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The only answer I’ve given lately to the question “What book should I read next?” is Matriarch. I don’t remember the last time I recommended a book this much. I’ve suggested it to people who usually avoid biographies, promising this one feels different. I’ve pushed it to audiobook lovers, knowing Tina Knowles’s narration—raw when she speaks about her mother’s death, hilarious when she recalls her days as “Bad Ass Tenie B”—adds a whole new layer.
Wherever you are in life as a woman, Knowles has a story that steadies, encourages, or simply makes you feel seen. Her reflections on motherhood, ambition, heartbreak, and reinvention land with honesty and intention. What makes this book unforgettable is how she turns her personal history into something universal—wisdom and stories usually meant for her family, but resonant for anyone still finding their way.
Matriarch didn’t just move me; it grounded me. And that’s why it’s the best book I’ve read all year. —Paris Wilson, commerce writer
