stories—creative brawls, goosebump breakthroughs and the caretaking of big feelings in rooms full of stars. Part craft lesson, part love letter to Broadway, it’s a fizzy, generous memoir about collaboration and the power of music. Theater lovers will underline everything; creatives of all stripes will leave feeling braver and a little more in love with making.

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My Truth, My Story, Part Two by Cher

The icon keeps going. In this second volume, Cher writes about seismic love affairs, reinvention after reinvention, motherhood, chart-toppers and the industry battles she quietly won. Expect frank talk and sly humor from a woman who decided she’d be both legend and human, not either/or. If volume one hooked you, this one satisfies—richer, messier and wonderfully, unmistakably Cher.

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Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli

Daughter of Hollywood royalty, star in her own fierce right, Liza tells the story only she can: studio lots and stage lights, tabloid storms and private grace, the grit behind showstoppers. With wit and aching honesty, she revisits marriages, mentors, addiction and the hard, daily miracle of starting again. A dazzling, deeply human memoir that lets you see the woman inside the spotlight.

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