Danielle McCarthy
Retirement Life

4 reasons you should write your memoir

Memoirs reveal the depth of one person’s experience in life. It also reveals how much humanity has in common and the similar thoughts, emotions and obstacles we face. Here are four reasons why you start writing your memoir today.

1. You can just write about one story in your life

A memoir differs from an autobiography as memoirs focus on one event in your life, whereas an autobiography covers your whole life story. Instead of covering your whole life you can write as many memoirs as you like of the events that matter most to you. Writing a memoir is much less intimidating that writing an autobiography and you also get the added bonus of being able to skip over anything you don’t feel passionate about writing.

2. You don’t need to have a dramatic life

Most people do not have drama-filled lives that would make for a salacious read. So scrap the idea something amazing (or horrible) must have happened in your life in order to write a memoir. Your experiences and reflections on your life are worthy to be written about.

3. You get to reflect on your thoughts and feelings on past events

Novelist Stephen King once said, “I write to find out what I think.” Through writing a memoir you will be able to dissect and reflect on the events in your life. As they say, hindsight is 20/20. By spending the time thinking on hidden motives, subtext, emotions and relationships, you gain a greater comprehension on your past. You might even find out a lot about yourself that you didn’t know before.

4. It is cathartic

By releasing your deepest joys, anguish, expectation and surprises on paper how can you not expect to feel a sense of relief as you let out your heart. By being vulnerable enough to reveal your deepest thoughts and emotions, as raw as they may be, you won’t only help yourself understand certain events but you might also help someone else going through a similar situation.

Are you in the process of writing a memoir? What made you decide to start writing it? Let us know in the comments below. 

Tags:
life, retirement, story, Memoir, document