Women's Memoirs

The Tao of memoir writing

A memoir begins as a seed. It soon becomes a shoot, then a sapling, then a tree with many expansive branches that arches over an entire garden. How does it know to do this?

Tao [dau], n. way

The Tao, the way or the path, views life as part knowledge, duty, rationality, and part religion, morality, truth. It is not a fixed set of principles. In fact, it often employs riddles and paradoxes to convey its meaning. The Tao offers distinctive insight into many of life's endeavors, including memoir writing.

The following six points are Tao-inspired. We hope they will guide you along your path toward a successful memoir.

• The complete truth is that truth is never complete.

• Yin becomes yang as night becomes day.

• The journey begins at the gate or the journey begins in the middle of the garden.

• Good habits are good friends; we return to them gladly every day.

• Too close or too far away, we cannot see clearly.

• The child in us runs ahead on the path with boundless energy; the seasoned scout cautiously leads the way.

Seek the emotional truth of your story. You may remember the story differently than others, but readers understand this is your version of events. Some memoirists tell the story their way and then state what someone else, usually a family member, says happened. Sometimes it is the particular sequence of events, sometimes it is the number of steps that took place, sometimes it is what was said. But just because it is your version, doesn't mean you should alter what you know to be the 'truth' to have a better story or to put you in a better light.