At that age my DD was into cooking and enjoyed Julia Child’s My Life. Child started from no knowledge or experience and became a worldwide respected and renowned chef who had a major impact on the US culinary landscape. She took the materials of her life and figured out how to do something she was passionate about. Very inspiring!

Persepolis is great, so is MAUS

Reading Lolita in Tehran is excellent

I really enjoyed the Princess series by Jean Sasson. It is a set of books presented as the true story of a Saudi Arabian royal, Princess Sultana, detailing her life and the challenges faced by women in her country. Sasson lived in Saudi for 10 years or more? and was friends with locals and wrote these books. Fascinating page turners.

Michelle Obama's Becoming

Born a Crime
Persepolis

Growing Up - Russell Baker

Seconding Born a Crime. There is a kids version but the adult version was totally fine for 14 year old DC. There’s also an excellent audio-book version.

When I fell From the Sky: The true story of one woman’s miraculous survival by Juliane Koepcke

A teenaged girl is the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon and is able to survive for 11 days before being rescued. She later became a biologist focusing on environmental conservation.

I read a lot of memoir - will try to list some PG ones -

I did like What the Eyes don't see as another poster suggested - this would be good for high school

Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible - a graphic novel by Stan Lee

Just Add Water, Katie Ledecky (I find most Olympian memoirs kind of average, but this one is a little better)

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Sisters First by Jenna Bush

Sisters in law (RBG & Sandra Day O'Conner)

American like Me by America Ferrara (this is multiple stories)

Mindy Kaling's books were short and funny and I think okay for 14.

March by John Lewis

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (truthful sad and parts funny- requires tissues)

Marley and Me (requires tissues)

This I Believe (from NPR - there may be multiple volumes now)

Going in a totally different direction. I got my daughter Bossy pants (Tina feys memoir) at that age. Born a Crime and Crying in H mart were two options for my 16 year olds unit oj memoirs. Becoming was another one. There’s a kid version of born a crime.

A PP. Ruby Bridges (civil rights activist) and Eugenie Clark (icthyologist) are two women I enjoyed reading about.

Ruby has a short Scholastic book for grades 5-7.

https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/through-my-eyes-9780590546300.html

I read a kid's biography of Eugenie long ago. She did write a memoir. You can Google for options. They might be out of print.

Also remembering now that I was very impressed with "My Indian Boyhood" by Luther Standing Bear.

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9780803293342/my-indian-boyhood/

At 14 I wouldn't be censoring books. They can read whatever they find at the library that piques their interest.

Meg Lowman’s the Arbornaut. Not a children’s book, but a fascinating and quick read.

PP.

Possibly this book although it might be dry and too much for grownups?

https://www.amazon.com/What-Eyes-Dont-See-Resistance/dp/0399590838

It's about Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha who discovered a child lead poisoning problem in Michigan.

Jack Horner's dinosaur books are great. I think they cover his research. So are sort of autobiographical.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BRTDW7K5?ccs_id=45733a09-d178-479d-ae5c-910a3a3aac00

Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and Walden by Thoreau are good classics if she's interested in that.

A Midwife's Tale by Lauren Ulrich is a work of historical scholarship that sets a real Early American midwife's practice records into context. There are copious transcriptions of the diary.

https://www.amazon.com/Midwifes-Tale-Martha-Ballard-1785-1812/dp/0679733760

Here is a real book by a feisty medieval English woman who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I read a version of this when I was in 8th grade and I found the lady hilarious. It's rather unique for it's time period.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Margery-Kempe-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140432515

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

(William Kamkwamba)

https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind-Electricity/dp/0061730335#:~:text=lives%20around%20him.-,The%20Boy%20Who%20Harnessed%20the%20Wind%20is%20a%20remarkable%20true,the%20design%20firm%20IDEO.org.

There's also a movie. And there are videos with his talks.

He ended up going to Dartmouth. And married an American. He runs a charity in Africa now.

DD-14, just finished reading “ I am Malala” and loved it. I have always enjoyed reading memoirs, especially those of successful people, from a young age myself , as I found them to be very motivational.
What memoirs do you feel would be age appropriate and motivational for a 14 year old girl?
TIA