Must-Read Memoirs from Reese’s Book Club

This article contains spoilers for “We Will Be Jaguars,” by Nemonte Nenquimo.

Nemonte Nenquimo’s 2024 memoir “We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People” was a Reese’s Book Club pick for November 2024, and at the time of this writing, was the highest-rated nonfiction pick from the book club. Nenquimo was born into the Waorani tribe in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. Her community was visited by missionaries in the 1950s, bringing an abrupt end to her childhood of plant medicine, shaman spiritual practices, and oral storytelling. 

A missionary brought her to a city when she was a teenager, where Nenquimo was first exposed to the urban world. But in her dreams, Nenquimo was told to return to her home by her long-deceased elders, and she listened, coming back as a forceful climate activist, eager to protect the space in which she grew up. 

“At this moment in time … telling our stories is not only about keeping the stories alive, but about keeping our people alive, and keeping the Amazon itself alive,” Nenquimo wrote on the Reese’s Book Club website. Nenquimo firmly believes in the power of storytelling in order to protect both the environment and indigenous communities, and her memoir shows this power in action. On Reese’s Book Club’s Instagram, “We Will Be Jaguars” got special attention, with a behind-the-scenes post about the book and where Nenquimo grew up.

This article contains spoilers for “Group,” by Christie Tate. 

Reese Witherspoon raved about Christie Tate’s 2020 memoir “Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life.” “I loved the vulnerability of this book,” Witherspoon said in a video, adding, “I have shared this book with so many people. It really touched my heart.” 

The memoir made a huge splash on the Reese’s Book Club Instagram, with information about the advantages of group therapy for interested readers. So beyond a great story, Tate’s memoir offered something more for fans who might benefit from a similar journey. “I read it in two sit down sessions. Amazing book. I want to join group therapy now,” one reader commented. Clearly, Tate’s memoir sparked some serious interest in the book, but also in therapy itself. If you’re considering seeing a psychologist, check out our tips for how to get the most out of talk therapy. 

“Group” was the November 2020 pick for Reese’s Book Club. The memoir follows Tate as she finishes law school and grapples with an eating disorder, when one day her therapist recommends that she joins group therapy. All she needs to do is be honest about her life in front of other people who can witness her truth. Tate is skeptical at first, believing that she’s beyond help, but soon sees the benefits of connection that come with being vulnerable within a group of likeminded people. It’s funny and candid all at once.

This article contains spoilers for “From Scratch,” by Tembi Locke.

Tembi Locke’s 2020 memoir “From Scratch” made a huge splash on Goodreads, earning a 3.96 star rating from readers and winning the Goodreads Choice Award for Readers’ Favorite Memoir and Autobiography in 2019. With such fanfare, it’s no surprise that it was the May 2019 pick for Reese’s Book Club, and was later made into a Netflix series starring Zoe Saldaña. The popularity of the memoir reflects all the story has to offer.

The book is Locke’s story of meeting her husband, Saro, in Florence. He was a professional chef, close to his Sicilian family. While the two fell in love easily, Saro’s family didn’t approve of his romance with a Black American woman. They moved to California and adopted a daughter, Zoela, only to lose Saro shortly afterwards to cancer. Locke later returns to Italy, in grief, but instead of being met with coldness, Saro’s once-wary family embraces Zoela and Locke, and gently walk through their loss together. They bond over cooking, family, and a supportive community.

In a video about “From Scratch,” Reese Witherspoon raved about the beauty of this true story, particularly the love between Locke and Saro. Speaking of Locke’s grief after Saro’s death, Witherspoon said, “[Locke] finds herself again by making all of his recipes.” Witherspoon warned that readers might need tissues, because it’s an emotional story all about lost love, travel, and the importance of family ties. 

This article contains spoilers for “Happiness,” by Heather Harpham.

Reese Witherspoon had a lot to say about Heather Harpham’s “Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After,” which was the April 2018 pick for her book club. Witherspoon promised readers there was a happy ending, even though parts of the book were harrowing and heartbreaking. “The things I loved about this book were the truth of motherhood, the truth of parenting, the truth of relationships, and that the road to happiness looks different for everyone,” Witherspoon said in a video. Witherspoon called the memoir an emotional rollercoaster, and promised it would be impossible to put down. Harpham tackles the core issues of life, and shares her true story vulnerably and bravely with readers.

The memoir follows Harpham’s relationship with a man named Brian, and though they’re different, they find love. However, Harpham unexpectedly becomes pregnant, and they split after Brian says he doesn’t want children. So the author leaves New York to give birth to their daughter, Gracie, alone in California. Gracie develops serious health problems immediately after her birth, and Harpham contacts Brian for support, who comes back to help Harpham care for their daughter. The memoir celebrates the path — sometimes unconventional — that people take to create a family. 

This article contains spoilers for “I’m Still Here,” by Austin Channing Brown.

Austin Channing Brown’s 2018 memoir “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” was a huge hit on Goodreads, earning a whopping 4.38 stars. “Absolutely breathtaking! Just a few pages into this book, I knew that I had to finish it in one day,” one reader wrote. “There is nothing else to say besides this: this is an important book that should be read by everyone,” another reader added. 

“I’m Still Here” is an exceptional look at America’s misguided attempt at celebrating diversity, and how this can fail Black communities. Brown’s memoir depicts her childhood, when she discovered that her parents named her Austin because it sounded like a white man’s name, so she’d be more employable. Brown goes on to share her life with readers, describing ways in which her upbringing as a Black Christian woman forced her to see racism in her life, in its changing and subtle ways. 

“I’m Still Here” was the June 2020 pick for Reese’s Book Club. Reese Witherspoon spoke about how profound this memoir was for her. “[Brown] takes us through what she experiences everyday as a Black woman in America,” Witherspoon began in a video about the memoir. “This book is teaching me so much about how we perpetuate racism in our society, and Austin’s words are really powerful and they’re opening my eyes.” The memoir is a heartbreaking and honest look at self-exploration and identity, and well worth the read. 

Using Reese’s Book Club as our launching pad, we carefully combed through the memoirs selected and chose five that offered a range of voices and stories. What we love so much about Reese Witherspoon’s book club is that her selections are both written by women and portray a strong female lead. When it comes to memoirs, these strengths become intertwined, as the author herself becomes the lead character of the nonfiction text. 

Each memoir offered something different, while still promising a good read and total immersion in a story that would change the reader’s perspective and shape their own rich, interior life. Each of these five memoirs is a treasure, and has enriched the literary world.