Great post. I know this topic has been top of mind lately, and it's such a good reason to write memoir in the first place. Thanks for the shoutout for The Art of Repair, too.
A very insightful post. Your podcast episode with Amanda Knox was fascinating, and prompted me to buy her memoir. As a psychotherapist and writer, I’m drawn to the idea of people reclaiming their stories, not as therapy per se, but as an act of liberation. I also loved the recent post by Brooke Warner you cited, The Art of Repair, which discussed her apology to author Gina Frangello, after initially dismissing her memoir, Blow Your House Down, due to an unfavorable review in the NYT. I was similarly turned off from reading Frangello’s book after seeing that review, but Brooke’s post caused me to reconsider, and I sought out the memoir. I was dazzled by the story and the powerful writing. A big YES to Memoir Nation!
Thanks so much, Margaret! I appreciate your thoughtful words and your engagement with our show and posts. The reclaiming is indeed an act of liberation at heart. Thanks again!
This resonates. Currently there is someone in my life who has created a narrative about me that is, from my perspective anyway, untrue. I can't say much more about it because I worry he'll see my comments and somehow it will make things worse. But nearly everyday, I talk to myself about it, how he's telling people who have no impact on my life, who I mostly don't even like, that I can't change it because I don't know how to deal with this kind of bully, and ultimately, I know my life and so do most of the people who care about me. Anyway, it's not on the scale of Amanda, of course. Thank the stars. But it is challenging.
Thanks for sharing, Marta, and I'm sorry you're going through this. So often other people's inaccurate narratives can feel like bullying. And even though it's not on the scale of Amanda, it can feel that way for us all. Perhaps to my detriment, I sometimes wait things like this out. I try to be patient and let shapes shift, and then find a moment to take on the "bully" in a more gentle way. Which can entail the reclaiming of my truth within.
Interesting post. Comes hot on the heels, for me, after reading an article in The Observer about the couple in The Salt Path story and how much of that is not true - at least the how they became to be walking the coast path.
It is like as well as reclaiming our stories we need to make sure we don't over exaggerate to make ourselves superheroes rather than ordinary folk.
This is an amazing post and beautifully written. It acknowledges the literal power of stories and makes me think of the power of curses in fairy-tales, which are a primitive kind of story. Thanks so much for this.
we talked about this post for a good part of our road trip into the Canadian Rockies yesterday - my husband and I talk about how painful the narratives others hold can be. i love this idea of including "reclaiming my story" as one of my mantras.
I've been reading and thinking about Parul Sehgal's essay in the NY Times on biography , which got me to thinking about biography vs memoir and the issue of mis-storying. Trying to cobble a substack together about it to post sooner rather than later.
Great post. I know this topic has been top of mind lately, and it's such a good reason to write memoir in the first place. Thanks for the shoutout for The Art of Repair, too.
I've loved learning more about Amanda through you and Grant. What a story, what an amazing woman.
A very insightful post. Your podcast episode with Amanda Knox was fascinating, and prompted me to buy her memoir. As a psychotherapist and writer, I’m drawn to the idea of people reclaiming their stories, not as therapy per se, but as an act of liberation. I also loved the recent post by Brooke Warner you cited, The Art of Repair, which discussed her apology to author Gina Frangello, after initially dismissing her memoir, Blow Your House Down, due to an unfavorable review in the NYT. I was similarly turned off from reading Frangello’s book after seeing that review, but Brooke’s post caused me to reconsider, and I sought out the memoir. I was dazzled by the story and the powerful writing. A big YES to Memoir Nation!
Thanks so much, Margaret! I appreciate your thoughtful words and your engagement with our show and posts. The reclaiming is indeed an act of liberation at heart. Thanks again!
This resonates. Currently there is someone in my life who has created a narrative about me that is, from my perspective anyway, untrue. I can't say much more about it because I worry he'll see my comments and somehow it will make things worse. But nearly everyday, I talk to myself about it, how he's telling people who have no impact on my life, who I mostly don't even like, that I can't change it because I don't know how to deal with this kind of bully, and ultimately, I know my life and so do most of the people who care about me. Anyway, it's not on the scale of Amanda, of course. Thank the stars. But it is challenging.
Thanks for sharing, Marta, and I'm sorry you're going through this. So often other people's inaccurate narratives can feel like bullying. And even though it's not on the scale of Amanda, it can feel that way for us all. Perhaps to my detriment, I sometimes wait things like this out. I try to be patient and let shapes shift, and then find a moment to take on the "bully" in a more gentle way. Which can entail the reclaiming of my truth within.
Interesting post. Comes hot on the heels, for me, after reading an article in The Observer about the couple in The Salt Path story and how much of that is not true - at least the how they became to be walking the coast path.
It is like as well as reclaiming our stories we need to make sure we don't over exaggerate to make ourselves superheroes rather than ordinary folk.
This is an amazing post and beautifully written. It acknowledges the literal power of stories and makes me think of the power of curses in fairy-tales, which are a primitive kind of story. Thanks so much for this.
we talked about this post for a good part of our road trip into the Canadian Rockies yesterday - my husband and I talk about how painful the narratives others hold can be. i love this idea of including "reclaiming my story" as one of my mantras.
I've been reading and thinking about Parul Sehgal's essay in the NY Times on biography , which got me to thinking about biography vs memoir and the issue of mis-storying. Trying to cobble a substack together about it to post sooner rather than later.