The field of journalism has a reputation for objectivity and hard truths, with little room for a writer’s personal voice. But what happens if you’re a journalist – and the stories you want to cover are about your own life? Find out by reading these memoirs by renowned journalists, where the authors’ personal histories blend masterfully with their expertise in investigative reporting.
You can sign up for a free library card here.
If you are new to our eResources, check out these tutorial videos on how to get started.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also call us at 412.622.3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org
2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa tells the story of her international journalist career in this memoir, advocating for freedom of the press and accuracy of information in the face of numerous convictions and arrests by the Philippine government. This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Libby and Hoopla.
Daisy Hernández, a creative writing professor and former New York Times reporter, blends family memoir, scientific inquiry, and journalistic exposé in this poignant study of Chagas disease and its effects on members of her family. This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Hoopla.
Caught between her life as a gay woman and the love and life debt she owes her mother, journalist Putsata Reang attempts to make sense of her identity and her family’s immigration from Cambodia to Corvallis, Oregon in this heartfelt memoir. This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Libby.
After her mother dies unexpectedly from cancer, 14-year-old Kat, her sisters, and their father are plunged into a debilitating, lonely grief. Years later, as an investigative reporter, Kat weaves together a story of the fallout of grief that follows her family as they emigrate from China and Hong Kong to Cuba and America. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook and eAudio on Libby.
Dawn Turner delivers a portrait of life in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, interweaving her own career as a journalist with the stories of her best friend and younger sister, who struggle with issues such as drug use, incarceration, and teen pregnancy. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook and eAudio on Libby.
A memoir centering around a yellow shotgun house and the family that lived in it, purchased by Sarah’s mother Ivory Mae in a then-promising New Orleans neighborhood in 1961 at the height the Space Age, and the struggle against the house’s entropy as the neighborhood became neglected. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and Hoopla.