History Main / MiseryLit

Literary genre about painful, tragic stories. Usually memoirs, but not always. Common topics include AbusiveParents (or [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]]), sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prostitution, growing up in terrible poverty, or historical horrors such as living through UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As autobiographies, these are marketed as non-fiction, but lawsuits may occur if people mentioned in the book disagree with the author's version of events. Such a tale will usually have a [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]], often with a picture of a wretched-looking child (Sometimes, this will be the author as a child, but stock images are often used, particularly if there is a need to protect the anonymity of those involved.) on it, and a dramatic-sounding title like ''Wrecked'', ''Tormented'' or ''Please, Daddy, Stop!'' in curly writing. Subtitles which talk about the author's childhood be "lost" or "stolen" are also common.

Literary genre about painful, tragic stories. Usually memoirs, but not always. Common topics include AbusiveParents (or [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]]), sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prostitution, growing up in terrible poverty, or historical horrors such as living through UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As autobiographies, these are marketed as non-fiction, but lawsuits may occur if people mentioned in the book disagree with the author's version of events. Such a tale will usually have a [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]], often with a picture of a wretched-looking child (although flowers and broken picture-frames are also popular) on it, and a dramatic-sounding title like ''Wrecked'', ''Tormented'' or ''Please, Daddy, Stop!'' in curly writing.

* ''Literature/{{Push}}'' by Sapphire.

* The CreepyPasta's ''I Caught My Grandfather Talking to an Air Vent'' ([[MadwomanInTheAttic The protagonist's retarded twin sister was kept locked in the attic, and they communicated by talking through the vents) and ''I Did Something Bad Last Halloween'' ([[RazorApples the protagonist poisons halloween candy as a way to act out against her abusive family).

Literary genre of about painful, tragic stories, usually, but not always memoirs. Usual topics include AbusiveParents (or [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]]), sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prostitution, growing up in terrible poverty, or historical horrors such as living through UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As autobiographies, these are marketed as non-fiction, but lawsuits may occur if people mentioned in the book disagree with the author's version of events. Such a tale will usually have a [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]], often with a picture of a wretched-looking child (although flowers and broken picture-frames are also popular) on it, and a dramatic-sounding title like ''Wrecked'', ''Tormented'' or ''Please, Daddy, Stop!'' in curly writing.

Incredibly profitable genre over the last decade, although in recent years the demand has slowed down somewhat. Some bookstores now devote an entire section to "Tragic Life Stories" or "Painful Lives." Among publishers, the genre is euphemistically termed "inspirational lit" or "inspi-lit." The more cynical among us suspect that people actually get off on the horrific events described in such books (see DoNotDoThisCoolThing), leading to the term "misery porn".

Literary genre of people's memoirs about their painful, tragic life stories. Usual topics include AbusiveParents (or [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]]), sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prostitution, growing up in terrible poverty, or historical horrors such as living through UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As autobiographies, these are marketed as non-fiction, but lawsuits may occur if people mentioned in the book disagree with the author's version of events. Such a tale will usually have a [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]], often with a picture of a wretched-looking child (although flowers and broken picture-frames are also popular) on it, and a dramatic-sounding title like ''Wrecked'', ''Tormented'' or ''Please, Daddy, Stop!'' in curly writing.

* ''Ten Thousand Sorrows'' by Elizabeth Kim. Kim was the result of a brief fling between an American GI and a Korean woman after UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar. Her being of mixed race [[HalfBreedDiscrimination gave her a lot of grief]] both in South Korea (which led to her mother getting killed by her own family), and later on in America during the 50s and 60s when she was adopted by a childless couple (who themselves were [[AbusiveParents abusive]] [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalists]]). Her husband was [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] in every way, and she finally found the strength to leave him after their daughter was born, and through help from actual friends and hard work, she finally manages to make something decent out of her life. The book's authenticity has been called into question by Koreans and the Korean-American community (some of whom have stated to have undergone similar experiences as Kim herself). The title itself is taken from a Buddhist saying that one's life is filled with ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows.

Literary genre of people's memoirs about their painful, tragic life stories. Usual topics include AbusiveParents (or [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]]), sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prostitution, growing up in terrible poverty, or historical horrors such as living through WorldWarII. As autobiographies, these are marketed as non-fiction, but lawsuits may occur if people mentioned in the book disagree with the author's version of events. Such a tale will usually have a [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]], often with a picture of a wretched-looking child (although flowers and broken picture-frames are also popular) on it, and a dramatic-sounding title like ''Wrecked'', ''Tormented'' or ''Please, Daddy, Stop!'' in curly writing.

* Miserable childhoods and horrendously abusive upbringings seem ''de rigeur'' for charismatic preachers and televangelists. It sometimes seems from the outside that there is an informal competition to claim bragging rights for the worst childhood ever - reminiscent of MontyPython's ''Four Yorkshiremen'' sketch. It isn't hard to see why: establishing that the power of Christ saved you from misery is an accepted part of the script and the worse the misery, the greater the redemption. The very conservative evangelist and political lobbyist Dr Mike Evans is a typical example. A theme of his past few books has been the horrendous abuse he suffered at the hands of his drunken father; Evans repeatedly stresses that his conversion happened at age eleven after being beaten and left for dead, locked in a cold cellar. He had a vision of Jesus, and movingly relates that Jesus Christ was the first to call him "my son". All very moving and heartstring-plucking. Except... when you go back to Evans' earliest books, such as ''Young Lions Of Judah'', there is no mention ''at all'' of beatings, abuse, neglect and misery. In the earlier version of his autobiography, Mike Evans tells of being happy, successful, eighteen, and owning a fast car with lots of money in his pocket. Yet something seemed missing, so he started attending church to see if he could pull Christian girls... and he stayed. No mention of an abusive drunken dad, beatings and dark cold cellars in which he was visited by Jesus at age eleven. (Though you'd have thought face-time with Jesus was significant enough to put into a book). He may just have repressed the bad memories and they emerged later... at a time when his ministry needed lots of money.

* ''The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer'' from ''TwinPeaks'' was published as a real book by author Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David Lynch, the creator of Twin Peaks). It details Laura's downward spiral into sex, drugs, violence, insanity and, ultimately, death, all due to her continual rape from an entity named BOB [[spoiler: who turns out to be her father]] starting at the age of 12.

* Parodied in ''Literature/IPartridgeWeNeedToTalkAboutAlan'', a mock autobiography by Series/AlanPartridge, who desperately ''tries'' to make his childhood sound like it belongs in one of these books by trying to paint his parents as abusive monsters and his schoolmates as reprehensible bullies. In fact, it's nakedly obvious that he's only trying to cash in on the Misery Lit craze and dress his actually rather boring childhood up a bit so that it seems more interesting to his publishers; his parents in fact appear to have been rather stereotypically dull Middle-England types (if perhaps not the most pleasant people, judging by [[{{Jerkass}} how their son turned out]]) and while he was legitimately bullied at school it doesn't appear to have been to an unusually vicious degree, being mainly fairly typical stuff like playground name-calling and childish pranks.

* Parodied in ''Literature/IPartridgeWeNeedToTalkAboutAlan'', a mock autobiography by Series/AlanPartridge, who desperately ''tries'' to make his childhood sound like it belongs in one of these books by trying to paint his parents as abusive monsters and his schoolmates as reprehensible bullies. In fact, it's nakedly obvious that he's only trying to cash in on the Misery Lit craze and dress his actually rather boring childhood up a bit so that it seems more interesting to his publishers; his parents in fact appear to have been rather stereotypically dull Middle-England types (if perhaps not the most pleasant people, judging by [[{{Jerkass}} how their son turned out]]) and while he was legitimately bullied at school, despite what Partridge thinks it doesn't appear to have been to an unusually vicious degree.

* The ultimate example: ''Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl'', about a young Jewish girl who lived in hiding with her family from the monstrous Nazi regime. Unlike many other examples on this page, it has the distinct advantage of actually being true.

* Parodied in ''Literature/IPartridgeWeNeedToTalkAboutAlan'', a mock autobiography by Series/AlanPartridge, who desperately ''tries'' to make his childhood sound like it belongs in one of these books by trying to paint his parents as abusive monsters and his schoolmates as reprehensible bullies. In fact, it's nakedly obvious that he's only trying to cash in on the Misery Lit craze and dress his actually rather boring childhood up a bit so that it seems more interesting to his publishers; his parents in fact appear to have been rather stereotypically dull Middle-England types (if perhaps not the most pleasant people, judging by [[{{Jerkass}} how their son turned out]]) and while he was legitimately bullied at school, it doesn't appear to have been to an unusually traumatic degree.

* Parodied in ''Literature/IPartridgeWeNeedToTalkAboutAlan'', a mock autobiography by Series/AlanPartridge, who desperately ''tries'' to make his childhood sound like it belongs in one of these books by trying to paint his parents as abusive monsters and his schoolmates as reprehensible bullies. In fact, it's nakedly obvious that he's only trying to cash in on the Misery Lit craze and dress his actually rather boring childhood up a bit so that it seems more interesting to his publishers; his parents in fact appear to have been rather boring (if perhaps not the most pleasant people, judging by [[{{Jerkass}} how their son turned out]]) and while he was legitimately bullied at school, it doesn't appear to have been to an unusually traumatic degree.

* Traci Lords, former underaged porn star, wrote a book about herself as the "victim" of "child abuse" at the hands of the porn industry that fits this trope. Growing up in terrible poverty? Check. AbusiveParents (and [[ParentalAbandonment lack of parents]])? Check. Sexual abuse? Yes (before the porn). Dashed hopes? Yes, of becoming a legitimate model when she posed for Penthouse at 15. More sexual abuse? Yes, porn as sexual abuse in and of itself for 3 years. Prostitution? Yes, "prostitution" in the form of pornographic movies. Drug addiction? Yes. UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming? Yes, in that anti-porn people dislike her for being in porn despite age, or pro-porn people who view her as a traitor who knew what she was doing the whole time, though no lawsuits due to the book by itself. Complete with the [[WhiteVoidRoom bleak white cover]] in the [[http://tinypic.com/r/2e4hvzt/6 revised version]]. Averted, in that rather than a mournful title, it has a punny double entendre ''"Underneath It All."''

* Parodied in ''DateNight'' with the book Phil is forced to read for Claire's book club, about a girl who gets her first period in Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

* Dara O'Briain mentions them in one episode of ''MockTheWeek'': "there's the Top 10 at Tesco all called ''Daddy, No!''"

* On ''SixFeetUnder,'' Brenda Chenowith was discovered to be a genius, and, as a result, was the subject of a study by Dr. Gareth Feinberg, [=PhD=]. He began documenting her odd behavior. Brenda, realizing she was being observed, began studying mental disorders and would fake symptoms to spite the doctors. Feinberg published his account and it eventually became the best-selling book ''Charlotte Light and Dark,'' the book that would repeatedly haunt Brenda throughout her life.

* Misery childhoods and horrendously abusive upbringings seem ''de rigeur'' for charismatic preachers and televangelists. It sometimes seems from the outside that there is an informal competition to claim bragging rights for the worst childhood ever - reminiscent of MontyPython's ''Four Yorkshiremen'' sketch. It isn't hard to see why: establishing that the power of Christ saved you from misery is an accepted part of the script and the worse the misery, the greater the redemption. The very conservative evangelist and political lobbyist Dr Mike Evans is a typical example. A theme of his past few books has been the horrendous abuse he suffered at the hands of his drunken father; Evans repeatedly stresses that his conversion happened at age eleven after being beaten and left for dead, locked in a cold cellar. He had a vision of Jesus, and movingly relates that Jesus Christ was the first to call him "my son". All very moving and heartstring-plucking. Except... when you go back to Evans' earliest books, such as ''Young Lions Of Judah'', there is no mention ''at all'' of beatings, abuse, neglect and misery. In the earlier version of his autobiography, Mike Evans tells of being happy, successful, eighteen, and owning a fast car with lots of money in his pocket. Yet something seemed missing, so he started attending church to see if he could pull Christian girls... and he stayed. No mention of an abusive drunken dad, beatings and dark cold cellars in which he was visited by Jesus at age eleven. (Though you'd have thought face-time with Jesus was significant enough to put into a book). He may just have repressed the bad memories and they emerged later... at a time when his ministry needed lots of money.

* ''TheGlassCastle'': Unusual, in that she never describes her childhood as miserable or even damaging, refuses to vilify her parents, and is really more a memoir of total dysfunction than abuse. A notch above most?

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monique_De_Wael Monique de Wail aka Misha Defonseca]] wrote [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha:_A_Mémoire_of_the_Holocaust_Years a bestselling memoir about her life during the Holocaust]] (where she escaped from an abusive foster family, went to seatch for her Jewish parents, was literally RaisedByWolves, killed a rapist at age 9, etc.), later exposed as a hoax. She admitted the story was a fake but claimed that "rewriting" her past was her way of coping with the genuine tragedies she had experienced (her parents were LaResistance members who were captured, tortured and killed; she was ostracized for this for years), by "feeling Jewish" and fantasizing about going off with wolves.

* There's a lot of fake examples of this that try to pass themselves off as the real thing too, such as ''The Angel at the Fence]]'' by Herman Rosenblat, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Seltzer Love and Consequences]]'' by Margaret Selzer, the works of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JT_LeRoy JT LeRoy]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Love_(novel) Forbidden Love/ Honor Lost]] by Norma Khouri [[note]]who apparently turned out to be a con artist wanted for many scams, on top of a hoaxer[[/note]]. All purport to be about tragic lives of individuals and what not, and all are fictional hoaxes along the lines of ''Go Ask Alice''.
* The aforementioned [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_at_the_Fence Angel at the Fence]] has an even more damning element: it was written by an ''actual'' Holocaust survivor, who added to his true and terrible experiences a romantic plot about a girl helping him out and later [[FirstgirlAfterAll turning out to be his blind date]]. Other Holocaust survivors (including Rosenblat's brothers) and some Jewish scholars started digging in, then started pointing out the holes in the story...

* Vera Christiane Felscherinow (a.k.a. "Christiane F.")'s autobiography ''Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo'' about her teenage years as a drugged prostitute was awfully successful in Europe.