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

Becoming a Lion

Johnny Sexton - the man who pulled the strings for the Lions - gives an intimate insight into the rugby life in Becoming a Lion. 
 
With three Heineken Cups and one British and Irish Lions tour victory under his belt, Johnny Sexton is by some distance the leading fly-half in the northern hemisphere. Over the course of the Lions' first victorious Test series in sixteen years, Sexton was the man pulling the strings. His try in the third test was the decisive blow, and his joyous celebrations after scoring were echoed in homes across Britain and Ireland. 
 
Becoming a Lion is an intimate portrait of life at the highest levels of the professional game - at Leinster, with Ireland, and on tour with the Lions. 
 
'Bracing and fascinating in equal measure' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times 
 
'Riveting ... Opens a remarkable window into the stresses, hurts and insecurities of a professional life in rugby' Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent 
 
'Captures all the jagged edges that make Sexton one of Irish sport's most compelling characters' Sunday Times 
 
'Sets a great benchmark for sports autobiographies, given that it is so honest' Matt Cooper, Today FM 
 
'Engrossing' Rugby World Ireland 
 
'If you crave an insight into the life of a professional rugby player ... Becoming a Lion is a must' Donal Lenihan, Irish Examiner 
 
'Intensely revealing' Irish Daily Mail

Riveting ... Opens a remarkable window into the stresses, hurts and insecurities of a professional life in rugby

Bracing and fascinating in equal measure

It really sets for a great benchmark for sports autobiographies, given that it is so honest

Captures all the jagged edges that make Sexton one of Irish sport's most compelling characters

If you crave an insight into the life of a professional rugby player ... Becoming a Lion is a must

With three Heineken Cups and one British and Irish Lions tour victory under his belt, Johnny Sexton is by some distance the leading fly-half in the northern hemisphere. Over the course of the Lions' first victorious Test series in sixteen years, Sexton was the man pulling the strings. His try in the third test was the decisive blow, and his joyous celebrations after scoring were echoed in homes across Britain and Ireland. 
 
Becoming a Lion is an intimate portrait of life at the highest levels of the professional game - at Leinster, with Ireland, and on tour with the Lions.

Johnny Sexton

An essential read for any keen follower of professional sport in Ireland

A must-read …  a revealing glimpse into the psyche of a serial winner

Absolutely fantastic … unflinchingly honest

Belongs on the top shelf of the best Irish sports books ever written

Sexton is on that rarefied plane of athlete where even his mere presence can feel quietly decisive

Sexton is a remarkable figure – stroppy, spiky, angry, unrepentant to a large degree – and it is to his credit that he has produced a seriously compelling book

Revealing and full of fresh insights and surprises ... superb

One of the best sports biographies in any discipline in recent times

Offered levels of wit and psychological insight that are all too rare in a sporting star’s autobiography

A fascinating portrait of a man always at war … Candid, frank and brilliantly written, this is a must for any rugby lover

A rich insight into one of Irish sport’s most complex, high-performing minds … up there with the all-time great rugby books.

No Irish rugby player has ever achieved more, or been a source of more inspiration to teammates and fans alike, than Johnny Sexton. 
 
The Sexton era - marked by four European Cups, four Six Nations championships (including two Grand Slams), a series win in New Zealand, two stints for Ireland at number 1 in the world, and the World Player of the Year award - was above all the time when Leinster and Ireland went from being underachievers to being overachievers. 
 
In his hotly anticipated autobiography, Johnny tells the story of his life and explores the sources of his unmatched will to win. Always outspoken on and off the field, Sexton offers an honest look at his childhood, his seemingly inauspicious early experiences in club and professional rugby, his relationships with key teammates and coaches (including Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara, Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell), and his ideas about the game. 
 
Obsessed is more than just a brilliantly detailed account of a legendary playing career. It is also a work of deep self-exploration, tracing the psychological arc of a player who almost always felt embattled, who struggled with self-doubt, and who was still learning new lessons about being a team-mate and a leader into his late thirties. Intense, witty, perceptive and frank, Obsessed is an autobiography worthy of its author and the essential chronicle of an extraordinary era in Irish rugby.

Johnny Sexton

Praise for Obsessed: The Autobiography

An essential read for any keen follower of professional sport in Ireland

A must-read … a revealing glimpse into the psyche of a serial winner

Absolutely fantastic … unflinchingly honest

An essential read for any keen follower of professional sport in Ireland

A must-read … a revealing glimpse into the psyche of a serial winner

Absolutely fantastic … unflinchingly honest

An essential read for any keen follower of professional sport in Ireland

A must-read … a revealing glimpse into the psyche of a serial winner

Absolutely fantastic … unflinchingly honest

Books by Johnny Sexton

Articles featuring Johnny Sexton

New autobiography books and memoirs to read this year

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