Upon reading this article, I began to realize the truth in it. I realized that I, myself, am more drawn to memoirs because it gives me a lens into the life of a real person; a lens into the life of the author, for that matter. It tells me his or her story and allows me to have more respect for the person due to the own struggles and obstacles that I have learned that they had to overcome. The memoirs tell a story of person that I can relate to, due to their real problems and real life situations, rather than made up scenarios and figurative characters.
The reason for writing them though, is different. For the authors, it is not an act of catharsis, or cleansing; it is to make his or her story known to everyone, and root that story further in their character. It makes the story permanent, rather than being forgotten in the upcoming years. As Dan Shapiro said, "It’s a misapprehension that readers have that by writing memoir you’re purging yourself of your demons. Writing memoir has the opposite effect. It embeds your story deep inside you. It mediates the relationship between the present and the past by freezing a moment in time."
Although the reason for reading memoirs and writing memoirs is different, it still has the same effect. It makes a story permanent and that single story can resonate with a person for the rest of their lives, either by freezing a moment of a persons life, or giving common ground between people who live on opposite sides of the globe.
I personally love memoirs as well. I love reading about other people's lives and the experiences they went through. I like reading about people's lives that are different than mine and i love getting a different perspective on life. I have a lot of respect and admiration for people who write memoirs, and I hope one day I cam baba the guts to write one as well.
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