Let’s begin with my definition of an autobiography: An autobiography is a biography that one writes about one’s self. It implies that the writer is going to lay out the whole of a lifetime, the good, the bad, and the ugly, in one single account, threading together all the relevant pieces into a cohesive and well-reasoned whole. Autobiographies often require tedious hours of research to unearth and verify the facts. Most people cannot or will not write an autobiography.
An autobiography is a stand-alone story, and it is classified under the label of "Non-Fiction".
Now let's look at my definition of memoirs: Memoirs are, quite simply, a collection of written memories or personally meaningful stories or letters that come together to give the reader "insight" into the writer’s life and times.
This definition holds far different expectations. By comparison, memoirs are fun and easy. They are now nothing more than a collection of your favorite memories or old family stories, or even a collection of your own observations as you look out at the world around you.
Gone are the demands of rigid accounting for detail. Even rules of "proper grammar" don’t necessarily apply, because it is perfectly appropriate, even helpful, to use your own words and expressions in telling your own stories. No more requirements for a single, well ordered story line that ties together the meaning of life. There isn’t even a requirement for accuracy, as memories are permitted to be flawed or colored by perspective. In short, memoirs can be a history, an art form, a meditation, or an amusement.
Memoirs fall under the label of "Creative Non-Fiction".
When you collect your written memories and family stories and tie them together, you have created your memoirs, just as a string of pearls tied together becomes a necklace. When put in rough chronological order, your combined stories portray your life and times with no thought on your part as to how that was accomplished.
While a pearl necklace is a work of art that tells its own story, every individual pearl remains distinct and beautiful. In the same way, everyone’s life is a work of art, and each story that makes up that life is unique and meaningful. By putting the stories of your life together, and stringing them into a whole by binding them, the beauty of your life is magnified and made more beautiful. It's just that simple!
IF IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE, WHY HAVEN'T MY ANCESTORS LEFT ME THEIR MEMOIRS?
I would urge your to look back a little at history to gain some exciting perspective.
We who live here in the United States are blessed indeed. By global standards, we are well off. We all have ready access to pens and paper. That's more than we can say about Abe Lincoln who sat in front of the fire scratching letters onto a shovel using charred sticks. In this day and age, in this country, everyone has access to pens and paper. They are not scarce or unavailable. For us, they are not luxuries.
Not only do we have pens and paper, but if you are reading this book, you can read and write. That's an advantage many of your ancestors did not have. Furthermore, as a result of all the inventions of the last century, we have abundant free time, if we want to have it. But most important -- we have something very, VERY important to say!
WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT YOUR STORY?
In centuries past, there would be little change in the typical life from one generation to the next. One person's life wouldn't be that much different from a parent's. Without modern communication, changes weren't the expected norm that they are today. The world was a much bigger place. From the moment someone was born, the general direction that person was going to take in life was pretty much laid out in advance.
Unlike our parents or grandparents, we live in a world of choices amidst constant change. Life is evolving so quickly, that it is difficult to realize that only 100 years ago, there was no central heat and no one had hot running water or a warm, cozy bathtub that one could fill with bubbles if one preferred. No electric can openers, no gas, electric, or microwave ovens, no prepared foods or refrigerator freezers, no televisions, computers, ball point pens, super grocery stores, Wal-Marts, family cars, paved roads, air conditioning, and a host of other common luxuries that we tend to take for granted, such as washers and dryers and telephones and antibiotics and access to the arts.
