On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80’s Teenager

*Amazon Best Seller*
Award-winning memoir of adolescence, identity, and coming of age in the 1980s

On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80's Teenager by Kirsten Pursell is a raw, honest coming-of-age memoir told entirely through the author’s teenage diaries, journals, poetry, and letters. Set against the backdrop of the 1980s, the book traces the emotional evolution of a confident young girl who becomes a lost teenager—wild, reckless, confused, and longing to disappear—before slowly finding her way back to herself.

Written in real time, without the filter of adult hindsight, this memoir captures the intensity of adolescence as it was lived: first love, self-doubt, identity formation, moral confusion, and the fragile hope of becoming okay. The diary format offers rare immediacy and intimacy, allowing readers to experience growth as it unfolds rather than as it’s later explained.

On Becoming Me is both deeply personal and universally relatable, resonating with readers who grew up in the 1980s as well as those drawn to authentic stories of teenage identity, emotional survival, and self-discovery. It is a nostalgic, unflinching portrait of adolescence that speaks across generations.

Perfect for readers who love coming-of-age memoirs, ’80s nostalgia, and emotionally honest stories of identity and self-discovery.

On Becoming Me: Memoir of an ’80s Teenager has received multiple honors, including:

• Amazon Best Seller
• The BookFest Awards (2022) – Honorable Mention
• Reader’s Favorite – Five Stars (2022)

Midwest Book Review calls it

“A unique look back…rare chronicles of experience that don’t come from the revised wisdom of hindsight…a true gift to time-travel.”

Bookreview.com praises its

“unabashed honesty and tenderness…arresting intimacy and immediacy.”

Quill describes it as

“A raw, honest, coming-of-age memoir set against the backdrop of the ’80s, relevant for all generations.”