Come Septemoir with Me

a simple practice for seeing beyond ourselves

I was a sophomore in college when I read my first memoir. After a particularly weepy existential crisis I had one day after class (something about a friend smoking pot and what that meant for her faith), my modern literature professor handed me a weathered copy of Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. Without claims or commentary, Dr. Mary simply handed me the book as a companion to my questioning, a swirl of kindness and knowing in her eyes.

What I found within its pages was not a prescription or theological supposition on which I could hang my heavy bag of questions. No, what I found was the story of a fellow pilgrim. For a few hundred pages, I stepped into the life of another sojourner—somehow far different and yet the same. And as I read, I felt myself soften not only to Anne but also to my friend. It was as if someone else came along to help hold the bag I carried, and as we walked together, the more I began to understand life in her shoes. Something inside me expanded, and while many of my questions remained, I realized I had more room for them as judgment waned and compassion grew.

Reading memoir has a powerful way of building empathy. It helps us participate in something miraculous, the ability to “look through each other’s eyes for an instant” (in the words of Henry David Thoreau¹). It is a simple and profound way we can learn to “love your neighbors as yourself.”²

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Last year, I decided to read only memoir during the month of September (upon which someone much quippier than I dubbed it “Septemoir” and it stuck). This year, I decided to do it again and invite you to come along.

You are welcome to join me and the rest of Human Together book club for Septemoir.

(A paid subscription is not necessary this time around.) Here’s how it will work:

• Pick one memoir you’d like to read this month. You get to pick which book you want to read! But if you don’t have a memoir already in mind or need a recommendation, I also include several favorites below.

• Read. Do your best to finish the book by month’s end, but remember this isn’t school. I am not your teacher, and there will be no grades.

• Discuss. We’ll gather together for a memoir show & tell, Human Together-style. Whether you decide to join us live on Zoom on Thursday, October 3 or want to participate in the chat, everyone will get the opportunity to say what they read and (in order to minimize spoilers) how the story invited you to see life outside your own eyes.

I will host a live virtual gathering on Thursday, October 3 at 8 pm EST³ for all who would like to celebrate Septemoir together. (A Zoom link and a reminder will land in your inbox the week of the gathering.) There’s no pressure to have your screen on or talk out loud, if you don’t want to. You can always participate quietly in the chat or just bring some popcorn and listen in.

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Since that first read-through of Traveling Mercies, I’ve accumulated a few favorite memoirs over the years. Most of these books grapple with an aspect of humanity that is both foreign and familiar or gave me a peek into a life far different from my own. (Quick note: Some of these memoirs grapple with sensitive topics, so I recommend that you read through the back cover or email me if you want to avoid certain subject matter.)

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James Baldwin

It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weeping: Interpreting the Language of Our Fathers Without Repeating Their Stories by Lisa-Jo Baker

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore

Tell Me the Dream Again: Reflections on Family, Ethnicity, and the Sacred Work of Belonging by Tasha Jun

Educated by Tara Westover

How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French

Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation by Frederick Buechner

It Was An Ugly Couch Anyway: And Other Thoughts on Moving Forward by Elizabeth Passarella

Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey

Dirt: Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful by Mary Marantz

Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

If you have a favorite memoir or two you’d like to suggest, feel free to do so in the comments!

I’m looking forward to hearing about all the stories we have collected over the next few weeks. May we be both surprised and softened. May these books expand us and stay with us for a while.

Glad our paths have crossed,

PS: Be sure to mark your calendar for our Septemoir gathering on Thursday, October 3 at 8 pm EST! See you there.

1. Lest you think I am more than what I am, I could not make it all the way through Walden (which is where this quote is from). I really enjoyed the first part of the book but once we got into the (actual) weeds and his lengthy descriptions of rusting nails, I got weary. Sorry, HDT. Maybe next time.

2. From Matthew 22:36-40 CSB

3. The original post I sent out had the wrong date, but if you’re looking at this version, it’s been corrected. So sorry! This is why I need an editor.