Contemporary Essays and Memoirs, Volume 1 is a collection of scholarly essays and recent reviews of the best of contemporary essays and memoirs. The book reviews and essays include:

• "The Changing Face of Biraciality: The White/Jewish Mother as Tragic Mulatto Figure in James McBride's The Color of Water and Danzy Senna's Caucasia" by Reginald Watson
• "The Life of the Body in American Autobiography: The Year in the Us" by Leigh Gilmore
• "Book Review: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance" by Peter Carrol
• "Hunger Pangs (Review of Hunger by Roxane Gay)" by Katie Gemmill
• "Sherman Alexie's You Don't Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir" by Yvonne C. Garrett.