No. 10, February 2, 2009

A brief note on memoirs

Everyone should write a memoir. In setting their experiences down, people are liable to examine them and their motives. This provides a chance to make more sense of their lives, and may act as a spur to future personal growth. That's one aspect of it. There is also the sense of accomplishment that virtually everyone will feel about accomplishing such a task. Perhaps they will find writing satisfying and go on to do more.

Certainly not everyone is going to produce an account that will be of great interest to others because of the important roles they played on the stage of life or because their lives have been full of exciting events and incidents. The interest for others in accounts of quieter lives will be a close observation of what it was like to be living in certain places at certain times -- which could bring to the surface little-known or forgotten facts, important observations and so on -- and the ways in which people responded to their experiences. It may be best when writing to focus on a portion of life that has been particularly interesting or unusual, rather than attempting a complete autobiography.

While publication is highly unlikely, if the completed memoir is ever removed from the desk drawer it may find more readers than expected. The story of anyone's life can be very interesting. It's easy if the life has been full of events and excitement -- anybody could write it. To really make something of the life story of someone whose experiences have been undramatic, it may require a master. However that doesn't mean that people shouldn't make the attempt for their own benefit at least.