100 Memoirs

Edward Short’s review of Mary Karr’s Lit (which I also reviewed here), contains a few paragraphs very relevant to all memoir writers. I invite you to read the complete review here. Short’s insights are brilliant.
Here are the four most relevant paragraphs to our concerns as we seek to understand the power of memoir to go beyond [...]

Yesterday I led a second workshop on spiritual autobiography at my church.  Most of the people who attended the first one came back, and about ten new folks showed up also.  The big table was full!
We shared a meal together, recalling rituals from our childhoods–mealtime prayers both serious and comical, night-time prayers.  We talked a [...]

My husband Stuart and I have just worked together to make two pumpkin pies, two apple pies, and broccoli, curry cheese soup.  We are waiting for our daughter Kate and her boyfriend Nik to arrive from Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving weekend.  It seems fitting–maybe it was all that cooking–that this would be the night to write [...]

Tomorrow I will lead a workshop on spiritual autobiography at my church. The time will be limited to four hours, so we won’t be able to do a lot of writing. Here is the plan:
1. Begin with meditation.
2. Using examples from this book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word [...]