I love that you are doing this. I have always loved memoirs and have not read nearly enough of them. Here are some of the ones that I have read recently that I enjoyed very much. First, I recently read an old and dusty copy of Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. She, of course, is known as the Queen of murder mysteries and is one of the bestselling authors of all time. However, she also had quite an interesting life, including a mysterious disappearance following the breakup of her first marriage (which she totally fails to mention but you have to read between the lines about why she “checked out” for a while), she married a younger man and traveled around the world with her husband who was an archeologist, and she had a lot to say about living one’s life to the fullest. You don’t have to be a fan of her books but it helps if you are fascinated by history as her life spanned 85 years and many societal changes from the Victorian era to the 1970’s. I also really liked the book A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle which was written in 1989 and is a very amusing account of his first year trying to make the transition from city living in America to roughing it in rural France. If you like that sort of travel memoir Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes is similar and also very good.
Thanks so much for these great recommendations!