Autobiographies of People Who Have Overcome Adversity

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is an autobiography by Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French journalist who suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed from the neck down. The book details his experience of communicating with the outside world using only his left eyelid.

Maya Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is a powerful account of her experiences of growing up in the Jim Crow South, being a single mother, and overcoming drug addiction.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Night by Elie Wiesel, and The Diary of Anne Frank are all autobiographies that tell the stories of people who survived the Holocaust.

Jeannette Walls' autobiography, The Glass Castle, is a powerful account of her experience of growing up in poverty, being homeless, and overcoming addiction.

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar, The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon, and Darkness Visible by William Styron are all autobiographies that detail the authors' experiences of overcoming mental illness.

Frank McCourt's autobiography, Angela's Ashes, is a powerful account of his experience of growing up in poverty in Ireland, immigrating to the United States, and overcoming alcoholism.

Nelson Mandela's autobiography, The Long Walk to Freedom, is a powerful account of his experience of fighting against apartheid in South Africa, being imprisoned for 27 years, and becoming the first black president of South Africa.

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll, and Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh are all autobiographies that detail the authors' experiences of overcoming addiction.

Alive by Piers Paul Read, Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer are all autobiographies that tell the stories of men who survived plane crashes.

Helen Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, is a powerful account of her experience of being deaf and blind, learning to communicate, and becoming a writer and activist.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, and A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer are all autobiographies that detail the authors' experiences of overcoming poverty.

Cheryl Strayed's autobiography, Wild, is a powerful account of her experience of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, overcoming addiction, and finding herself.