My childhood sucked, and all I got was this lousy book deal.

Okay, I can be a little slow at times, but even I have noticed a trend of memoirs about shockingly bad childhoods written about in a humorous way. They range from really funny Running With Scissors to beautiful and literary Angela's Ashes. But when did this trend start? And why so many of them now?

Does any one know? And does anyone have any favorites from this genre? Or ones you thought were terrible?

I like biographies of Bible characters whose lives' illustrate truths applicable to us today, such as Joseph A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. Joseph, son of Jacob (later renamed Israel) had 11 brothers, 10 of whom were jealous of him and wanted to kill him, but instead sold him to passersby that resulted in his being taken to Egypt where due to being framed by a rejected woman, he was sent to prison for a long time. Yet, ultimately enormous good came out of it and Joseph later in life was able to say to his brothers: "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good..."

As for the recent biographies, I've been urged to read Jesus Land about siblings who suffered horrible abuse. I also like bios by Holocaust survivors, such as Zvi.

And I like Aesops Fables for the same reason. :>)

I suspect that "adversity sells" is the main reason. I refuse to read biographies of musicians any more (from the '30s and more recent) because it's all the same -- born ~insert city and state here~, influenced by ~insert somewhat famous name here~, had some ups and downs, became famous because of ~insert name of band or song or music genre here~, got hooked on drugs, wrecked car, had catharsis moment, may or may not have been able to have a reasonably productive comeback concert, ~insert cause of death here~. It seems that damn well ANYBODY can write a book these days.

WholeHouse: Lol. You have a good argument. I haven't gotten to that point yet, where I can practically write it for them in my head, but it's definitely time for me to take a break from those type memoirs.

Encompassed: I now have Jesus Land on my to-be-read list, for whenever I feel like I can pick up a memoir again. Thanks for the recommendation!

Waterstone's bookshops now carry a "Painful Lives" section -!
BBC news article on rise of this genre

I actually loved the book Angela's Ashes although it was hard to read at times. Thanks to EncompassedRunner I now want to read Joseph A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. Sometimes the sad lives of people are hard to get through when reading but I do feel I learn to have more empathy for other people by reading these stories ...but I can only take them in small doses.

Hi WholeHouse--(funny name!)

I guess I have to agree with you about the biographies of some musicians...through the media--we pretty much know about their lives already anyway.

As for me, I love memoirs and biographies that are not overly hyped or exaggerated. I am very interested in the human condition, and I find the lives of REAL people much more interesting than fictional characters...

As for the 'my life sucks' category, I think so many people can relate to the pain of the writers, because of their own pain. Life can be painful... and I am thankful for those who can tell their stories in a way that I can learn from them.

You have missed out the complimentary genre of "my is lying", an example being Angela's Ashes where his brother has written an alternative version of the story. Mind you, the whole city of Limerick remember the past differently to McCourt. This is because it doesn't take place in Ireland, it takes place in Oireland, which is an imaginary country that is like Ireland but only exists in the mind of Americans or Irish people who have lived in the US too long.

I think one of the reasons "my childhood sucked" memoirs became so popular is because recovery from drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse, gambling and sex addictions, kleptomania, etc. became much more common since 1970. Before then any of those difficulties, dare I say diseases, were too shameful to admit. Society would not listen to any one about those tragedies. We all know incest has existed forever, but only in the last 30-40 years can some one recovering from the effects of incest actually tell the truth outloud and not be shamed to death, not to speak of stoned to death.

I too am a bit weary, so I don't read those types of memoirs any more but I certainly rejoice in the fact that all those secrets are out of the closet. Much healthier for us all.

I prefer political memoirs which is another discussion altogether, eh?

I love the biographies and autobiographies of writers that I am fond of, whether for curiosity's sake or to deepen my understanding of their work. That includes artists, musicians and political figures.

I am also interested in the biographies and autobiographies of survivors of wars, persecutions, political upheavals and primitive cultures. I love to see people rise above their terrible circumstances with courage and cleverness. Of course, some of them don't survive- See Etty Hillesum, Anne Frank, Hannah Senesh.

I really love these types of memiors...I can relate to some of what I read..Life is about struggle..and hardship...its comforting to know your not the "only one"

My guess is that they're becoming more popular as cultural shifts bring skeletons out of the closet. My mother, in particular (b. 1933) comes from an era where We Do Not Discuss family events outside the family. She was *horrified* that I'd talk to my friends as a teenager about whatever dwama the 7 of us managed to get up. Perhaps folks of my era are relieved to see the real Beaver Cleaver - Exposed! but -- you mentioned humor -- in a humane way.

Some favorites of mine are Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Glass Castle and If the Creek Don't Rise.

The excessive amount of them and the antics many seem to get up to on Oprah and Springer cheapens things quite a bit for me. A lot of it seems to be explotation for gain only and I refuse to participate (be taken in). Sure, there may be some that are genuine, but the majority seem to "good" to be true.

Not to pick an argument, but I really can't see putting Springer (who encourages physical confrontations and clothing removal, as far as I can see) and Oprah in the same category. I don't always like Oprah but I don't see her as a tabloid program. She seems to spend a fair amount of time encouraging healthy behaviors like eating well, going to your doctor, etc. Pretty middle of the road, mainstream programming, I think. I am sure her "recovery" guests reflect the fact that she sees herself as having recovered from sexual and physical abuse as a child.

Well, its not a humorous book at all, so I don't know if it really fits, but Howard Dully's My Lobotomy, which tells Dully's story of receiving a transorbital lobotomy at the age of 12 (or so), is definitely a painful childhood story and Dully manages to tell it without seeming at all bitter. But its horribly, horribly sad, rather than funny.

Oprah & Springer are only after one thing. Ratings. Ratings = Money.

I'm looking forward to a backlash, with titles like 'Quit your Whining' and 'Pull Yourself Together'.

Some of these books are insightful and well-written but the current overdose is surely a symptom of cultural narcissism. Look, I'm Oliver Twist, too!

"Me" is supposedly a more "authentic" subject and source of truth.

The Grand Prize Winner for me in this regard would be: Her Last Death by Susanna Sonnenberg - ugh! Salacious details aplenty, and I'm far from priggish!

Jenny Lawson mines her childhood successfully in Let's Pretend This Never Happened. Terribly funny.

>20 2wonderY: I loved Lawson's book.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened has moved up to Camp 3 on the TBR Mountain. Sounds better than two recent downer choices of mine: Hillbilly Elegy and Educated