More thoughts on memoirs

One of the most famous of English-speaking memoirs is the Diary of Samuel Pepys. Written in code from 1660 through 1670, Pepys never intended it to be published. It is from his chatty and intelligent daily entries that we know so much about life in London during the Restoration of King Charles II, the Great Plague and the Great Fire.

This blog by Jerry Waxler is about memoir writing: http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/. I recommend checking this regularly for those of you who are writing memoirs (or thinking about writing them). Waxler shares aspects of memoirs through example, discussion, and practical suggestions. He also provides writing prompts at the end of each posting. I believe one of the many reasons to write your memoir—whether it’s one brief segment of your life or your life as a whole—is to put things in perspective. Years of unresolved conflict with a co-worker might tempt you to omit the whole sorry sequence, but, as Waxler points out in a posting this summer, you were changed because of the experience and therefore, it deserves acknowledgment. And who knows? Your memoir, like Pepys', may contribute to the historical record of future generations!