What is a Memoir?

Memoirs are by basic definition a recounting of one's life, usually the author. The memoir can cover a very short period of that life to a very long period. If the work coves the entire life it is usually considered more of an autobiography. Most of the time the story is told in the words of the author and in first person, meaning the use of I said instead of he or she said.

The word memoir came from the French word memoire meaning memory which came from the Latin word memoria. It is a personal observation of related experiences recorded in history. A memoir is most commonly about the author's role in the historical events either actively participating or observing. Sometimes the author describes the events and sometimes the author with interpret the vents so that others know the feelings and emotions of the time.

A memoir is a nonfiction work of literature as opposed to a fiction where the story is fabricated. However, many times a piece of fiction can be based on a true life story. With that said, many variation can exist between with is true and with is not. A memoir is generally much shorter than a autobiography and covers specific segments of a person's life which are usually important to the central theme of the memoir. Memoirs generally have a purpose, a goal to be accomplished form sharing one's life experiences. However, some times, a legacy is what the story teller wants to pass on to future generations.

Since a memoir is very personal to the author, the emotions can be extremely high and sensitive. Coming from the first person point of view the characters and settings can be much more vivid with conflict and emotions more pronounced. The voice can be inputted to accent the actual time period and location of the story. All of this adds to the one element that draws in the readers—they get to feel the story and live it with the author. Readers love to have a main character they can pull for, especially an author they know who has lived through a crisis or changed the world with their works.

In a memoir the author relays events in life as remembered which can be the truth or the way remembered. Everyone perceives events differently and wants to tell their story in their own way. What is significant to one person may go unnoticed by someone else. In authoring a memoir certain events stand out that the author thinks must be told and must be remembered. The older one grows the more they can see that history repeats itself and the wisdom of those living through it can help those without life's lessons.

So simply stated a memoir is a rehashing of the author's life events as the author wants to tell them and according to what message or goal the author wants to obtain. If the purpose is to entertain it would be told much different than if the goal was to instruct or give guidance to a future generation. Consider a memoir your grandparents never wrote but one you would like to read. By changing perspectives like this it helps to understand as a memoirist that to have someone spend time reading your work it has to be interesting and important to them. What one person learns others can benefit from. You do not have to be rich and famous to write your memoirs; you only have to be entertaining. What an author decided to pass on as a legacy is strictly personal.

Determining what should go into a memoir is strictly up to the author. The painful moments in one's past one person will want to share with others and another author would never disclose. Some author will want to cover many details and others only a few. A memoir can be close to a full autobiography in length or as short as an obituary. This brings us to one major consideration: Most people I think would rather tell their own story than have someone else write a few words posted in the obituary column. The story that must be told can only be told by one person—the person who lived the life and experienced it firsthand.

Yes, the author tells the story, but it can be written by someone else, usually a ghostwriter. In loving memory a storyteller can tell the life of a spouse for example. Or, it could be another person who the story teller knows well. In any case, the story has to be about a life that has something to tell, something to give future generations. The memoir is the way to preserve this life and pass on a legacy that must be preserved.

**Want to find out what goes on inside author Johnny Ray's mind? Then check out these guest posts he has written only for The Dude and our readers**