The Memoir Revolution

Tag: autobiography

November 24, 2020

Writing a life: memoir or autobiography?

Memoirs

American Southwest, autobiography, horses, Judy Beil Vaughan, longread, memoir, Strawberry Roan

It’s that “and more” that pushed me to deepen my understanding of the sometimes-subtle differences between autobiography and memoir, a distinction that continues to plague memoir writers struggling to decide how much to keep into their growing manuscripts.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
June 28, 2012

Will the Examined Life Become a Memoir Subgenre?

Coming of age, Dawn Novotny

autobiography, examined life, life review, memoir, what is a memoir?

If the only books you read are ones you find in the bookstore, you might conclude that memoir writers limit their attention to small segments of life. However, many aspiring memoir writers who attend my writing workshops have a much broader agenda. They are interested in discovering the meaning of their entire lives and are…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
January 3, 2012

Is this the year to write your parent’s memoir?

Biography, Favorites, Parents

autobiography, Family, ghostwriting, memoir, parents

To counter the reasons to stall, focus on the many reasons to proceed. When you see their lives unfold as a story, you will gain a deeper insight into their humanity. They had hopes, desires, pressures from their parents, and if they were like most people, they defied their parents in ways that may still…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 20, 2011

Ghost Wrote Her Mother’s Memoir, Part 3

Author Interview, Family, Linda Austin, Parents

autobiography, Book Review, ghost written, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

Linda Austin: I learned why my mother behaves the way she does, which is one reason why I strongly encourage telling life stories. What happens to us affects who we are and how we behave. Once I cried with my mother while parked in the lot of the Social Security building. She had told me…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 13, 2011

Ghost Wrote Her Mother’s Memoir, Interview Part 2

Linda Austin

autobiography, Book Review, ghost written, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

My mother liked telling stories and talking about the festivals, but hated being interviewed, and she thought I was crazy for writing about her life. She thought her life was difficult and sad so who’d want to hear about that. She also thought since everyone in Japan had lived through those tough times that her…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 7, 2011

Parent’s Memoir: Finding Roots Across Generations

Author Interview, Family

autobiography, Book Review, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

Is it co-authored or ghost written? Is it a memoir or a biography? These distinctions blur into artistic interpretations rather than hard definitions. When James McBride wrote about his own search for his mother’s past in “Color of Water,” he stayed inside his own point of view, with occasional well-marked shifts into his mother’s voice.…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
July 28, 2009

Your Autobiography is the First Step Towards Writing Your Memoir

Biography, How-to, My own life

autobiography, essay, fractals, How-to, memoir, Writing

But I don’t feel done. I want to take the next step and share my life with others. The problem is that readers don’t want a compendium of my entire life. They want a Story – that is, a dramatic form that we all have learned since we were children. My life does not by…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
March 18, 2008

How does John Robison end his memoir of lifelong learning?

Book Review, Coming of age, Lifelong Learning

Asperger’s, autobiography, Coming of age, homecoming, How-to, memoir, Writing

The first chapter of John Robison’s memoir “Look me in the eye” was called “Little Misfit,” because Robison didn’t know how to get along with other kids, and he never seemed to do anything right. He left home and set off on a journey to figure it all out. His self-discovery took him the rest…

Written by

Jerry Waxler