A Life of One’s Own by Joanna Biggs

In her latest work, A Life of One’s Own, Joanna Biggs provides a compelling blend of literary analysis and biographical sketches of eight significant female authors. The book not only explores how these writers established their creative liberties but also weaves in Biggs’s personal experiences, including her journey through divorce and the loss of her mother to Alzheimer’s disease. Featured authors include:

• Mary Wollstonecraft
• George Eliot
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Virginia Woolf
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Sylvia Plath
• Toni Morrison
• Elena Ferrante

Biggs, known for her previous work, All Day Long, demonstrates her adeptness at crafting insightful portraits, succinctly analyzing how the independence earned by these writers is intricately linked to their literary contributions.

At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell

The chapter on Simone de Beauvoir in Biggs’s work inspired a revisit to At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell, a title that had lingered on my bookshelf for several years. Bakewell introduces readers to pivotal figures in existentialism, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and lesser-known thinkers like Maurice Merleau-Ponty. With her accessible writing style, Bakewell demystifies complex philosophical concepts, making existentialism approachable for those who may have felt intimidated by the canonical texts.

Original Sins by Matt Rowland Hill

Original Sins is a brutally honest memoir by Matt Rowland Hill, chronicling his upbringing in a strict evangelical Baptist environment in South Wales and his tumultuous struggles with substance addiction. Hill recounts his transition from a prestigious boarding school to the confines of addiction that began at Oxford University. The narrative candidly explores his encounters with faith and the personal ramifications of adhering to or questioning it. With a mixture of dark humor and pathos, Hill draws readers into notable experiences, including the poignant opening chapter that describes the duality of mourning and addiction at a friend’s funeral in Palestine. His insightful portrayal of addiction adds depth to a familiar arc, making it one of the most compelling memoirs on the subject.