Memoir Authors discussion

Hi- I’m new to the group. Right now I write mostly historical fiction, but I have a memoir in the works as well. I realized after my crappy first draft that I might like to restructure it non-chronologically. I’d love to read some great memoirs that are structured that way, building on the theme but jumping around in time. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I recently read quite an interesting book that served as a non chronologicl memoir - 'Stars In Our Eyes' by Wendy Raebeck.
A stylishly written collection of short stories about events from a colourful, albeit rather disaster-filled, life.
She also wrote 'I Did Inhale' which was another collection of short
autobiographicalstories - although these stories were consequential.
Most of all, I recommend David Sedaris's books as examples of the best of highly entertaining non sequential memoir.
Anthony

Thank you! I’ve read a couple of Sedaris’s book, but will definitely check out Stars In Our Eyes.

"H is for Hawk" is a very well crafted memoir with 3 main themes: the author's grief over her father's untimely death, the author's decision to train a goshawk, and the author's analysis of T.H.White's book, The Goshawk. So, there is a lot of jumping around in time, according to these themes.

A much lighter read is the collection of memoir-ish essays in Barn Dance...Tales From the Herd. While there is a flavor of passing time, as the author grumbles lightheartedly about getting older, there are no real dates, or even years, in which the events take place.

Thanks! I’ve heard wonderful things about H Is For Hawk- will check it out.

Going a bit further back, "Without a Map" by Meredith Hall is a wonderful book that zooms around in time.

Sounds good- added to the list!

I'm not sure if you want recommendations from those of us who have written memoirs that aren't written chronologically, but I used that technique in MY memoir, "Starting at Goodbye." The story is about my "unconventional" marriage, on again/off again, during which my husband became really ill. Because I didn't want it to feel like a "disease of the week" type of book, I weaved the story back and forth through time. I think it worked out pretty well, but that type of memoir is challenging. If you'd like to take a look at mine, you can read the first chapters for free on Amazon. Good luck with YOURS!

Below are 2 articles that give tips and book examples of non chronological order and flashbacks in memoirs:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-k...

https://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog...

Marylin, that sounds good, I’ll check it out. And Michelle, thanks for the links!

https:goo.gl/pGvKLW
Please remember to spell my name correctly or you won't find the book!!!