nut free nerd

I love personal essays.

I’m not sure if this is a distinct genre with a definition, or something that I just refer to as “personal essays” in an “I-know-it-when-I-see-it” kind of way. This Writer’s Digest article by Robert Lee Brewer describes a “personal essay” as follows:

“the personal essay is a piece of nonfiction writing that shares an interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and/or humorous story for readers that is drawn from the writer’s personal experiences (even if it’s second-hand information). Also called a narrative essay, the personal essay is different from the other essays, because it shares a story.”

What I’m often referring to when I say I love personal essays are pieces of writing that may be about a specific topic–like a particular place or event–but the writing is infused with the writer’s personal experience at the same time that the place or event or idea is being explored. When done really well, it feels like you’re experiencing that place or event through someone else’s specific set of eyes. I find essays like this endlessly interesting.

Because this is a rather niche subset of nonfiction, I usually end up stumbling upon personal essay collections rather randomly. This means that when I find one I really like–often by accident–I am thrilled.

If you’re looking to read a collection of personal essays, here are some that I’d recommend.

Blueberries: Essays Concerning Understanding by Ellena Savage. This is actually the collection that inspired me to write this post. I read it recently while on my honeymoon. Broadly speaking, this collection is about moving through life as an artist, a woman, and a person. It is about memory and writing and living with trauma. On a granular level, though, this collection is about moments in Ellena Savage’s own life and how her understanding of these bigger concepts is infused with her own personal experiences–as is the same for all of us. Reading this collection made me remember why I love reading personal essays so much: it’s fascinating to learn about people’s lives, from their life-defining events to the mundane moments that so many of us take for granted.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green. In this collection of essays, John Green reviews aspects of human life on a five-star scale. Green transformed what could have been a quirky, surface level idea into a deeply poignant, emotional collection of essays that get to the heart of what it means to live on our human-centered planet. To me, Green is an expert at weaving a personal narrative through well-researched, carefully thought through nonfiction writing. (His most recent nonfiction book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, has a similar feeling despite not being an essay collection.) Needless to say, I gave this essay collection 5 stars.

A Life of One’s Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs. In this collection, Biggs weaves her experience of divorce and searching for a new direction in life with discussions of several women writers. From Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf to Toni Morrison and Elena Ferrante, among others, Biggs explores how these women lived and worked and wrestled with similar questions around womanhood, identity, and society that she herself was struggling with. I love books about books/reading/writing generally, and this collection takes it one step further with Biggs’ own experiences threaded through.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. I would be remiss if I didn’t include Joan Didion in this list. I adore so much of her writing, but her collection titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem is one of my favorites. This collection is about Didion’s experiences in California in the 1960s but also about keeping a personal notebook, self-respect, and other more personal ideas. I think her writing speaks for itself:

“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.”

Do you enjoy reading personal essays? Do you have a favorite genre of nonfiction? Have you read any of these collections, or have any that you’d recommend? I’d love to know.

Take care xx