Memoirs, or personal histories, are simply written portraits of someone's life. Memoirs can follow a simple chronology, highlighting important passages and experiences. Or, memoirs can focus on one theme: a career, a significant achievement, a role in one's family. Your memoir may be inspired by a critical turning point, such as confronting a major illness or challenge.

Why Memoirs?
Anais Nin observed that writing our life stories enables us "to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection." Savoring all the sweet, as well as the not-so-sweet memories, leads to healing and discovery, laughter and tears, pride and humility. Writing memoirs honors our unique experience, no matter how "ordinary." As Natalie Goldberg writes, "Our lives are at once ordinary and mythical ... magnificent really, and their details are worthy to be recorded." Memoirs make those details come alive!

When Should You Write Your Memoir?
Many people are motivated to write memoirs during the "last quarter" of life, so they can pass down memories to family and friends. But you don't have to be over 70, or even over 40, to write your memoir. You simply need the desire to share something important about your life. Of course, if you do happen to be over 70, over 80, or over whatever, you may find that writing memoirs yields a fresh perspective on life, enhancing how you relate to others and to the world.

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