Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 09:41     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
My kid enjoyed Mountains Beyond Mountains (Paul Farmer's bio).

I thought Sonia Sotomayor's bio (My Beloved World) had a lot of stories about her younger years that would resonate with teenagers.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 09:25     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
When Breath becomes Air.
Not a teen memoir but very well written and poignant
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2025 04:17     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Anonymous wrote:When I was that age I read Death Be Not Proud (a father’s memoir of his teen dying of a brain tumor) and it was such a wonderful book but totally gutted me.

For something totally different —— Race Across Alaska which is a memoir of the first woman to win the Iditarod. I found all the stuff about how to care for the dogs totally fascinating so if your daughter is very into dogs or into very outdoorsy stuff or just a fierce competitor, she might enjoy this.


Last year I was thinking of getting Death Be Not Proud, but I have brain tumors myself and my DH said it was going to be too much to handle, so I didn't read it. It interests me that this book still resonates when it was written in 1949 and so much else has been done/ discovered / experienced since then on this matter.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:19     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Anonymous wrote: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


If she's a good reader, throw her in the deep end and give her Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.

But Bossypants is pretty good too.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:17     Subject: Re:Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Educated
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:15     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Anonymous wrote:The best thing to do is go to the library or a book store and find books that look interesting to her.

So your suggestion is to judge a book by it's cover?
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:04     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
When I was that age I read Death Be Not Proud (a father’s memoir of his teen dying of a brain tumor) and it was such a wonderful book but totally gutted me.

For something totally different —— Race Across Alaska which is a memoir of the first woman to win the Iditarod. I found all the stuff about how to care for the dogs totally fascinating so if your daughter is very into dogs or into very outdoorsy stuff or just a fierce competitor, she might enjoy this.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 20:03     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
The best thing to do is go to the library or a book store and find books that look interesting to her.

Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 19:50     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Alive is an amazing story of a soccer team that crashed in the Andes. Very good and fine for that age.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 19:47     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
When I was about 14, I read a memoir written by a couple (both established writers/reporters) about their experience raising a son with hemophilia. It was far from my own lived experience in just about every way, but it really made an impression on me and sparked an interest in medicine. So, you never know.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209892.Journey
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 19:06     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 18:20     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Has anyone said the diary of Anne frank
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 18:18     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:At 14 I wouldn't be censoring books. They can read whatever they find at the library that piques their interest.

It's not censoring, but about finding a story they can appreciate. A 14 yo doesn't want to read about the struggles of a middle aged person. They need the story to be able someone they can identify with and appreciate.


OP here, Thank you all so much for your recommendations. I second what this PP said. I am not trying to censor what she reads but hoping she can read a memoir of someone that she can relate to, and get inspired by.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 12:22     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Anonymous wrote:At 14 I wouldn't be censoring books. They can read whatever they find at the library that piques their interest.

It's not censoring, but about finding a story they can appreciate. A 14 yo doesn't want to read about the struggles of a middle aged person. They need the story to be able someone they can identify with and appreciate.
Anonymous
Post 10/13/2025 12:07     Subject: Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD
Proud by Ibtihaj Muhammad. She's an American Olympic fencer and the first to compete for the US wearing hijab. My daughter's a fencer and loved the book (and met her at a reading in DC).

https://www.amazon.com/Proud-Fight-Unlikely-American-Dream/dp/0316518964