Recommendations based on Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhoodby Koren Zailckas

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Dry

    by Augusten Burroughs
    A memoir of alcoholism, mental illness, and the search for redemption.

    You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs. You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the subway, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. ... (Goodreads)

  2. Running with Scissors

    by Augusten Burroughs
    An autobiographical story of a young boy's difficult upbringing and his unconventional family.

    Running with Scissors covers the period of Burroughs' adolescent years, beginning at age 12 after a brief overview of his life as a child. Burroughs spends his early childhood in a clean and orderly ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Prozac Nation

    by Elizabeth Wurtzel
    A young woman's personal account of her struggles with depression and her recovery journey.

    A harrowing story of breakdowns, suicide attempts, drug therapy, and an eventual journey back to living, this poignant and often hilarious book gives voice to the high incidence of depression among ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Sociopath Next Door

    by Martha Stout
    An exploration of sociopathic behaviour and how to identify it in individuals.

    Who is the devil you know? Is it your lying, cheating ex-husband? Your sadistic high school gym teacher? Your boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings? The colleague who stole your idea and ... (Goodreads)

  5. Columbine

    by Dave Cullen
    Investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, exploring the perpetrators and the aftermath.

    "The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a ... (Goodreads)

  6. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

    by Amy Sedaris
    A hilarious guide to entertaining and living with style, grace, and a generous spirit.

    The inspiration for the TV show, At Home with Amy Sedaris,, here is a hilarious, helpful, and informative guide on how to entertain.,Are you lacking direction in how to whip up a swanky soiree for ... (Barnes & Noble)

  7. This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike.

    by Augusten Burroughs
    A humorous yet thoughtful collection of personal stories and advice on dealing with life challenges.

    If you're fat and fail every diet, if you're thin but can't get thin enough, if you lose your job, if your child dies, if you are diagnosed with cancer, if you always end up with exactly the wrong ... (Goodreads)

  8. Girl, Interrupted

    by Susanna Kaysen
    A memoir of a woman's struggle with mental illness, her fight for survival, and her journey of self-discovery.

    In April 1967, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen is admitted to McLean Hospital , in Belmont, Massachusetts , after attempting suicide by overdosing on pills. She denies that it was a suicide attempt to a ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Madness: A Bipolar Life

    by Marya Hornbacher
    A memoir of living with bipolar disorder, detailing the author's struggles with mania, depression, and addiction.

    An astonishing dispatch from inside the belly of bipolar disorder, reflecting major new insights When Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, she did not ... (Goodreads)

  10. Holidays on Ice

    by David Sedaris
    Collection of humorous essays, exploring the absurdities of the holiday season.

    David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two ... (Goodreads)

  11. Drinking: A Love Story

    by Caroline Knapp
    A memoir of addiction and recovery, exploring the author's relationship with alcohol and the impact it had on her life.

    The roots of alcoholism in the life of a brilliant daughter of an upper-class family are explored in this stylistic, literary memoir of drinking by a Massachusetts journalist. Caroline Knapp ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

    by Kevin Roose
    An exploration of faith and culture at an evangelical college, through the eyes of an atheist.

    The hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking memoir of a college student's semester at Liberty University, the "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, that will inspire ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Coming Clean

    by Kimberly Rae Miller
    A memoir of growing up with hoarder parents and the emotional toll it takes on the author.

    Kimberly Rae Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a beautifully tidy apartment in Brooklyn. You would never guess that behind the closed doors of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

    by Diablo Cody
    A funny, poignant memoir of a young journalist's year spent working in a strip club.

    Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV’s The Late Show to be the pick of “Dave’s Book Club 2006,” Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At ... (Goodreads)

  15. When You Are Engulfed in Flames

    by David Sedaris
    Humorous reflections on everyday life, navigating the absurdities of the human condition.

    It's early autumn 1964. Two straight-A students head off to school, and when only one of them returns home Chesney Yelverton is coaxed from retirement and assigned to what proves to be the most ... (Goodreads)

  16. Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

    by Katy Tur
    A journalist's firsthand account of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, from the campaign trail to the White House.

    A New York Times Bestseller “Compelling… this book couldn’t be more timely.” – Jill Abramson,, New York Times Book Review, Called "disgraceful," "third-rate," and "not nice" by Donald Trump, NBC News ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

    by Jon Krakauer
    An exploration of the fundamentalist Mormon faith, its history, and the power of religious extremism.

    A Story of Violent Faith A multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. This is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of ... (Goodreads)

  18. Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

    by Ben Mezrich
    An inside account of a group of college students who won millions in Las Vegas casinos.

    An exclusive blackjack club came up with a system to take the worldUs most sophisticated casinos for all they were worth. In two years, this ring of card savants earned more than three million ... (Goodreads)

  19. Naked

    by David Sedaris
    Collection of humorous essays exploring the absurdities of everyday life.

    Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked , Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, ... (Goodreads)

  20. Autobiography of a Face

    by Lucy Grealy
    A memoir about facing physical deformity and the psychological effects of being ostracized.

    The prologue introduces the reader to Lucy's struggle with self-image. She describes her work at the stable Diamond D, which was her first job after finishing chemotherapy. Through this first ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Long Hard Road Out of Hell

    by Marilyn Manson
    An autobiographical account of Marilyn Manson's rise to fame and struggles with celebrity.

    The 150,000-copy national bestselling autobiography of Marilyn Manson, America's most controversial celebrity icon, is offered with a bonus chapter not included in the hardcover. "By turns moving, ... (Goodreads)

  22. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

    by Christopher McDougall
    A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.

    Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)

  23. Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science

    by Atul Gawande
    Exploration of the human costs and consequences of medical care, highlighting our imperfections and vulnerabilities.

    In gripping accounts of true cases, surgeon Atul Gawande explores the power and the limits of medicine, offering an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge. Complications lays bare a science not in ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Liars' Club

    by Mary Karr
    Memoir of a turbulent childhood in East Texas, exploring the power of love and family.

    The book tells the story of Karr's troubled childhood in a small Texas town in the early 1960s. Using a non-linear story line, Karr describes the troubles of growing up in a family and town where ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America

    by Firoozeh Dumas
    A humorous tale of a family's journey to America and their adaptation to a new culture and lifestyle.

    In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father's glowing memories of his ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Complete Persepolis

    by Marjane Satrapi
    Autobiographical tale of a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

    Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir. Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving ... (Goodreads)

  27. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

    by Marjane Satrapi
    Autobiographical account of a young girl's experience of the Iranian Revolution.

    Note: The summary of the English editions of the novel is divided into two sections, one for each book. Persepolis 1 begins by introducing Marji, the ten-year-old protagonist. Set in 1980, the novel ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  29. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

    by Susannah Cahalan
    A journalist's journey of survival and recovery from a rare autoimmune disorder.

    An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

    by Richard Preston
    An exploration of the discovery and containment of one of world's deadliest viruses.

    A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret ... (Goodreads)