A selection of memoir and autobiography book covers published by Penguin.

New memoirs and biographies 2025

Reading lists

New autobiography books and memoirs to read this year

Ashley Walters

Chris Isaie

Always Winning is a raw and inspiring testament to resilience; it’s a blueprint for turning adversity into success. I just wish I had read this book sooner!

Ashley shares his life story with such honesty that it captures more than a personal journey - a deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.

Ashley Walters continues to provide inspiration in trying times. When so many others are offering advice with mal intent, it’s refreshing to have guidance from a man who has really been through it all. Needed and necessary.

A brilliant book. I took so much from it.

An important and powerful read. Ashley is wise, honest and brave

Anyone coming from an unprivileged background should read this. Ashley is a prime example of where you’re from doesn’t define where you end up.

The actor and star of Adolescence reveals how he turned his turbulent past into a very bright future.

Always Winning charts the setbacks Walters faced from a young age, while offering pearls of hard-won wisdom to help clear your own path forward

Walters’ words are ones to take on board. Always Winning is a valuable, rewarding and crucial read.

FROM THE STAR OF THE PHENOMENAL NETFLIX SHOW, ADOLESCENCE, COMES A POWERFUL MEMOIR, PACKED WITH INSPIRING STORIES AND HARD-EARNED WISDOM FOR LIFE'S MOST CHALLENGING MOMENTS. 
 
“I wanted to write this book for that person who feels like the world doesn’t understand what life is like for them. I want to be honest about where I have been and how I have got to where I am. Because we can’t be what we can’t see.” – Ashley Walters 
 
'An icon of British and wider Black British culture.' GQ 
 
'A raw and inspiring testament to resilience.' STEVEN BARTLETT 
 
'A deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.' AFUA HIRSCH 
 
'An important and powerful read.' IAN WRIGHT 
 
From Adolescence and Top Boy to So Solid Crew, Ashley Walters’ explosive on-screen performances and trailblazing music has always explored the same conflicting forces that have governed his life. Born and raised in Peckham, his father in and out of prison, Ashley found the gang culture in inner city London inescapable. At 15, he was stabbed in the neck and left for dead. At 18, he had a gun held to his head as he cradled his newborn son. At 20, he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. 
 
In this brave and inspiring book, Ashley opens up about his turbulent past. He writes candidly about his battles with identity, addiction, family and fame, and the realisation that, after years of struggle, only he could change his future. 
 
‘Always Winning’ is the framework Ashley developed to turn his life around. Revealed for the first time in this book, explored through powerful stories from his life and career, he shares the principles of this philosophy and shows how anyone can use them to overcome their own challenges, helping them to align a true sense of purpose with inner happiness and personal success and fulfilment.

Ashley Walters

Praise for Always Winning

Always Winning is a raw and inspiring testament to resilience; it’s a blueprint for turning adversity into success. I just wish I had read this book sooner!

Ashley shares his life story with such honesty that it captures more than a personal journey - a deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.

Ashley Walters continues to provide inspiration in trying times. When so many others are offering advice with mal intent, it’s refreshing to have guidance from a man who has really been through it all. Nee ...

Always Winning is a raw and inspiring testament to resilience; it’s a blueprint for turning adversity into success. I just wish I had read this book sooner!

Ashley shares his life story with such honesty that it captures more than a personal journey - a deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.

Ashley Walters continues to provide inspiration in trying times. When so many others are offering advice with mal intent, it’s refreshing to have guidance from a man who has really been through it all. Nee ...

Always Winning is a raw and inspiring testament to resilience; it’s a blueprint for turning adversity into success. I just wish I had read this book sooner!

Ashley shares his life story with such honesty that it captures more than a personal journey - a deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.

Ashley Walters continues to provide inspiration in trying times. When so many others are offering advice with mal intent, it’s refreshing to have guidance from a man who has really been through it all. Nee ...

Articles featuring Ashley Walters

New autobiography books and memoirs to read this year

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