Lauren Hough is known for her candid and compelling essays and memoir. Her debut collection, Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing, explores life beyond the norms with profound honesty and humor, offering glimpses into unique personal experiences.
If you enjoy reading books by Lauren Hough then you might also like the following authors:
Tara Westover writes memoirs that explore issues of identity, education, and family. Her style is direct, emotional, and deeply personal.
In Educated, she recounts her upbringing in an isolated survivalist family, and how she overcame these significant obstacles to pursue education and independence.
Roxane Gay confronts complex social issues through sharp, insightful essays that combine cultural critique with personal storytelling.
She thoughtfully discusses feminism, body image, and trauma in her collection Bad Feminist, inviting readers to consider the contradictions and challenges of feminist identity today.
Carmen Maria Machado's writing blends realism, fantasy, and horror to examine uncomfortable truths about intimacy, identity, and violence.
Her memoir, In the Dream House, uses experimental styles and forms to vividly portray psychological abuse within a queer relationship, offering both personal vulnerability and cultural analysis.
Saeed Jones explores identity, sexuality, race, and grief through poetic and emotionally resonant storytelling. His memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives, reveals his coming-of-age experience as a gay Black man in America, delivering lyrical prose and unflinching honesty.
Stephanie Land shines a revealing light on poverty, inequality, and resilience, told from the perspective of someone navigating the struggles of working-class America.
In Maid, she powerfully details her own challenges as a single mother trying to provide a better life for her child, making her experiences vivid and relatable.
Michelle Zauner writes with openness and vulnerability, exploring her personal experiences with identity, grief, and family.
Her memoir, Crying in H Mart, offers a thoughtful journey through loss, memory, Korean heritage, and the comfort food can provide when navigating intense emotions.
Tressie McMillan Cottom tackles social issues with sharp intelligence and honesty. In her essay collection, Thick: And Other Essays, she explores race, gender, class, and beauty standards in essays both witty and insightful.
Readers who enjoy Lauren Hough's directness and critical eye will appreciate how clearly and boldly Cottom addresses complex societal concerns.
Samantha Irby blends humor, self-awareness, and refreshing candidness into her personal essays. Her collection We Are Never Meeting in Real Life contains funny, direct, and often raw reflections about relationships, mental health, and everyday anxieties.
Fans of Lauren Hough who appreciate honest storytelling infused with humor will connect easily with Irby's writing.
Leslie Jamison approaches her essays with deep empathy and thoughtfulness, exploring themes of addiction, vulnerability, and human connection. In The Empathy Exams, Jamison combines memoir with thoughtful analysis, examining how we experience pain and compassion.
Readers who value Lauren Hough's thoughtful and introspective style will find Jamison similarly insightful and emotionally perceptive.
Kiese Laymon brings fearless honesty and emotional depth to his writing, often exploring race, identity, family dynamics, and cultural pressures. His memoir, Heavy:
An American Memoir, tells his story through powerful reflections on body image, relationships, and growing up Black in America.
If you're drawn to Lauren Hough's ability to address difficult personal topics honestly and directly, Laymon's writing offers a similar courage and intensity.
Esmé Weijun Wang writes honestly and clearly about mental health, identity, and illness. Her style is direct yet compassionate, allowing readers to feel both seen and understood.
Her essay collection, The Collected Schizophrenias, explores her life with a diagnosis that still carries stigma. It's helpful for anyone looking to better understand mental health struggles and resilience.
Sarah Smarsh offers an unfiltered look at social class through both personal experience and broader analysis. Her vivid writing brings the realities of poverty to life without judgment or romanticizing.
In her memoir Heartland, she reflects on her childhood on a Kansas farm, examining class, poverty, and the American dream. If you appreciate writers who blend personal storytelling with social commentary, Smarsh is worth discovering.
Lacy M. Johnson tackles challenging and personal subjects like trauma, violence, and recovery with openness and sensitivity. Her honest reflections and thoughtful approach resonate deeply.
Her memoir The Other Side details a harrowing kidnapping and escape, but also focuses more broadly on healing and resilience. Readers who value insightful explorations of trauma and healing will find much to admire here.
Jeannette Walls writes memoir with warmth, wit, and surprising optimism despite difficult circumstances. Her writing pulls you in with clear-eyed honesty and dry humor. Her book The Glass Castle recounts a childhood spent navigating chaos, poverty, and resilience.
If you appreciate frank yet hopeful memoirs, Walls' storytelling delivers.
Augusten Burroughs offers candid, humorous, and often unsettling tales of chaotic family life and self-discovery. His writing balances sharp wit with emotional honesty, keeping readers entertained even as he addresses serious topics.
His memoir Running with Scissors chronicles a turbulent adolescence within a deeply dysfunctional family. If you like Lauren Hough's blunt and often darkly humorous memoir style, Burroughs' work will likely resonate.