"This was the first autobiography that meant everything to me as a young survivor struggling to find voice and meaning through the overbearing darkness. Angelou did what great writers of memoir do; she let me know that I was not alone because someone else had been there and made it out to tell the truth."

"I don't know who turned me on to this autobiography, but his sense of humor and the hardships he went through stayed with me—especially the scene where he started running home from school. It led to his joining thetrack team, which led to a scholarship to college. Running opened up a whole world for him."

"An alternative autobiography by Monty Python’s most creative member, Eric Idle. An honest and close to the bone review of his life penned traveling on a tour bus, crisscrossing North America. The Greedy Bastard turns out to be warm hearted, loving and highly intelligent. Would that all writers had his hunger for knowledge and wit in parody".

"My favorite children’s book was Dr. Seuss’ My Book About Me, which is a kind of guided workbook that lets you write your own autobiography. I carried it around as if I wrote it, which I guess I did. I was so proud. To this day, I love that book — I probably have 50 blank copies of it in storage."

"If I could have a meal with anyone, it would be Miles Davis. It would be so cool to hear his stories and sit back and talk about jazz. Miles moved to NYC around the same age as I did, and he was a transformative player in the evolution of jazz music as we know it. This autobiography was his chance to tell all."

"Alec Guiness said this was the greatest film ever made in his autobiography My Name Escapes Me, so I rented it and I’ve cried pretty much every day since, just thinking about it. Alec Guiness was not wrong on this one. The film is so wonderfully Scandinavian. Like a trip to Ikea . . . that makes you cry. My Life as a Dog will stay with you forever."

"I had heard about this book for many years before I read it. Ostensibly it is the autobiography of a former alcoholic who chronicles his struggles living rough on the streets of London in a vivid and unique style, but it is more than that. It is the story of determination and rebirth, the tale of a chess champion who overcomes a savage childhood to live again. A powerful book indeed."