The essay’s subjective and fragmented nature enables writers to grapple with complexities without the restrictions of systematic, traditional approaches to writing (Theodor W. Adorno, “The Essay as Form”).

It liberates the essayist to take a nuanced look at the world, as cultural essayist and social critic Steve Wasserman does in Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie: A Memoir in Essays, an exhilarating account of the awakening of an empathetic sensibility and a lively mind, featuring personal reflections on politics, literature, influential figures, and the tumults of a world in upheaval.

Award-winning author and “ethnographer on a skateboard” José Vadi turns to skateboarding as a lens to document the world in his latest memoir-in-essays, Chipped, which contemplates how skateboarding redefines space, curates culture, confronts mortality, and affords new perspectives on and off the board.

Chi Boy: Native Sons and Chicago Reckonings by Keenan Norris employs the…