The Memoir Revolution

Category: Veteran

War memoirs

December 5, 2012

Interview: On Publishing the Memoir Breaking the Code

Karen Fisher Alaniz, Veteran

Alaniz, author, combat, Greatest Generation, interview, memoir, PTSD, Trauma, Veteran, WWII

When I do book events, there is definitely a good deal of teaching and encouraging others to write their own story. I’m passionate about that. We all think we’ll have more time to get our stories, or those of our loved ones, written down. But sadly, for some time runs out. My message is to…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
November 30, 2012

Turning Dad’s WWII Secrets Into a Memoir, Pt 3

Karen Fisher Alaniz, Veteran

Alaniz, author, combat, Greatest Generation, interview, memoir, PTSD, Trauma, Veteran, WWII

I was also getting encouragement from my critique group. Some of the ladies were little girls during the WWII years and they were a good barometer for how important the information in the letters was. Like everything with this book, the structure developed naturally. Once I’d written maybe 30-pages, I knew it was reading like…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
November 26, 2012

Birth of a Memoir: Turning Her Father’s Secrets Into a Story

Karen Fisher Alaniz, Veteran

Alaniz, author, combat, Greatest Generation, interview, memoir, PTSD, Trauma, Veteran, WWII

At this point, I wasn’t sure if this was a story I wanted to find a publisher for or if I wanted to simply write it and just have copies printed for my family. But I wasn’t thinking about that much. I just wanted to get it written down in the best form I could.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
November 13, 2012

Memoir Interview: Breaking into Her Father’s Secrets Pt 1

Karen Fisher Alaniz, Veteran

Alaniz, author, combat, Greatest Generation, interview, memoir, PTSD, Trauma, Veteran, WWII

But once the memories came to the surface, there just wasn’t a way to turn back. Every time I wanted to stop, or my resolve was challenged, something would put me back on track again. Some little step forward would be taken, or a tiny beam of light would shine on a new area.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
November 7, 2012

A Memoir About her Father’s Secret Pain

Family Memoirs, Veteran

combat, Greatest Generation, memoir, PTSD, Trauma, Veteran, WWII

Her father buried his memories so effectively over the years that the nightmares finally stopped. Then they were awakened by the terrifying events of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. This is one of the important aspects of this memoir. Even though his trauma occurred more than a half of a century earlier, it was…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
July 20, 2012

Ten Things to Learn from a Combat Memoir, Part 2

Boys To Men, David Bellavia, Memoirs, Veteran

combat, David Bellavia, debriefing, healing, Iraq, memoir, military, story, Trauma, Veteran, write

I did not blame Bellavia for failing to resolve the problems of war. Instead, I accepted that he needed to find his own inner peace. Like William Manchester’s Pacific War memoir, “Goodbye Darkness,” the lesson seemed to be that he survived, that he was brave, and that somehow, someday, he would be able to get…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
July 17, 2012

Ten Things to Learn From a Combat Memoir, Part 1

Veteran

combat, David Bellavia, debriefing, healing, Iraq, memoir, military, story, Trauma, Veteran, write

Most of us have never been in combat, and the exposure we do have is through news clips or war movies. Typically, the real events are locked away inside the troubled memories of those who have actually been there. Memoirs change that, giving us an insider’s view of the moment by moment events and sensations…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
May 30, 2012

More Reasons Veterans Should Write Memoirs

Boys To Men, Trauma, Veteran

combat, debriefing, healing, memoir, military, PTSD, story, Trauma, Veteran, write

In combat, soldiers earn respect by becoming experts at violence. When they return, this very skill sets them apart from the society they defended and our respect mingles with fear. After the Vietnam war, returning veterans were stigmatized by the violence of that war, adding a terrible psychological burden to the trauma they already suffered.…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
May 15, 2012

Why Write Memoirs After Combat or Other Trauma

Trauma, Veteran

combat, debriefing, healing, memoir, PTSD, story, Trauma, Veteran, write

When I began to teach memoir writing, I extended my understanding of how this works. The participants often shared their most painful moments. After they read their passage aloud, something changed in the room. People became more relaxed and open with each other, as if they had gone through the actual experience together.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
January 5, 2009

His Relationship to Girls Changed in this Scene

Coming of age, Introspection, Memoirs, Veteran

beliefs, black culture, Empathy, ideas, memoir, protagonist, Writing Prompt

Henry Louis Gates grew up in a small town in West Virginia in the 1950s where he was taught he shouldn’t associate with girls until he married one. Then a fractured hip landed him in a hospital in a university town 60 miles away. During his protracted stay, with his leg suspended in traction, he…

Written by

Jerry Waxler