Category: Hero’s Journey
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Two-Memoir Series about Youth, Midlife, and Responsibility
Within the container of the road trip, Berner is able to ponder the rebelliousness of his youth, and place those youthful impulses within the context of his mid-life crisis. With each passing mile, he moves farther and farther into his commitment to his children. Instead of renewing his commitment to self-indulgence, the way mid-life crises…
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Two Midlife Memoirs: A Sequel Shows Command of Structure
Jack Kerouac’s book, On the Road, published in 1957, foreshadowed the counterculture of the 1960s and inspired many young men to hit the road and find their truths somewhere other than home. In Any Road Will Take You There, David Berner tries to pass this literary inspiration to his sons. So the outer story is…
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Hero’s Journey as a Model for a Memoir, Part 2
In the previous post, I explained how the mythological structure of the Hero’s Journey helps me understand Sonia Marsh’s memoir. In this post, I’ll explain how you can learn more about that structure, where you can find more examples, and how you can apply it to your own memoir.
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Memoir as a Hero’s Journey: Character Arc and Homecoming
Heroes often return home at the end of the story. Ulysses famously returns to his home in Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War, and Dorothy returns home at the end of Wizard of Oz. The return home at the end of an adventure is so important there’s a Greek name for it: Nostoi. With…
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Endings of Memoirs: She Returns Home
I have become accustomed to discovering this structure at the heart of many stories that I like, so I was not surprised to see it peeking out through the pages of “Japan Took the JAP Out of Me.” The author travels from her familiar world of Los Angeles to the land of the adventure, Japan,…
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Myths Suggest a Universal Template for Memoirs
Some of these mythmaking devices looks fanciful, completely disconnected from real life. And yet, with a little imagination, you can see how these techniques might highlight subtle aspects of your own story. To illustrate how this works, I will point out echoes of these mythological structures, suggested by Andre Agassi’s memoir “Open,” and then offer…
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The Protagonist of a Memoir Must have a Goal and Obstacles
One of the fundamental elements in every story is the reader’s identification with the protagonist. This protagonist doesn’t just stand there. He or she wants something, and then moves toward it, while we readers turn pages to overcome the obstacles. In Andre Agassi’s “Open” the pressure to push against obstacles generates enormous tension that makes…
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Seeking Truth in a far off land, “American Shaolin” Part 3
In the 1960s, Timothy Leary suggested “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Many young people, myself included, were seduced into thinking that these three steps would lead to wisdom. For several years I jettisoned social norms. At the end of that road, I believed in nothing. Leary’s formula had emptied me without offering anything in…
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Flawed heroes and mechanical body parts: Shaolin Memoir Part 2
As my memoir took shape, a more troubled and prickly young man emerged than I ever realized. However, when I saw this flawed character on the page, it didn’t look as bad as I had always feared. Instead, I realized many heroes have edgy, even repugnant character flaws. Homer’s Ulysses was impulsive. Hamlet was self-involved.…
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