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Autobiography, Biography, Life story, and Memoir – What is the difference?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Janice Henshaw in all posts, Life Stories

Photo ©  Janice Henshaw

Autobiography, Biography, Life story/Memoir – What is the difference? What do they mean?

Autobiography – I write an account about my life, and it could consist of just my viewpoint and memories – it’s all about me!

Biography – I write an account of someone else’s life – and most likely, I will research documents and interview other people for their viewpoint to gain a wider perspective about that person.

Life story/Memoir
Freedictionary.com: Life story – an account of the series of events making up a person’s life

Wikipedia: Memoir: More specifically, it is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private that took place in the author’s life. The assertions made in the work are understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. Like most autobiographies, memoirs are written from the first-person point of view. An autobiography tells the story of a life, while memoir tells a story from a life, such as touchstone events and turning points from the author’s life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist.

Judith Barrington in her book “Writing the Memoir” highlights the difference between autobiography and memoir. She states that an autobiography is a “story of a life.” while “Memoir on the other hand is a story from a life. It makes no pretense of replicating a whole life.”

Lisa Dale Norton, in her book “Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir,” describes how writing your memoir can affect your life:

“Creating a new story by which you can live your life … is the act of ordering the chaos of the past, assigning meaning through the narrative process, and simultaneously creating a truth you can carry into the future, upon which you can base future choices.”

We can’t change the past – but in writing down our own stories we give ourselves the opportunity to reawaken many memories and in so doing, discover our own truth.

Photo © Janice Henshaw

define, Life story, Memoir

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