What's in a memoir?

Memoir is not a life; it is a window into a life.  Unlike biography, which moves chronologically, beginning with birth, memoir does not seek to present a complete picture of an individual's life; in memoir, it is the voice that is the distinguishing characteristic.  Most of you are currently reading memoir such as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike, or Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Although memoir is based on the memory of events and people who are real, the most important thing about memoir is that it tells a good story.  Memoir is nonfiction, but one can add elements of fiction --- plot, characters, setting, conflict, style, theme, etc. -- in order to create a good story.

To accompany our study of Homer's Odyssey -- a chronicle of Odysseus' ten-year journey home after the Trojan War -- you have been asked to explore your own personal journey that you have traveled thus far in your life and write a collection of five memoirs.  What places have you been to, and what people have you met that have helped you grow and gain wisdom along your life's journey?  Hopefully, your life journey has not been as full of harrowing adventures as Odysseus' has been, but still one of self-discovery and self-expression.

Share one of your memoirs on your blog and read at least two or three of your classmates' memoirs.  You are also invited to comment on the memoir book that you are currently reading.  In what ways, if any, did it impact you?

Comments

[Carol D. O'Dell]

I'm an author of a memoir, and a fan of memoirs, and I find that how a person tells their story, the words they choose, their insights, their take on the situation allow me, the reader to not only observe the story, but also observe the author.

It also amazes me how "real life" is often times more fantastic, more unbelievable than fiction.

For me, a memoir has to be written well, it has to have flow, pace, insights, humor, depth--both as I write and as I read, I want memoirs to every bit as satisfying as a novel.

~Carol D. O'Dell
Author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir

available on Amazon
www.mothering-mother.com
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