Content warning: This story contains mentions of sexual assault.
This could be a controversial take but I’ve always been more drawn to non-fiction books more than their imaginative counterparts. There’s just something about these narratives that feel more grounded and rooted in real life, especially at a time when the world around us is in a constant state of unrest. They are stories that are embedded in the truth, anchored by real people, real experiences, and real circumstances. These titles offer context, demand attention, and connect people who are experiencing similar predicaments around the world. After all, there is comfort in knowing that we are not alone. These books feel symbolic, offering a much-needed reality check and clarity. So good news for all my fellow non-fiction lovers out there—there’s plenty more to sink your teeth into this year, from poignant memoirs to political deep dives.
Some are raw, heart-wrenching stories centred around the female experience—focused on the singular lives of a few brave women, yet they are stories that have the potential to reach women who have been silenced against their will. Consider Belle Burden’s emotional memoir, in which she unveils the truth about her divorce. Imagine being married to a man for 21 years, having three children, building a beautiful life together, and then boom, one fine day, that rosy picture is completely shattered. You receive a voicemail from a stranger exposing your beloved’s affair, and the next moment you find him at the porch of your house, bag in hand, demanding a divorce, refusing the custody of your children without a single ounce of regret. Meanwhile, the resilient Gisèle Pelicot offers something more intimate and resolute: reflecting on the time when she learned that her husband had drugged and repeatedly allowed strangers to rape and assault her for over a decade—a truth she only discovered when police found evidence years later.
Further, there’s also Lena Dunham and Christina Applegate giving us disarmingly honest insights of what it’s like being under the public eye all the time, and whether the spotlight gives more than it takes, stripping away the glamour that comes with fame, whilst Margaret Atwood’s personal memoir lets us take a gander through the enriching journey of her fulfilled life as a novelist.
Below, find Vogue Singapore’s considered curation of ten non-fiction books to add to your reading list now.
1 / 10
Strangers by Belle Burden
In this candid and emotional memoir, Belle Burden, a talented pro bono immigration lawyer, revisits how, in March 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown, while on Martha’s Vineyard, her husband abruptly ended their 21-year-old marriage, admitting to an affair and blatantly refusing the custody of their three children. Burden navigates the shock, the legal and financial realities of divorce, parenthood, and the tedious work of rebuilding a self she had long forgotten.
2 / 10
Famesick by Lena Dunham
Ten years after the release of her best-selling memoir Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham is back again with yet another must-read book that recounts the most tumultuous decade of her life, spanning from 2010 through 2020. Sorting through 10 years’ worth of her own journal entries and emails, using them as the primary source of information, Dunham explores the physical and emotional toll of chasing success and questions whether the sacrifices made along the way were worth the pain at all.
3 / 10
Career Comedown by Stefanie Sword-Williams
Feeling stuck, burnt out, or just overwhelmed at your dream corporate job, but don’t know what to do? Fret not, Stefanie Sword-Williams’s self-help book is here to help. Combining thoughtful discussions and interviews with Sword-Williams’ years of experience as a career expert, the book guides readers on how to liberate themselves from this unbalanced mindset through three distinct pathways.
4 / 10
You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate
In this raw and poignant memoir, Primetime Emmy-winning actress Christina Applegate recounts her journey from childhood to adulthood—from her tumultuous upbringing in Laurel Canyon to the complexities of stardom and fame and her struggles with battling a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, which cost her the ability to act and dance.
5 / 10
Inconceivable By Rebecca Coxon
An award-winning documentary-maker and journalist, Rebecca Coxon’s latest book charts an inspiring outlook on modern fertility. Combining thoughtful discussions and drawing from her personal experiences, the book integrates a hopeful perspective with concrete action. Brutal yet heart-warming, this cathartic read is an ode to families made in non-traditional ways and aims to break the stigma surrounding infertility.
6 / 10
Lone Wolf: Walking in the Faultlines of Europe by Adam Weymouth
Embark on a voyage with talented writer Adam Weymouth as he retraces the journey of a GPS-tracked wolf named Slavc, who travels from Slovenia through the Alps to northern Italy in 2011, establishing the first wolf pack in the region in over a century. Weymouth uses the wolf’s trek as a metaphor to explore themes of rewilding, human-wildlife conflict, borders, migration, rural livelihoods, and political change in Europe. The book shows how climate change is drastically affecting our world today, not just environmentally but also politically.
7 / 10
A hymn to life by Gisele Pelicot
After the trial that resulted in her husband and 50 other men being convicted of rape or sexual assault on her, leaving the world in a bitter state of shock, Gisèle Pelicot traces her life before, during, and after learning about the heinous act in this powerful memoir. The book is tightly tied to her groundbreaking move of waving her right to anonymity and insisting on a public trial, wanting to demonstrate to sexual assault victims that shame does not belong to them but rather their abusers and their abusers alone.
8 / 10
A Chain of Ideas by Ibram X. Kendi
A Chain of Ideas is a revelatory account about the ‘great replacement theory’ which shows how global politics are now pervaded by racist conspiracy theories and authoritarian movements. It is a great read that arouses a call to fight fascism as a solid front.
9 / 10
Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood
Known for authoring famous books like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin, and Alias Grace, two-time Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood is an everlasting legend in the literary world. In this memoir of sorts, she looks back at her life, tracing her journey from her unconventional childhood in Ottawa, Canada, to becoming a world-renowned novelist.
10 / 10
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This: National Book Award by Omar El Akkad
This National Book Award-winning title by Omar El Akkad, is a poignant personal essay about completely losing faith in liberal Western values. Drawing on his life as an Egyptian-born journalist raised in Qatar and Canada who believed in Western promises of freedom, he tracks the War on Terror and Gaza to expose the inherent hypocrisy of their moral systems.
