MEMOIRS: Why Every Writer Should Write One!

     A recent blog by one of my critique partners, Gretchen Griffith, prompted me to finish this blog, something I started writing a few weeks ago. In her blog, Gretchen talks about old cards found while cleaning out her great-grandfather’s house. Check it out here http://tinyurl.com/nxh22mc.

     Gretchen's blog made me wonder what, if anything, will our great-grandchildren discover about our lives? In this tear-them-down, throw-away world will there even be a house to go through? Or worse yet, will those discs were putting all our photos on even be viewable on the technology of the day? Surely the technology we used to save them all will be a laughable joke, obsolete in our great-grandchildren’s lives.

     This is why I think it’s important for ALL writers to hunker down and write a memoir. Capture all those family stories that you've been told; interview those great aunts, grandparents and great-grandparents, if you’re fortunate enough to still have them in your life. Sit down with that one family member who holds all the stories in their head. You know--the one you always turn to when trying to figure out who belongs to whom.

     My mother was that person in our family. But, I didn't realize it until she was gone. Suddenly, my go-to person for family lore and information was no longer with me. Gone were the stories and family connections of near and distant relations.

     "Why do you have to write it?" you ask. Because if you’re a writer, you have all the skills to get it done. In addition, your descendants will be fascinated with the idea that you were a writer. Trust me. They will be, even if that novel you've written never hits the Best Seller List, or even gets published. I guarantee that at least one of your descendants will want to know more, wish they knew more about who you were, what and why you wrote?

     Memoirs come in all shapes and sizes. They can be about one event in your life or a relative’s life or a total life history. They can be general or specific. They might be a collection of stories from different relatives. You’re the writer. You get to decide.

     You don’t have to stop your other writing to write a memoir. Just start collecting, capturing if you will, some thoughts and ideas

1. Print out your thoughts and file in a folder, a real hands-on manila folder that fits in a file cabinet someone can open later.
2. Each holiday, write down what happened, the funny stuff and even the not so funny things.
3. Ask questions and begin to collect the gems you’re told. 
4. Record your personal memories of school, entertainment, daily lives back when you were a child. 
5. When a memory surfaces, jot a few notes, names and places,  and file it.
6.  Remember to include feelings, especially with your own  memories.
7.  Capture stories of life-altering events such as War and  depression and death and disease. 
8.  Show the courage exhibited by those who lived it. 
9.  Get a digital recorder and sit down with your elderly    relatives before it’s too late. Once they’re gone, the stories are  lost forever. 

     You think you’ll remember the specifics of events and you might, but details fade with time. Jot them down now so you have them later when you’re ready to put something together.

     I had the pleasure of writing two memoirs of Army Reserve nurses who served in the Persian Gulf War. For both of these gals, the experience was life-altering, but I can guarantee you they would not be able to remember the day-to-day struggle they experienced if it hadn't been captured in their books.

     I believe a memoir should be true and honest capturing the ups and downs of life. You don’t want to upset family members by dwelling on he-said she-said things, but it will be important for those who come after to know that you persevered and grew and survived the challenges of life.

     As much as technology and daily life will change in the future, one thing will not change; people will continue to have joys and sorrows, life-altering experiences and challenges to over-come. And knowing that relations in the past, great-grandparents or great aunts and uncles, struggled and overcame despite enormous odds, will inspire future generations to never give up.

     So capture those memoirs that only you can write. You’re a writer. Do it for your family. Write the memoir only you can write!

PS: No, I haven't written my own yet, but I've been collecting stories and memories to pull out of a file when I'm ready. 

     What stories do you have to tell? 

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     Two memoirs written by Sandra Warren for others are: When Duty Called: Even Grandma Had To Go and Hidden Casualties: Battles On The Home Front. 

     Check out all Sandra Warren's books at www.arliebooks.com