"Writing a memoir"-Frank Mathias

Frank Mathias is a war veteran, and like every other veteran, he couldn't wait to sit down and write down his battle stories. Unlike a historian, he needs no research, money to travel and gather information, or interviews with people the story involves. He just needs to sit down and try to sink into the depths of his mind to find the things he's long since thought about. One of the few things that helped him refresh his memory where the 300 or so letters and photos his mother saved in boxes. After reading the many letters he sent to young lovers, his mother, and friends, while a young man in the war, he realized the boy he thought he remembered, was not at all who he really was. As we go through lives we are constantly changing, and through writing memoirs, or even keeping a journal, we can help ourselves to revisit who we where in the past. Some of the best memoirs, Mathias's for example, include much dialogue and most importantly, emotion. The unfair advantage a memoirist has in writing a narrative compared to a historian, is the fact that they can create the personalities as they remember them.They may even mold the dialogue of their friends and familys because it is more of an art then a science. In Frank Mathias's narrative he did say that before he started writing his memoir he was afraid of what his colleagues might think, of the ego trip that goes along with writing your life story, I don't understand exactly why he says this because he has such an interesting story and he should not have felt that way.I'm also curious as to how long after the war he began to write his memoir and at what time in his life did he get it published. why also did the publishers seem to have a problem with getting his story published, wouldn't they be happy to have a memoir from the few surviving men from our wars?

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For me, I haven't had such a strong connection with a narrative as I did with "Sing with me some how" by Alison Slusarczyk. One of the first things that struck me was her writing style, I found it very fresh and I felt like I was immediately in her life. But what grew on me after getting into the short story, was her family and the issues she was dealing with. I myself have three siblings and, I guess you can say a broken home. I wanted to reach out and touch her when she was dealing with some of the same things Ive been through. I think what makes for a wonderful memoir is just that, being able to touch everyone, by giving the reader the same feelings you felt in that exact moment. She also told the story by using a sort of movie style, each few paragraphs was almost a different time in her life, I really saw scenes go by in my head and I would like to use the same technique in my narratives. As for the second narrative I read, "knocked up" by Nicole Filmore, it did not interest me one bit. Obviously Nicole is in college, but I felt that her use of words and style of telling the story was kind of childish, not many people have been in the same situation with teen pregnancy, but she didn't portray much emotion other then curse words. I also had a hard time enjoying or taking the writer seriously. I really can now see how writing style and emotion play a large part in writing an intriguing narrative.

Sometimes the best way to understand how we got where we are now is to bring light to the past and relive it. Through writing a memoir, you are not holding on to, or glorifying past events, but summing them up to more easily move forward.
In the several articles by Jerry Waxler, he explains the structure and purpose of memoirs; How they give readers incite to others lives and allow the writer to vividly recall memories. Sometimes revisiting the past is painful, but in ways it can help find meaning in ones life. In the NPR Audio interview with Antoinette Franklin and her niece, survivors of hurricane Katrina, they discuss the memories they miss from their home town in New Orleans. Antoinette shows us clearly in our minds what she saw and felt, making us feel as if it is our memory, some place we should miss too. Jerry Waxler Brings this point up many times also, In one article he states: "When we read a good novel, We immerse ourselves in the here and now created by the author, and forget everything else.When you read a person's life, you feel connected to the experience." Waxler strongly believes that writing a memoir is therapeutic and helps an individual better understand themselves. I can honestly agree with that statement, because there are times where I need to reflect and write down all that has happened to me and how I feel about each event. By simply reading what I have on paper, I can truly see how I have evolved and Why I am where I am in my life. Waxler says in many of his writings that you don't have to have a spectacular or dramatic story to tell, just simply showing the wrinkles in your life, no matter how old you are, is enough to connect with a reader.
We live in an age full of tabloids and magazines splashed with the headlines of celebrities' unrealistic lifestyles; people are bored with it and are more intrigued to read about the lives of ordinary people, may it be through a blog or memoir. I myself find the lives of normal people, such as the victims of hurricane Katrina, more fascinating because I can more easily relate to them. I also learned something I wouldn't normally learn on a day-to-day basis because it is a personal experience, rather then a topic that can be easily brought up in a conversation. Through both articles, I can clearly see how much memoirs help connect people to others in this world.
A few things I didn't quite understand were how to go about writing a memoir if you truly don't have anything intriguing to discuss. Also, What is the difference between an autobiography and a memoir, and what makes for the best memoir; written more like a novel, where you remove yourself and the reader sees it like a story, or like a diary, where it is very personal and you put the reader in your mind.