Memoir Writing

I’ve read many biographies over the years everything from Antonia Fraser’s definitive “Mary, Queen of Scots” through celebrity biographies of Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, June Allyson and the like.  As well, I’ve read many autobiographies like “Lauren Bacall, By Myself” and Barbara Walters’ truly interesting story.  I’ve read Anne Morrow Lindberg’s series of diaries and my very first diary, The Diary of Anne Frank when I was 15 years old.  It’s interesting to read about a long and varied career, or about young lives that expose a part of history. 

Currently I am reading a truly dreadful book, Melissa Gilbert’s “Prairie Tale”.  First of all it is poorly written but worse, it is mostly a bed hopping story and finding justification for her drinking by saying she was unloved for 24 hours at birth.  Really?  I am feeling terrible as I read Melissa’s tale because I’ve always liked this actress and I thought she was an intelligent individual.  This book makes her seem very simple minded and rather stupid.  As I’m reading it (and heaven only knows why I am continuing to read it other than determination not to have wasted my money) I wonder what her real purpose is in writing this book.  Money.  It must be money because she is not telling the reader anything worthy of the read.  There is no life lessons here that cannot be summed up in a sentence or two.  Like, don’t do drugs, don’t mess around, and for goodness sakes don’t tell the world about every passing moment of your love life. 

What I loved about Goldie Hawn’s book was how she would tell a chapter of her life and draw a lesson from it and even highlight that in little bubbles of insight.  I am still a long way from completing my own story but I am hoping to make a point or two in my delving that will be worthwhile for the reader.  Mine is not a dramatic story but I hope that I have enough insight to be able to tell readers’ some of the peculiar things I’ve seen along the way of my life.  But reader take warning, there will be no tales of bed hopping or drug intaking or even drinking binges to confess. 

One more thing before I go, I do not read biographies to read scandal, I read them to find out how “big lives” are lead and how character is made.  I’ve read close to a dozen books on the Kennedys but one of the best is Thomas C. Reeves’ “A Question of Character”.  Highly recommended.