10 Audiobooks for Nonfiction November

Scholar Imani Perry shares her experience living with Lupus. As a Black woman in academia, Perry feels like she has to be perfect and present Black excellence in the face of ongoing systemic racism in her field. But, when she’s diagnosed with a host of chronic illnesses, she’s forced to confront the impossibly high standards she’s set for herself and to relearn how to care for her disabled Black body. In this gorgeous work, Perry writes about the idea of rest as revolutionary. Her narration gives listeners an added insight into Perry’s emotions as she learns to live with chronic illness.

Berry’s book begins with a lone wolf, OR-7, as he leaves his pack in Oregon and starts a trek across the mountains. Berry springboards from OR-7’s story into a discussion of wolves, their history, and what wolves have symbolized for humans. She weaves in stories from her own life, creating a multi-model narrative braided together to create something wholly unique. Lessa Lamb performs Berry’s complex narrative, carefully guiding listeners through Berry’s many anecdotes and ideas.

While Cristina Rivera Garza’s younger sister Liliana was in college, she was murdered. Since then, Rivera Garza and her family have constantly wondered who killed her sister. What were Liliana’s last days like? Liliana’s Invincible Summer examines Liliana’s life, celebrating the joys and the sorrows, creating a beautiful tribute to a sister’s love. Victoria Villarreal imbues her performance with such a wealth of emotional intimacy.

Julia Lee performs her memoir about growing up in Los Angeles as the daughter of Korean immigrants. In high school, she watched riots break out in her neighborhood after white police officers beat Rodney King. Ever since, she wondered how she might be complicit, as an Asian American, in systemic racism. Biting the Hand follows Lee’s experience attending and graduating from an Ivy League university, eventually going on to receive her PhD in English Literature. Lee’s issues highlight the personality already in her prose as she gives listeners a closer look into her life.

Timothy Egan chronicles the history of the KKK in the Midwest and the Western U.S., reaching its height during the 1920s. While many imagine that the South was the bastion of the KKK, Egan presents the Klan as a hate group that flourished in middle America. Egan’s narration captures listeners’ attention and keeps listeners enraptured until the very last page.

Literary icon Roxane Gay is known for her opinion pieces, which have been published in countless places. But now listeners have them all in one place. Gay reads this collection of her articles — which includes everything from advice columns to celebrity profiles — adding a wonderful spark of her personality and enhancing her one-of-kind prose.

Poet Maggie Smith has given us all a truly incredible memoir that follows the dissolving of her marriage. Each chapter is like a snapshot of Smith’s life. Smith tells us how she was feeling in these brief moments, connecting with listeners in such a vulnerable way. Her performance carries with it all the weight of the intense emotion from both writing and performing such a personal story.

Chinese Canadian trans artist Kai Chang Thom presents a beautiful little gem of a book where she writes letters to family members, ex-boyfriends, and celebrities, all in an attempt to heal and become the best version of herself. At the end of each chapter, Thom includes calls to action for listeners who are also seeking healing from past trauma. Thom’s audiobook narration is more than just reading her own prose — it’s truly a performance.

When Lamya H is in high school, she realizes that she’s queer. But as a Muslim in the Middle East, she doesn’t really see how she can tell anyone. She moves to the U.S. for college and begins to make a life for herself, finding her way as a queer Muslim far away from her family she knows wouldn’t understand. Ashraf Shirazi captures Lamya H’s complex emotions throughout the memoir, adding to the deeply personal prose of the memoir.

Memoirist and newsletter writer for The Atlantic, Nicole Chung, is back with her second memoir, this time following her experience living through the pandemic as her mother is dying from cancer. All Chung wants is to spend as much time with her mother, but how is that even possible when her mother has no immune system and must social distance at all costs? Jennifer Kim’s performance captures the emotional anguish of Chung’s distress and grief.