Looking for memoirs by women after bad relationships
July 20, 2020 4:09 AM Subscribe
I want to read accounts of relationships with narcissists, misogynists or players. I'd love to read about women's journeys through self-doubt, confusion, trauma and anger, moving into emotional freedom and feminist independence. I'm open to other slants on the theme, or a gender swap too.
Seconding, nthing, touting with all my vocal power *In the Dream House*.
posted by correcaminos at 7:47 AM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by correcaminos at 7:47 AM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing. Not remotely great literature, but this memoir did a nice job, I thought, of capturing the sense of being blindsided when someone who legitimately seems wonderful does something that seems out of character for the person you knew.
Crazy Love is pretty similar; I don't remember a lot about it, but it's in the same vein of memoir.
In The Dream House is by far the best, though.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:00 PM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Crazy Love is pretty similar; I don't remember a lot about it, but it's in the same vein of memoir.
In The Dream House is by far the best, though.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:00 PM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Heartburn by Nora Ephron is technically fiction but basically a memoir (or just watch the movie, which is also great).
posted by luckdragon at 6:31 PM on July 20, 2020
posted by luckdragon at 6:31 PM on July 20, 2020
This covers her entire life, but a significant portion of Kim Gordon's memoir is dedicated to the dissolution of her marriage and after.
posted by thebots at 10:24 PM on July 20, 2020
posted by thebots at 10:24 PM on July 20, 2020
Wow, I just signed up for a MetaFilter account (hi!) so I could respond and learn from others, too.
"Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation" by Rachel Cusk (who became well-known after her atypical memoir on motherhood, "A Life's Work") navigates her post-divorce life. One of the quotes from her ex-husband: "Call yourself a feminist." You eavesdrop on banal situations yet gripping conversations between her and others (a contractor, the dentist, etc.) I'd also recommend the semi-autobiographical novel she wrote after that, "Outline." The protagonist is also navigating life post-separation, and sort of crosses the line to another universe through the stories that other people relay to her. It's poetic and starkly different from a "me-me-me-I'm-sad-but-I'm-overcoming-this-hardship" type of post-breakup analysis book.
Another recommendation, not a memoir but a novel with so many surprises that you shouldn't read any reviews and just "trust": "Trust Exercise" by Susan Choi. Set at a performing arts high school, and then fast forwards into the future, the book covers a long journey — processing things that have happened to us in the past, and how it affects us years later.
I think both books explore "What is fiction? What is truth?" in a way that feels more realistic than only hearing one side of a story.
I also recommend the film "Orlando," directed by Sally Potter and starring Tilda Swinton (based on the Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel "Orlando," which I haven't yet read). Such a unique story with stunning visuals.
Following this thread, hoping for more recommendations of BIPOC authors.
posted by username007 at 6:33 PM on July 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
"Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation" by Rachel Cusk (who became well-known after her atypical memoir on motherhood, "A Life's Work") navigates her post-divorce life. One of the quotes from her ex-husband: "Call yourself a feminist." You eavesdrop on banal situations yet gripping conversations between her and others (a contractor, the dentist, etc.) I'd also recommend the semi-autobiographical novel she wrote after that, "Outline." The protagonist is also navigating life post-separation, and sort of crosses the line to another universe through the stories that other people relay to her. It's poetic and starkly different from a "me-me-me-I'm-sad-but-I'm-overcoming-this-hardship" type of post-breakup analysis book.
Another recommendation, not a memoir but a novel with so many surprises that you shouldn't read any reviews and just "trust": "Trust Exercise" by Susan Choi. Set at a performing arts high school, and then fast forwards into the future, the book covers a long journey — processing things that have happened to us in the past, and how it affects us years later.
I think both books explore "What is fiction? What is truth?" in a way that feels more realistic than only hearing one side of a story.
I also recommend the film "Orlando," directed by Sally Potter and starring Tilda Swinton (based on the Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel "Orlando," which I haven't yet read). Such a unique story with stunning visuals.
Following this thread, hoping for more recommendations of BIPOC authors.
posted by username007 at 6:33 PM on July 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you for these fantastic recommendations -- lots to follow up on here.
posted by miaow at 9:51 PM on July 23, 2020
posted by miaow at 9:51 PM on July 23, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by nayantara at 5:48 AM on July 20, 2020 [11 favorites]