The best books by women unapologetic about their hot mess

Fuller’s astounding account of growing up in Africa is singular, engrossing, and unforgettable. She never once shies away from ugly truths or attempts to justify the behavior of the family and community whose ideals and destructive vices she is powerless—as a child—to gainsay. With raw and unvarnished language, the author leads us through her young life punctuated by loss, compounded by the trauma of growing up in a war zone, and inexorably unmoored by her mother’s descent into mental illness.

An uproarious tell-all about blooming late, taking chances, and being vulnerable. In an effort to cope with the loss of a defining career and face down a lifetime of insecurities about her body, the author decides to tackle anything (self-exploratory-wise) that would normally send her screaming for the hills. Reluctantly but determinately, she takes the plunge into internet dating, professional cuddling, sensory deprivation, polyamory, Brazilian waxing, and more—all the while getting throat-punched by anxiety. Self-deprecating and ribald, Hameister’s anecdotes illustrate that sometimes pulling up one’s big girl panties can actually mean taking them off.

A truly captivating memoir about poverty, family, hope, addiction, and dysfunctionality. Walls deftly illustrates the power of a child’s mind to magnify the exceptional qualities of condemnable parents. Only as she matures and the scales slowly fall from her eyes do the abject neglect, abuse, and magical thinking of her upbringing come into focus. With direct, unapologetic prose, she continues to honor her childhood naivete while at the same time revealing her parents’ undeniable (read: pathological) faults and failings.

There’s nothing flowery in Talusan’s writing (indeed, the prose is so lean, you’d think it ran a decathlon, ate half a grapefruit, and downed a shot of wheatgrass before landing on the page); the bald truths of her narrative cut unerringly, time and again, to the very heart of her trauma. This is a brave account of surviving childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a revered family elder, and the Sisyphean task of unpacking the ensuing emotional baggage. This narrative serves as a public, shout-from-the-rooftops refusal to carry the shame for a crime someone else has committed.

This debut memoir is an absolute triumph. From teenage runaway, to bohemian hippie, to cross-continental cyclist, to lost soul, the author candidly invites us to journey with her through ebullient highs and devastating lows. In a surprising twist—while navigating the nadir of her odyssey—the author finds solace for her wandering soul in a harbor she least expects. This is, in essence, a story of finding salvation in arms everlasting.