I just finished reading the book:" Old friends From Far Away" by Natalie Goldberg.
I wanted to write about what she says in her book. This really was not a book about journaling but what she says in here about writing is why I have journaled since a teenager. there is a lot of usefully information in this book. I have read several of her books. I have enjoyed them all.
The word memoir comes from the French memoire. writing is the act of reaching across the abyss of isolation to share and reflect. Writing has an urgency. it is alive. A writer has to have a third thing. That is something to write about. Memoirs are usually not about your whole life. They are more an expression of your life through something. your writing needs to become transparent. We need to write about the ordinary; otherwise we won't know what they are and what direction to head. Memoir is not reportage. Memoir examines how one thing leads to another, how human life unfolds. Memoir is taking personal experience and turning it inside out. We surrender our most precious understanding. this means when we write we give up ourselves. The reason we write memoir is to surrender ourselves. Subjects to write about come from your life and surroundings. With memoir we can go back to retrieve our lives, to make sense of them. One of the jobs of writing is to not pass over hurt, pain, loss or missed connections. you write your memoir to remember everything. The good and the bad. Your writing is a breathing organism. Pour your heart out in your writing. A memoir is like a mirror reflecting back your life. A memoir is like walking into a vast room full of beginnings and endings.
I hope this helps you to understand what a memoir is.
Natalie has written many books on writing. I highly recommend them all.
