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Quick answer: If you loved Between Two Kingdoms, read Susannah Cahalan's Brain on Fire, then Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, then Tara Westover's Educated, and Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. All are honest memoirs about illness and recovery.
Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms is a memoir about cancer and the road trip she took afterwards. These picks share its honesty.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain on Fire | Susannah Cahalan | Adult | medical mystery |
| Being Mortal | Atul Gawande | Adult | readers who want practical wisdom |
| Educated | Tara Westover | Adult | readers who like coming-of-age stories |
| Wild | Cheryl Strayed | Adult | readers who like journey memoirs |
| Man's Search for Meaning | Viktor E. Frankl | Adult | readers who want depth |
| The Glass Castle | Jeannette Walls | Adult | readers who like survival stories |
| Still Alice | Lisa Genova | Adult | readers who like medical drama |
| Maybe You Should Talk to Someone | Lori Gottlieb | Adult | therapy stories |
| Born a Crime | Trevor Noah | Adult | humour and hardship |
| Tuesdays with Morrie | Mitch Albom | Adult | readers who want nonfiction |
| Untamed | Glennon Doyle | Adult | readers who like a modern memoir |
| The Year of Magical Thinking | Joan Didion | Adult | readers who want a grief memoir |
| Smoke Gets in Your Eyes | Caitlin Doughty | Adult | the closest memoir |
| Four Thousand Weeks | Oliver Burkeman | Adult | time and limits |
| A Mind Unraveled | Kurt Eichenwald | Adult | epilepsy memoir |
1. Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
A young journalist develops sudden psychosis and is eventually correctly diagnosed. Gripping and humane.
Best for: medical mystery.
2. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
A surgeon examines how medicine treats aging and dying, and what matters at the end of life. Clear and humane.
Best for: readers who want practical wisdom.
3. Educated by Tara Westover
Westover grows up in a survivalist family and goes to college. Gripping and honest.
Best for: readers who like coming-of-age stories.
4. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
After her mother's death, Strayed hikes the Pacific Crest Trail alone. Honest and inspiring.
Best for: readers who like journey memoirs.
5. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
A psychiatrist describes his time in Nazi camps and what kept people alive. A short, powerful classic.
Best for: readers who want depth.
6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Walls grew up with brilliant but irresponsible parents. Vivid, funny and sad.
Best for: readers who like survival stories.
7. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
A professor is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Clear, moving and informative.
Best for: readers who like medical drama.
8. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
A therapist shares stories of patients and her own therapy. Warm and funny.
Best for: therapy stories.
9. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Noah describes growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa. Funny and powerful.
Best for: humour and hardship.
10. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
A journalist visits his former professor, who is dying of ALS, every Tuesday. A short, moving memoir.
Best for: readers who want nonfiction.
11. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Doyle writes about listening to your inner voice and breaking free of expectations. Funny and emotional.
Best for: readers who like a modern memoir.
12. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Didion writes about the year after her husband's sudden death. Spare, precise and honest.
Best for: readers who want a grief memoir.
13. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
A mortician describes her years working at a crematory. Funny, frank and a good match for the show's attitude toward death.
Best for: the closest memoir.
14. Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Burkeman argues that we can never do everything, so we must choose. Wise and gentle.
Best for: time and limits.
15. A Mind Unraveled by Kurt Eichenwald
A journalist writes about his life with epilepsy. Frank and informative.
Best for: epilepsy memoir.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Between Two Kingdoms: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Between Two Kingdoms. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For illness, read Brain on Fire. For death and life, try Being Mortal. For memoirs, pick Educated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Between Two Kingdoms?
Suleika Jaouad.
When was it published?
2021.
What is it about?
Her cancer and a post-treatment road trip.
Which book here is best for epilepsy memoir?
Try A Mind Unraveled by Kurt Eichenwald, which suits readers looking for epilepsy memoir.
Which book here is best for time and limits?
Try Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, which suits readers looking for time and limits.
Which book here is best for the closest memoir?
Try Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty, which suits readers looking for the closest memoir.
Which book here is best for readers who want a grief memoir?
Try The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, which suits readers looking for readers who want a grief memoir.
Which book here is best for readers who like a modern memoir?
Try Untamed by Glennon Doyle, which suits readers looking for readers who like a modern memoir.