The Liars' Club

Queen of memoir, and the only American in this bouquet of books, yet with so many similarities to my other recommendations. Mary Karr’s childhood starts with the violence of her mother, flows through adoration of her father, anecdotalist and storyteller supreme in The Liars Club of his local bar. She explores the family dysfunction through colloquial prose that suits each situation perfectly. It evokes the American south of the early sixties, lived in a family as volatile as the events surrounding them, and the contrast of Colorado in 1963, where the family moved by accident, and revisiting Texas in 1980… show more.

This was the first memoir I read by a badass woman. It’s older but so worth going back to. Mary Karr’s command of the English language and her poetic sensibilities make reading about her tense childhood lyrical and dazzling. Her wit and gritty voice sing as she paints the devastating picture of her journey through childhood in a fractured, tormented family. 

I loved this book because it gave me permission to be just as bold in telling my story. She so bravely put herself out there and passed the bravery baton to me and everyone who reads her stunning story.

Talk about a strong Southern woman. Karr grew up in East Texas, the daughter of a hard-drinking father and a mother who painted and married her way through half a dozen husbands. Actually, seven husbands to be exact. Part memoir and part coming of age story, this raw rendering of a tough childhood is told with honesty and heart. It struck a chord with me that I’ll never forget.