FastSaying

In the worst memoirs, you can feel the author justifying himself - forgiving himself - in every paragraph. In the best memoirs, the author is tougher on him- or herself than his or her readers will ever be.

Related Quotes

Maybe the 'Million Little Pieces' of the world are so popular because no one ever writes memoirs about PTA chairwomen; what memoirists do, and often get in trouble for, is bring interesting lives to light.
— Darin Strauss
AboutBecauseBring
I guess when you write a personal story, people feel compelled to share their own stories.
— Darin Strauss
CompelledFeelGuess
The main thing is to think strategically about what will engage your readers. Trust me when I tell you that few people are eager to read a story whose opening lines sound like a dissertation on giant bugs.
— Darin Strauss
AboutBugsDissertation
Memoirs are - memory is - rarely 100 percent accurate. Any autobiography is a construct, ballpark, even unnatural. Private diaries, too, can be unreliable - a detail that matters only if the diary is read.
— Darin Strauss
AccurateAnyAutobiography
Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
AgainstAuthorEven