10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Writing Memoir - Part 2

And my favorite memoirs of all time

On Tuesday I shared my first 5 tips for writing memoir, and today we finish out the list! This week I’ve also been reading memoir furiously. I burned through HEART BERRIES, Terese Marie Mailhot’s evocative memoir about trauma and her identity as a Native woman. I’m also making my way through THE LEAVING SEASON by Kelly McMasters, a memoir in essays centered on the theme of leaving something/someone/someplace behind. I’ve also been hanging on to my godmother’s copy of CRYING IN H MART, which received rave reviews, and I’m making it my mission to crack the spine before the end of the calendar year.

Although I love fiction, the lasting power of memoir is what makes it a remarkable genre for me. Too often I put a novel down and quickly forget the major plot elements, but I rarely forget the emotional impact of learning someone’s life story. And while I realize not every reader here is an aspiring memoirist, I do think writing about our own lives is a valuable practice in whatever form it takes: journals, notes, letters, books.