The most recommended dysfunctional family books

Who picked these books? Meet our 162 experts.

162 authors created a book list connected to dysfunctional families, and here are their favorite dysfunctional family books.
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Book cover of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Polly Hall Author Of Myrrh

From my list on capturing the experience of adoption.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was adopted as a baby, so I have first-hand experience of the emotions and challenges this presents. I am passionate about shining light on this often misunderstood and complex family trauma through my writing. My memoir Blood and Blood, an emotive exploration of the search for my birth relatives, was shortlisted for the Mslexia Prize. My research extends to fiction and non-fiction, where the psychological effects of adoption are referenced or highlighted. I am always keen to chat with fellow care-experienced people. I hope you find the books on this list helpful.

Polly's book list on capturing the experience of adoption

Polly Hall Why did Polly love this book?

One thing about being adopted is you have an in-built radar to seek out others who are too. I read Jeanette Wintersonā€™s first novel, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit when I was a teenager, and since then, I have been in awe of her as a writer and her ability to eloquently describe her personal experience as an adoptee. 

This book is her autobiography, and there were occasions while reading it that I had to stop and cry. Finally, someone else had written about what I had kept holed up inside me. Her final chapter, "The Wound," speaks so profoundly to me as an adopted adult. It is honest, sharp, and fierce.

By Jeanette Winterson,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The shocking, heart-breaking - and often very funny - true story behind Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.

In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival.

This book is that story's the silent twin. It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness,ā€¦


Book cover of Bastard Out of Carolina

Ami Maxine Irmen Author Of Wherever Would I Be

From my list on character-driven books about finding family.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didnā€™t realize for a long time that I was drawn to reading and writing quiet, character-driven stories about found familiesā€“because I didnā€™t know that was a thing. But here we are. As an introvert, I love learning about people and exploring their relationships with one another, and I have devoted my writing and reading life to this endeavor (even before, again, I knew this was a thing). As a child, I spent my time in libraries, falling in love with these characters. Now, as an author and professor of writing, I believe these novels are also all incredible textbooks of character creation and storytelling. 

Ami's book list on character-driven books about finding family

Ami Maxine Irmen Why did Ami love this book?

This book, recommended to me by a professor many years ago, is a master class in writing voice. Itā€™s not an easy bookā€”filled with family trauma and abuse (big-time content warning here)ā€”but it masterfully explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters.

Ruth Anne is broken by her motherā€™s (and stepfatherā€™s) actions, but the others around her help to put her back together. Yet another lesson is that those who find us can sometimes be the best family for us.

By Dorothy Allison,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Bastard Out of Carolina as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A profound portrait of family dynamics in the rural South and "an essential novel" (The New Yorker)

"As close to flawless as any reader could ask for . . . The living language [Allison] has created is as exact and innovative as the language of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye." -The New York Times Book Review

The publication of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina was a landmark event that won the author a National Book Award nomination and launched her into the literary spotlight. Critics have likened Allison to Harper Lee, naming her theā€¦


Book cover of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Book cover of Bastard Out of Carolina

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