I don't know editor Meredith Maras's method in compiling this book, but it looks like she distributed questionnaires to various big-name memoirists--Dani Shapiro, Pat Conroy, and Jesmyn Ward among them--and published this collection based on their one-sided answers. There's no one to ask follow-up questions, so the the memoirists' responses remain unchallenged. A little dialogue would have gone a long way.

I feel as though this book barely scratched the surface of memoir writing. ( )

It is what it says it is, and it is a good read. I'm very new at the memoirist biz, and this was helpful, thought provoking and insightful. ( )

Memoirs. Love them or hate them?

If you love them you'll definitely want to check out this book. If you hate them...you also may want to check this one out as it might help you appreciate memoirs (or, I suppose, it may solidify your hatred. Que sera, sera).

Although the publisher's blurb above is aimed toward writers, this book will also be of interest to readers of memoirs and an excellent resource for book groups that read memoirs.

When looking at a collection of essays featuring various writers, I tend to focus in on and enjoy those chapters by (or about) authors I already know and love. What was exciting for me about this book is that I was turned on to writers I haven't read or, in some cases, hadn't yet heard of.

There are twenty writers featured:

Ishmael Beah
Kate Christensen
Pearl Cleage
Pat Conroy
Kelly Corrigan
Edwidge Danticat
Meghan Daum
Nick Flynn
A. M. Homes
Sue Monk Kidd
Anne Lamott
Sandra Tsing Loh
James McBride
Dani Shapiro
David Sheff
Darin Strauss
Cheryl Strayed
Ayelet Waldman
Jesmyn Ward
Edmund White

Each chapter follows this format:

-An opening quote from the writer's work
-A short intro to the writer
-A text box listing the writer's vitals (birthday, home, family, social media, etc)
-A text box listing his or her collected works
-Then comes the meat: the writer starts off by answering the question, "Why I write about myself"and takes of from there for a few or more pages, writing about their writing experience
-The chapter ends with a bullet pointed list of advice for memoir writers

I really dig this format. It gives the reader a well-rounded and consistent introduction to each writer and then lets the writer say what he or she wants to say. I now want to read everything that all twenty writers wrote (Been there, done that only in the case of Pat Conroy). I must admit that there are some popular memoirs written by a few of these writers that I avoided because they were so popular. (Yes, I'm one of those readers who sometimes avoids popular books. When I eventually read them I tend to enjoy the hell out of them.) I will keep this book in my reference section. It will be helpful to re-read a writer's chapter either before or after I read their memoir. It certainly encouraged me to press on with my own memoir writing.

In a book filled with helpful advice and great insights on just about every page, here are two that resonated with me:

*Favorite quote from an writer I'm familiar with: "Memoirs hurt people. Secrets hurt people. The question to ask yourself is, if you tell your story, will it do enough good to make it worth hurting people?" ~ Pat Conroy
*Favorite quote from a writer I haven't yet read: "I firmly believe that there are things we already know and spend a lot of time resisting. You can try, but the amount of energy you spend trying not to know what you already know will be exhausting." ~ A.M. Homes

http://wildmoobooks.blogspot.com/2016/02/memoirs-love-them-or-hate-them-why-we.h...
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Why We Write About Ourselves edited by Meredith Maran is a collection of twenty essays by memoirists. The book is written for the writers of memoirs or those considering writing a memoir. I am neither. However, I enjoy the "behind the scenes" look at how these works come to be. The positive and the negative of the book is that the points made by the different authors are similar, which means that patterns emerge but which also means that the book feels repetitive.

Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/12/why-we-write-about-ourselves.html

Reviewed for the Penguin First to Read program ( )