There are going to be quite a few new releases this summer, and to start building your to-be-read bookshelf for the season, you are going to want to add some compelling new books that will be released this June. From memoirs to essays, these upcoming nonfiction titles will become memorable reads for you and fellow readers.
The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex by Melissa Febos
Releasing on June 3, this memoir delves into Febos’ intimate journey of self-exploration as she takes a break from dating, relationships, and sex.
When her two-year relationship ends, Febos makes a conscious decision to take a step back from dating for three months. Since her teen years, she had been going from one relationship to another, but never found a moment to develop her life on her own. Experiencing the joys of a single life, Febos finds herself extending this newfound celibacy as she gains insight from her newfound independence that she did not know was possible. In conversation with women throughout history, she goes on an unapologetic pursuit to examine women’s pleasure and fulfillment without the necessities of romantic relationships, and instead cherishes the other relationships in our lives, including the one with ourselves.
How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir by Molly Jong-Fast
Releasing on June 03, this memoir goes into Jong-Fast’s life as the daughter of Erica Jong, a famous second-wave feminist writer, and the trials she goes through the year her mother is diagnosed with dementia.
Readers go behind closed doors into her life as the daughter of Erica Jong and the expectations she grew up wishing to live up to. When 2023 comes, Jong-Fast’s life is transformed when her husband gets a cancer diagnosis in the same year her mother is diagnosed with dementia. Facing the challenges life brings her and confronting the intense mother-daughter relationship she has lived with her whole life, the book explores the hard parts of adulthood and the acceptance needed to get through them. Her book is packed with rage and heart to tell a universal story that can be felt in the hearts of every person who wishes to live up to expectations when life has other plans for them.
So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All by Kate Moennig & Leisha Hailey
Releasing on June 03, 2025, this memoir follows two stars from The L Word and how the show changed their lives after one million people watched the premiere.
Meeting at the auditions, Moennig and Hailey did not know that this ensemble of openly queer female characters would reach the heights that it ended up receiving. In this book, these friends go through the painful moments of being closeted queer kids and the highlights that came as they became LGBTQ+ activists, actors, podcasters, and business owners for a generation to look up to. From screen to real life, these two put their lives on display with never-before-shared stories and photos. Their friendship is inseparable, and their message on the power of chosen family is irreplaceable in this light-hearted, sentimental work they put together.
Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance by A’Lelia Bundles
Releasing on June 10, 2025, this biography goes into the impact A’Lelia Walker, the author’s great-grandmother, had during the Harlem Renaissance
This book takes readers into Walker’s three New York homes during the Roaring Twenties when she was America’s first high-profile black heiress. She was named “joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s” by poet Langston Hughes and was the daughter of Madam C.J. Walker, which gave her a big reputation to uphold. Bundles did extensive research and interacted with Walker’s correspondence to give readers a portrait of Walker’s life inside and outside her artistic social world. As a fashion trendsetter and international traveler, Walker lived an unforgettable life that Bundles brings to the page for an extraordinary read.
Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai’i by Sara Kehaulani Goo
Releasing on June 10, 2025, this journalistic memoir dives into Kehaulani Goo’s family history along with the history of Maui to tell this gripping story of her family’s fight for their land.
Given to them by King Kamehameha III in 1848, her family’s land resides on the rugged shores of Maui’s east side. When a property tax bill with a 500 percent increase shows up, her family is forced to make a decision on whether they fight to keep their land or sell it. This led our author on a journey to uncover stories of her family and the land and the artifacts that have been preserved after the displacement of Native Hawaiians by systemic forces. This book creates a conversation around identity, legacy, and what it means to be part of a generation.
Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Releasing on June 24, 2025, this collection of essays and writings examines the Black woman’s experience in America and the societal standards that are constantly thrown at them without consideration for their culture and its worth in society.
This book goes deep into the conversation of the oppression of black women and the effects it has had after a long history of abuse. Jeffers covers topics such as the challenges of documented ancestry, adultification, resistance to white supremacy and patriarchy, and the consequences of racially gendered oppression. Her writings examine what it means to grow up as a Black girl and what it means to be a Black woman in a society that is constantly trying to assimilate minorities into white culture while also denying them the privileges they deserve. Jeffers’ essays will move readers and open their minds to these conversations to remind them of the importance of Black women’s culture and the defiance needed to dismantle White supremacy.
The nonfiction genre is getting a lot of exciting new additions that you will not want to miss. These stories of the past and their relevance for our future are hard-hitting and emotional to give any reader an exciting experience this summer. Pre-order now and get ready for a season of exceptional reads.
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For more nonfiction titles check out our Non-Fiction Titles for the Enlightened Mind bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
