Unlock the Power of Self-Reflection: A Guide to Writing Your Memoir with Mary Karr

Scott J Pearson: Memoir has become a popular field in recent decades. The novitiate often thinks that anyone can write about their own life. The experienced one knows that this task is actually incredibly hard, both in penning the work and in emotionally admitting truth to yourself. Bestselling memoir author and writing professor Mary Karr writes about values and practices she finds helpful. Importantly, she cites other authors alongside her own experience to ground her work not just in personal ingenuity but in universal human knowledge.

Augustine of Hippo wrote the first known autobiography in his Confessions in the fourth century CE. Since then, some humans – whose sanity could be questioned! – have found revealing their inner lives in literature a part and parcel of their writing craft. It seems that Karr has read many of the best of these reflections and shares an exhaustive list in an appendix. She hand picks a favored few to study in depth in many of the 24 chapters. Then she spends some time reflecting on the topic of choice via her own experience in penning three memoirs.

As my only criticism, she spends too much time for me harping on the theme of telling the truth....

United States on Nov 25, 2023

Ted Ziegenbusch: Entertaining and informative. Offers some good ideas if you plan to write your own memoir.

United States on Nov 09, 2023

Ms. T. Stuart: Mary Karr shows you how to nail voice, by showing you hers. She dissects Nabokov's technique, and line by line, Michael Kerr's Dispatches. She explains what to leave in, and what to leave out, discusses mining for truth, getting out of your own way, and avoiding bringing your readers down. This is a masterclass in writing memoir. Highly recommended.

United Kingdom on Mar 10, 2022

Renata de Lara Muylaert: Good material! I like how the author expresses her ideas, even when she tells stories non-linearly, which happens at many moments. It gives a personal and unique tone to her narrative and opinions.

Brazil on Feb 03, 2022

Jeannie: Mary Karr knows her stuff, easy to follow, lots of helpful tools. A pleasure to use as a guide.

Canada on Nov 17, 2020

Leanne Fournier: While I didn't enjoy Art of Memoir as much as Karr's actual memoirs, there are many wonderful tips in this no-nonsense tool for emerging writers.

Canada on Aug 13, 2020

Stephen W. Hiemstra ﻦ: Writing a memoir evokes a special brand of fear. No matter how you approach the topic, the fear is that your life story is not worthy of being told and the mere attempt to tell it is to be guilty of exaggeration and pride. No matter how good the writing, the fear is that you do not stand in the company of presidents, kings, and celebrities. Against this fear, one can only aspire to write clearly with distinction and to seek out a good book or two to aid in this vain enterprise.

In her book, The Art of Memoir, Mary Karr points to other motivations, somewhere between the writer “trying to make sense of the past” and “readers thirsty for reality” (xiv). Memoir invites the reader into the private life of the author in a verbal strip-tease, undertaken for catharsis or paid therapy (xxi). Something anyone can aspire to writing memoir, even if the readers may be limited to an immediate circle of friends and family. The primary requirement is having memories that you are willing to analyze against a particular theme and to share with readers. These memories need not be absolute truth, but they need to be spoken with an authentic voice.

Karr emphasizes voice as the...

United States on Mar 23, 2017

Samantha: This is not a how to manual for writing novices. However, it is an incredible, well-written, well-organized, powerful exposition on the creative genius and hard work behind good memoir writing. It should be necessary reading for any memoirist; however, it is also a fascinating illumination for avid readers on what makes a memoir (or fiction) work well. Using exemplary examples from great memoirists, Karr illustrates her ideas with clarity. I was compelled to add some memoirs to my wish list whose subject matter I wouldn't ordinarily be interested in. Immediately after finishing this book, I began reading an autobiography that I'd been excited about. From the beginning, I found myself wishing the author had read The Art of Memoir.

Canada on Mar 05, 2017