With publishing clearing the decks for 15 November, Michelle Obama’s new book is set to be one of the biggest for 2022. Tackling “change, challenge and power”, expect wisdom and insight from the former first lady as we continue to navigate unprecedented times. 

Shop The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama (£25, Penguin) at Bookshop

Don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the world of Boris Johnson, supreme court justices and Meghan hounding? Marina Hyde’s weekly Guardian columns have been collated into this handy bible that allows you to weep and howl with laughter simultaneously (out 6 October). 

Shop What Just Happened? by Marina Hyde (£20, Guardian Faber) at Bookshop

This no-holds-barred memoir has become a US publishing sensation as the former star of iCarly and Sam & Cat delves into her childhood of abuse and exploitation at the hands of her mother. Offering redemption and reflections on whether we do have to forgive people, it’s a brave, unsparing and very readable book (out now). 

Shop I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (£20, Simon & Schuster) 

The wondrous former Children’s Laureate and author of the Noughts And Crosses series (among many others) has written a memoir that highlights significant moments in her life and what she’s learned from them. Beautifully written, honest and thought-provoking (out 20 October). 

Shop Just Sayin’ by Malorie Blackman (£16, Cornerstone) at Bookshop

Exploring the London diaspora of Black Africans from countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Somalia, writer and food journalist Famurewa creates a spellbinding portrait of culture, talent, food and activism while never shying away from Britain’s backdrop of policy, politics and discrimination (out now). 

Shop Settlers by Jimi Famurewa (£18.98, Bloomsbury) at Bookshop

A book that’ll stay with you forever, the conversation between singer, writer and composer Nick Cave and his friend Seán O’Hagan touches on the loss of Cave’s son Arthur, the grief that followed and the unexpected-but-necessary uplift that can be found in creativity, work and human connection (out 20 September). 

Shop Faith, Hope And Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan (£20, Canongate) at Bookshop

Miki Berenyi is one of the most influential women in British music – her band Lush took no prisoners before and during the Britpop era. In this beautifully written memoir, she reveals the emotional damage of her childhood, the thorny navigation of becoming a front woman in a male-dominated industry and unpacks the complexity of her relationships with her beloved fellow band members (out 29 September). 

Shop Fingers Crossed by Miki Berenyi (£20, Bonnier) at Bookshop

A compilation of Alderton’s Agony Aunt columns, this is a book full of wisdom when it comes to navigating modern-day love, friendships, family, work and social pitfalls. Written with humour and empathy, you really can’t go wrong by picking a page and delving in (out 27 October). 

Shop Dear Dolly by Dolly Alderton (£16.98, Penguin) at Bookshop

The uplifting story of three friends – Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake – who became the first women to earn medical degrees. Faced with obstacles at every turn, it’s a story of single-minded resilience and we’re ready for the Netflix adaptation, please (out 20 October). 

Shop Women In White Coats by Olivia Campbell (£14.99, Swift Press) at Bookshop

Rylan’s book is filled with life lessons from the last decade – an era that has seen him move from reality TV breakout star to what’s not far off a national treasure. Tackling fame, family and his own mental health and identity, this is a surprisingly frank and moving memoir. 

Shop Ten by Rylan (£14.99, Orion) at Bookshop

After secretly receiving an education as a child, Zarifa Ghafari became mayor of Maidan Wardak in Kabul aged 24. She faced striking male staff, death threats and violence culminating in her father’s murder. In August 2021, she escaped from the Taliban to seek refuge in Germany and continues to raise awareness of grassroots activism for women’s freedoms across the world and in Afghanistan. This is her incredible story (out 29 September). 

Shop Zarifa by Zarifa Ghafari (£20, Virago) at Bookshop

One of the best things about reading Nora Ephron is the life advice she arms you with: a go-to salad dressing, the pros and cons of red coats… Writer Sali Hughes is her spiritual successor with this new book – a compendium of wisdom for everything life can throw at you, from store cupboard essentials that won’t let you down to empathising with a friend during a tough time. Buy it and keep it by your bedside for every possible situation. 

Shop Everything Is Washable by Sali Hughes (£26, HarperCollins) at Bookshop

A big moral question of a book, Cantacuzino explores what forgiveness means, how we apply it and if it’s possible to forgive the worst elements of human nature. Speaking to people who have lived through atrocity and grief, this is a book to read over a weekend with plenty of space and time to reflect (out now). 

Shop Forgiveness by Marina Cantacuzino (£14.99, Simon & Schuster) at Bookshop

Computer scientist Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, an advocate for women in STEM, “calls time on women being cut out of the tech story”. Bearing in mind that the tech world is run by men making decisions about our lives on a day-to-day basis, Imafidon outlines why women need to pioneer a different way of doing things and how we can go about doing it (out now). 

Shop She’s In CTRL by Anne-Marie Imafidon (£16.98, Transworld) at Bookshop

Support Burn Before Reading by Daisy Buchanan (from £5) at The Pound Project

Raynor Winn’s 2018 memoir The Salt Path was a gut-wrenching yet uplifting read about the loss of her home and her husband’s terminal diagnosis – and it sold a million copies as people found comfort and healing in its celebration of nature. Now attempting a 200-mile walk through Scotland, Landlines is about finding our way in the strangest of times (out now). 

Shop Landlines by Raynor Winn (£20, Penguin) at Bookshop

Shop Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries (Canongate) at Bookshop, £25

The follow-up to This Is Going To Hurt, Kay reveals just what happened to him next as he left the medical profession for a whole new path. Interweaving anecdotes with medical flashbacks (it’s not for the squeamish), this is a funny, truthful and fascinating memoir (out now). 

Shop Undoctored by Adam Kay (£22, Orion) at Bookshop

Just how did Roe v Wade fall after all of these years? In a brilliantly researched and enlightening book, journalist Andrews reveals the history of abortion across the world, why it’s been such a political lightning rod in the US and shines a light on the activists still fighting to make abortion safe, accessible and legal (out 11 October).  

Shop No Choice by Becca Andrews (£16.98, Orion) at Bookshop

Adoption, con artists, fraudulent child agencies, reunions… This jaw-dropping true story by Donna Freed is written with verve and heart as she creates a memoir that mixes her personal history with bigger questions about what makes us who we are (out 10 November).

Shop Duplicity by Donna Freed (£14.99, Muswell Press) at Bookshop

From Kate Mosse, the author and founder-director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, this is a book that gives voice to women from all over the world who have made staggering contributions to history – only to find themselves glossed over or ignored entirely. The perfect Christmas present for women of all ages (out 13 October). 

Shop Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries by Kate Mosse (£20, Pan Macmillan) at Bookshop

In 2018, Catastrophe actor, writer and comedian Rob Delaney’s nearly three-year-old son Henry died after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Delaney has channelled his grief, anger and humour onto the page to create a remarkable reminder that love can permeate even the darkest of times, all the while celebrating Henry and the carers, nurses and NHS that kept Delaney and his family from falling apart (out 20 October). 

Shop A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney (£16.98, Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop

A timely reminder that life isn’t just about being productive, and that taking time out just to be silly, to have fun and to let our imaginations roam can bring myriad benefits. You don’t have to play to problem solve and relieve stress but they are definitely welcome byproducts (out now). 

Shop Why We Play by Joanna Fortune (£8.99, Octopus) at Bookshop

An honest celebrity memoir? Hell yes. Matthew Perry reveals what it was like when Friends hit the big time, how the bonds with his fellow actors became essential (Lisa Kudrow writes the intro) and how addiction took hold in the eye of the storm (out 1 November). 

Shop Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (£25, Headline) at Bookshop

Shop Ditch Your Inner Imposter by Anna Lou Walker (£10.99, Octopus) at Bookshop

Want to meet your favourite non-fiction authors? This November, the Stylist team will be live in conversation with a range of seasoned authors and new emerging writers including Bernardine Evaristo, Adam Kay, Sali Hughes and many more at Stylist Live. Tickets are available now from just £22.10 when you use code SPEAKER at the checkout.