Six Memoirs That Go Beyond Memories
Every memoir author eventually confronts the same question: Who cares?
Sometimes you hear that taunt in your head late at night as you try and fail to sleep. Maybe it’s the voice of an old acquaintance whose respect you once craved. Or worse, perhaps this voice sounds like your own, the most insecure and anxious version of you. The truth is, it’s never not a little embarrassing when someone hears that you’re writing a book and asks you what it’s about.
“Uhh … me … it’s about me … my life … it’s a memoir.”
If and when you venture down this particular writing path, you’ll quickly discover that memoirs are not diaries. The best don’t work solely from the author’s biased, Hollywood-style recollections, where every character is either “good” or “bad.” Lives, and memories, are more complicated than that.
Memories aren’t merely scenes; they’re microscopic moments: powder sticking to
