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Category Archives: memoir
“Observe, observe perpetually.”
More than 400 years ago, Michel de Montaigne of France invented a new literary tradition of close inward observation. “It is a thorny undertaking,” he writes, “to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind.” Scholars, such as … Continue reading
Posted in memoir, non-fiction
Tagged influential writer, Memoir, Michel de Montaigne, Sara Bakewell
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“I felt there was a lot more I could say about the subject of danger.”
In Half Broke Horses, Lily Smith faces many dangers, from flash floods in rural Texas, to bankruptcy during the Great Depression, to medical emergencies that didn’t always end well. This convincing, unprettified narration doesn’t glorify “grit” – rather, it shows … Continue reading
Posted in fiction, memoir
Tagged Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls, True-life novel
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“I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world. . .”
Henry David Thoreau continues, “for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.” This beautiful image of Thoreau watching the stars from the deck of a boat comes right after … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged Henry David Thoreau, philosophical writer, Walden, wrote 7 drafts in 9 years
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“She gave me a piece of gingerbread which was so generously spread with salt butter that the richness was too much for me and I couldn’t eat it.”
Molly Weier, who was born in 1910 in Glasgow, had her own definition of what it meant to be rich. To her, it was having real butter instead of margarine and spreading it generously. This is how someone in her … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged childhood poverty, Molly Weir, self-respect, Shoes Were for Sunday
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“We did not have clothes suitable for church.”
The New York Times uses “spare” and “charming” to describe this memoir about growing up on a Wisconsin farm during the Great Depression. I would add “remarkable” to this list. When she was six years old, the children at her … Continue reading
“Writing is similar to psychotherapy in that emotional disclosure is part of the healing process.”
Some of the people who attend my memoir workshops come to write their family history, others want to write memorable stories, and yet others want to discover meaningful answers to their questions about “life.” This book, written by a psychotherapist, … Continue reading
“People writing about imaginary events were less depressed than people writing about actual trauma.”
In Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction, Jessica Lourey cites academic research that found that people who write fiction can experience more physical health benefits than people who write autobiography. In my college classes, … Continue reading
Posted in memoir, non-fiction
Tagged Control the story, Jessica Lourey, Rewrite Your Life
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“Embrace the crumbs with the cake.”
It’s been eight years since I last read this book, and this time around, I’m struck by Goldberg’s advice to pay attention to memorable, small pieces. In fact, one of the best ways to write about the “monumental” is to … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged Focus on details, Nabokov, Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away, Write memoirs
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“Turn procrastination into rehearsal.”
Roy Peter Clark, a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, describes writers like me when he says that when we’re not writing, we are often doubting ourselves. We feel bad. Instead, we could think of this period of delay as … Continue reading
“But memoir is neither testament nor fable nor analytic transcription.”
So, then, what is memoir? A memoir should “lift from the raw material of life a tale that will shape experience, transform event, deliver wisdom.” In other words, the writer’s story needs to illustrate a point. Rather than simply telling … Continue reading
Posted in memoir, non-fiction
Tagged The Situation and the Story, truth in memoirs, Vivian Gornick, Writing Memoirs
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“Putting together a novel is essentially putting together the lives of stranger I’m coming to know.”
As it turns out, writing nonfiction stories is not very different from writing fiction for Ann Patchett. The title essay for this collection describes how she puts together an understanding of the life of the stranger who comes to stay … Continue reading
Posted in memoir, non-fiction
Tagged Ann Patchett, engrossing, generous, stranger comes to town, These Precious Days, warm-hearted
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“And then learn to be more compassionate company, as if you were somebody you are fond of and wish to encourage.”
When you are writing, do you think “This is great!” or do you think, “I shouldn’t have put this off. It’s a mess. I’ll never get it right.” Too often, I find it easy to be with the large number … Continue reading
Posted in memoir, non-fiction
Tagged A favorite book about writing, Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, warm and funny
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“Get your intention clear before you start and tell your story with integrity.”
“Why are you telling me this?” is the question that is front and center in my mind when reading memoirs, or, for that matter, English 1 essays written by my students. Zinsser says writers should aim high. When you look … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged William Zinsser, Writing About Your Life, writing with integrity, Zinsser is my hero
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“I said O let us not go.”
My love of reading the stories people tell about their lives led me to this book about the great migration to Oregon and California between 1840 and 1870 as told by women who kept diaries. We see passages like this … Continue reading
“I began to think that some of us are the designated rememberers.”
I always begin my “How to Write Your Memoirs” classes by asking, “Why do you want to do this?” No one has ever answered the question like novelist Pat Conroy does in this collection of essays about writing memoirs. Conroy … Continue reading
Posted in memoir
Tagged designated rememberers, Pat Conroy, Why We Write about Ourselves
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