Mythmaking: Self-Discovery and the Timeless Art of Memoir

by Maureen Murdock

Best-selling Heroine’s Journey author Maureen Murdock invites readers to explore their personal story within the rich tapestry of human experience by examining the craft of memoir alongside fresh writing advice and prompts.Maureen Murdock looks at thematic connections between ancient myths and contemporary memoirs to probe questions What is my journey? Where is home? Her background as a Jungian psychotherapist enriches her teaching—urging us to dig deep to identify our own universal archetypes.Writers who feel stuck or unworthy of writing about themselves will find thought-provoking inspiration and validation in this book, while those simply looking to use writing as a tool for self-exploration will examine their patterns and stories to reveal their true inner selves. And all will be left with a deeper understanding of the rich scope of the memoir genre by exploring contemporary favorites—like Terry Tempest Williams’s Refuge, Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, and David Carr’s The Night of the Gun—from a mythological perspective.Like myth, memoir reveals a unity to human experience that ultimately we all share similar hopes, dreams, and desires as well as fears, losses, and heartbreaks. Memoir helps writers understand the trajectory of their lives and helps readers better grasp our own place within the human experience.

Genres: Writing, Memoir, Nonfiction

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2024

About the author

Maureen Murdock is an author, educator, Jungian-oriented psychotherapist and photographer. Maureen teaches memoir writing, which she loves, through the Memoir Certificate at Pacifica Graduate Institute, for IWWG (International Women's Writing Guild) and in workshops throughout the US. She was Chair and Core faculty of the MA Counseling Psychology Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara and adjunct faculty in the Depth Psychology Department at Sonoma State University. Murdock blogs about mental illness, addiction and incarceration on her website and participates in Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) as a volunteer at Lompoc Federal Prison.

Reviews

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maureen really hit it out of the park with this one. This is an indispensable book for anyone wanting to understand how all our stories are connected, from ancient myths to memoirs, and how you can approach writing your own.

The book is divided into two parts with multiple chapters in each.

Part 1 is called "Establishing Your Foundation Myths". In the introductory chapter, Maureen explains how myth and memoir are connected. She explains how "gods and goddesses, heroes and demons have been the time-honored way of examining psychological characteristics and patterns of human behavior." This is because there are universal archetypes that form the foundations of both myth and memoir alike. Archetypes are "invisible primary patterns, such as the parent-child bond, which we cannot perceive in the moment but whose energy propels us. The myth maker creates a specific story that expresses the invisible pattern." These themes already exist unconsciously in the collective, so the myth maker (or memoirist) is only creating the current manifestation of these themes. In this sense, myth can be a good starting point and a road map for memoir because "like myth, memoir presupposes that there is a certain unity to human experience, that we all share similar hopes, dreams, and desires." Memoir can help us find meaning in our lives by showing us how it fits into the larger mythic pattern.

The rest of part 1 dives into the 4 domains of myth proposed by Joseph Campbell. Maureen says they also address the tenants of memoir:

1. "Who am I? How did I come about?"
2. "Who are my people, my family? To whom do I belong?
3. Where am I going? How do I make my way?
4. What is my purpose? Where do I fit in the greater scheme of things?

Part 2 of the book is called, "Exploring Your Archetypal Themes." The chapters discuss some of the most common archetypal themes such as wounding and the body, home and homecoming, exile and belonging, loss, and spirituality.

Throughout the book, Maureen beautifully interweaves many, many examples from the work of other memoirists as well as ancient myths. I found it really amazing how universal these themes are in reading the excerpts she included from others' writing.

At the end of each chapter is a "Crafting Your Memoir" section that comes right before the writing prompts. These are very informative because they largely have to do with whats in the chapter, and Maureen gives good advice on how you can use the concepts when crafting your memoir.

Maureen also makes this a very interactive experience. You aren't just reading; there are writing prompts at the end of each chapter that help you explore and tease apart elements of your own story that are specific to the discussion in that chapter. Questions like, "Is there a particular ancient myth or mythological character with whom you identify? Where were you born? How does your birthplace continue to inform your life today? What obstacles have you faced along your journey? How did you overcome them?" These exercises not only to help you retain the material, but they also help you understand your own story on the most basic archetypal level.

This book will most certainly be one I come back to time and time again as I make my way through my own writing journey.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is geared toward Memoir, but the craft can apply to any genre of storytelling. Ms. Murdock's book did what a good book should do. It got me thinking.