Memoir- Word Soup
Today several members of my once-a-month writer’s group read essays could one day be included in a memoir. And what fun a treat that was. A memoir is simply a story told about the past that the author unravels from a current perspective.
Karen told us how she always felt like she was a poor math student. An elementary school teacher had told her so, as had her parents. She believed them. Karen used such clever details. We could see her sitting in her classroom chewing on the end of her pigtail and see the disappointment on her face when she didn’t have good enough grades to get into several colleges. Later in life when her husband left her to raise five children, she did go to college and found herself in a math class, scared to death. Her math teacher, who said no one was bad at math, became her mentor. Karen colorfully portrayed the relationship she had with this woman and how it changed her life.
Fletcher detailed the day when he was ready to turn in his resignation in the army. He had made his decision and was ready to move on. A top-ranking soldier painted a different picture of military life, and after some thought, Fletcher signed on again. He eventually became a Colonel in the Army. The soldier who swayed him had changed the course of his life, and a few years later lost his own.
Paul wrote of the time God blinked at he and three other B-24 pilots who almost ran out of fuel. They were young guys who were not sure how to get to the extra fuel. They were seven hours from land, flying way above the ocean. At a last crucial moment, a voice told them to look in the right location on the B-24, and they were able to transfer the fuel. ”Thank thr Lord,” Paul said. Even with that Paul said they landed with only about fifteen minutes of fuel left. He found out later that four other B-24′s on the same mission went down that night. A fascinating tale.
Lucy detailed her life, how she had earned a teaching degree and gotten her first job. She had a marvelous mentor, another teacher, who taught her to always say something positive to her students, to make them feel good about themselves. From the smile on Lucy’s face it was easy to see that she brightened the lives of her students.
Libbie wrote about a conversation she had with God at age fifteen, when she thought she was dying. Before that time, she hadn’t known that God was important to her. But here she was, bargaining for her life. She made a confession apologizing for skinny dipping in the local pool, gossiping about her friends, not listening in church, telling lies, and for sins she may have omitted. She promised to stay in touch with God if she could please live. God winked at her, too. Since that day, she’s never felt alone.
The more concrete the memoir is the easier it was for us to step inside thesea nd other essays. The really good memoir is the one you read and it makes you feel like the author is speaking to you.
Stop in again soon.
Two Good Memoirs:
Fierce Attachments by Vivian Gornick and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
