What is a memoir?
Webster’s dictionary defines a memoir as a narrative composed from personal experiences. It can also be an autobiography, but that tends to be a person’s lifetime versus a general reflection on a significant life experience. We need both. Both are history told from your point of view, and that is what makes a memoir unique. These unique and personal stories provide the world with an opportunity to walk within someone else’s shoes, and they share a personal growth experience or event that altered the course of your life.
Why we need memoirs?
There are many reasons we need memoirs. First, they break down social barriers and allow someone who may not understand a different culture, perspective, or experience a glimpse into another’s life. As with all writing, it influences the reader, and I’d like to think it stretches and possibly challenges their perspective. It may even give an understanding of why a cultural group thinks the way they do.
Next, memoirs provide a historical perspective of life. My late grandfather was born in 1917, lived through the Great Depression, the rise of automobiles across the US, Air Travel, the first TV, and men walking on the moon. Very few history books in school will tell an individual’s perspective of what life was like during a historical time and location. Before he passed, we had a conversation about the first time he saw an automobile.
“I lived on a farm, and the first car I ever saw had a flat tire and ended up in a ditch on the side of our country road. I ended up using my horse to pull the car out, and I helped the owner change the tire. I guess that is where my interests in cars and machinery started.”
For me, it was strange to think of using a horse to pull a car out of a ditch, much less being a teenager and never having seen a car. There was a time in our history when that was the case, and my grandfather lived it.
The last reason, it leaves a legacy. My grandfather lived nearly a century, and no matter how much time I spent with him, there was never enough time to tell me about all that he did in his life. Beyond that, I never knew some aspects of his life except from conversations with other family members. A memoir from my grandfather would have provided me a written reference of his life, the ups and downs, his first marriage to my grandmother, who passed when I was young, and the events that altered the course of his life.
If you’re interested in a memoir for yourself or possibly a family member, and maybe you’re not the best writer or don’t know where to start, the Modern Quill Team is here to help. Check out our Contact page and book a confidential time to talk.
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