Memoir: Merriam-Webster: a narrative composed from
personal experience.
Reading the definition of a memoir given by
Merriam-Webster, it would seem anyone can write a memoir. For who doesn’t have
personal experience? All you need now is a way to write down your story, right?
Well, kinda.
To write a memoir someone other than your
family and friends would want to read takes effort. But a personal history for
your descendants may be a good starting point. Would my great-grand nieces and
nephews find it interesting, even astonishing, that their now-old aunt was once
a young dreamer who roved the countryside on horseback? Would they be compelled
by the fact that she was able to ride for weeks by herself, counting on her
only companions, her horses and dog, to take care of her? I thought they might.
I also mused that people who thought they knew
me well might learn more than they ever guessed about my aspirations, actions
and abilities. But I also wanted a theme I thought might interest other groups
of people—namely, women, horseback riders and those interested in adventuring.
People learning more about me was actually an
uncomfortable thought. My journalism career has revolved around interviewing
people—probing sometimes to depths they might not have expected to reveal and
then telling their stories. But I have always considered myself a very private
person. To be truthful, an introvert.
So why the heck put my own story inside the
covers of a book?
To begin with, I am a writer. Most writers
write about what they know about. Many novelists create characters based on
their own personalities or on people they know. Over the years I have had a lot
of ideas for fiction stories. Maybe I’ll write one someday. But I decided to
start with what I knew most intimately—me and my stories.
Writing a memoir may seem like just plastering
a page with words that flow from the gray matter through the fingertips. It can
be that way to begin. But it is actually a lot of work. As I wrote, I realized
my memory was supplying some pretty good stuff, but I wanted to be as accurate
as possible. Here are some of the prompts I used.
· Notes
and journals, of which, sadly, I had but few.
· Published
stories I had written.
· Photographs,
some of which miraculously came to light after nearly 50 years, and some for
which I am still searching.
· Conversations
with family, friends and even people I had not previously met.
· Google.
· Road
trips, retracing routes of adventures.
These are just a few devices to help untangle
that cobweb of the memory.
Back to the original question—why write about
yourself?
Because you can. Anyone can. Everyone has had
life experience that, although may seem common and unexciting to you, may be so
different from others’ experiences that there is someone out there who would
enjoy or benefit from reading about it.
If you have ever thought about writing, be it
a short story, an essay or a book, it won’t ever get done if YOU don’t just “do
it.”
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| Joy sets out on her 1983 ride mounted on Jubilee and leading Tony. |
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