I never thought I would write memoir. My life story seemed too average and uninteresting for a book.
Memoir was the one genre I expected to avoid in my writing career.
And then I saw Marion Roach Smith speak on memoir at a writing event. It changed my entire perspective.
What I learned is that memoir is NOT about you or your life story (that’s autobiography).
Memoir is about a transformation you made. Something you experienced that gave you a lesson or message that you want to share.
Memoir is about that lesson or message. And then you use specific examples or stories from your life experience to make your point about the lesson or message.
From that perspective, I could clearly see memoir was something I would write. Most likely multiple times.
And then F*ck the How came to me earlier this year.
I saw so clearly that I had a message. A process. A way of getting what I want in life while avoiding all the worry and fear and doubt of not knowing how to make it happen.
I had an experience I went through, a transformation I made, and a lesson I learned from it. I had a story I wanted to share.
I had a memoir.
My first of what I now know will be many.
I had a way of sharing something intimate and specific that I went through, while also (and mainly) imparting the lesson I learned, the process that came out of it, and how you can also use it in your own life.
So I wrote it. And published it. And shared it with the world.
And I have Marion to thank for totally shifting my perspective on memoir.
This book would not exist if it hadn’t been for what I’ve learned from her. I wouldn’t have been brave enough or clear enough to write it.
But learning what memoir actually is changed everything for me. Now I know writing memoir is meant for me and that I will do more of it in the future.
Oh, and you can pick up a copy of my first memoir, F*ck the How, here.
