Life-Changing Books from Frieda Hughes, Anna Funder, Pico Ayer, and More

Dear Wags,

For your annual list-a-palooza, I’m running down narrative nonfiction that truly moved me. These titles spoke to where I am in life as a reader, writer, and human (I offered more terrific picks on the Keen On podcast. Give it a listen).

Loads of important books were published in 2023. This list is more personal. I singled out these reads out of pure love, not because they will be consensus favorites. Nobody needs another banal year-end tally.

It’s been a big year for me. I published my memoir (and narrated the audiobook). I hosted Season 2 of Missing Pages. I had a big birthday (behold the playlist I made for the party I never had). I continued serving on the PEN/Faulkner board, where I chair the Programs committee, and started teaching creative writing at American University. Last but hardly least, I started writing BookWag!

In some ways, life has settled into a comfortable groove (marriage, grown children, old friends). In others, it’s proving unexpectedly fragile (estrangement, early deaths, bad habits picked up, good habits broken). These days, I’m drawn to books that won’t let me hide from myself. Who has time for anything else?

Each book on my list delivers life-changing revelation. By taking care of a baby bird, Frieda Hughes learns her marriage must end. Elizabeth Rush travels to troubled Antarctica and finds new hope for motherhood. Will Schwalbe’s college memories remind him of how he became who he is. Anna Funder discovers letters Eileen Blair wrote to her husband Eric—better known as George Orwell—and feels the injustice of being someone’s wife. Meg Kissinger, a veteran reporter on mental healthcare, writes movingly about her family’s struggles.

I hope you find similar inspiration in these reads, and recommend them to others. Also, I’d love to hear your own Best of 2023 nonfiction picks. Shoot me your favorites in the comments thread or via email: bookwag@culturewag.com

Yours ever,

BKP

Cacophony of Bone by Kerri ni Dochartaigh

Within the circle of a year, ni Dochartaigh (Thin Places) conveys a lifetime of growth and pain. She and her partner spent 2020 in a remote Irish cottage, where she came to grips with her inability to carry a pregnancy to term. It’s a story that speaks to all we lost during the global pandemic.

Wifedom by Anna Funder

Eric Blair’s wife Eileen wrote many letters, but only a handful remain. Why are they so important? Blair is better known to readers as George Orwell. As Funder (Stasiland) discovered, his misogyny says much about sexism that persists to this day.