At lunch last week, Claire and I talked about the attraction of reading memoirs. They are some of the best selling books, which is why some authors have shamefully ”re-packaged” their novels as memoirs. What is it that appeals to so many? Some people have had unique experiences and interesting lives, but it’s more than that, because many novels have interesting stories. In my opinion, the key to a good memoir is the intimacy between the reader and the author. The author shares more than a story, she gives a very private view of her life as if the reader was her best friend. 
As I’ve dipped my toe in the world of writing personal essays, I’ve had the great fortune to learn from Amy Friedman. Amy has written seveal books, and is in the process of finishing a memoir about marrying a man when he was in prison. Her essay on the topic was published in the Modern Love columnof the New York Times (that’s like the Academy Awards of personal essays). She also writes delightful children’s stories which have been compiled on CDs entitled “Tell Me a Story.” The third CD was released earlier this year, “Tell Me a Story – Women of Wonder,” it’s full of stories about clever girls. (Click here for my review of the CDs). They would make wonderful holiday gifts, both the children and the parents will thank you for providing quality storytelling with wonderful music.
Having written a memoir, numerous personal essays and taught countless students how to do the same, I asked Amy for her top recommendations for the memoir reader:
- F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Crack Up [One of Kim's favorite quotes is from The Crack Up - [T]he test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.]
- Zelda Fitzgerald- Save Me the Waltz
- William Styron – Darkness Visible
- Lucy Grealey – Anatomy of a Face
- Edmund Wilson – Memoirs of Hecate County
- Larry McMurtry – Walter Benjamin at the Diary Queen
- Monica Holloway - Driving with Dead People
- Vladimir Nabakov – Speak Memory
- MFK Fisher - The Art of Eating
- Amy Ferris - Marrying George Clooney [Kim: This memoir was released earlier this fall and Amy has been raving about it, I can't wait to read it myself. On her blog, I love the pharmaceutical ABCs post. ]
- Danielle Trussoni - Falling Through Water
- Honor Moore – The Bishop’s Daughter
- A.M. Homes - The Mistress’s Daughter
- Bernard Cooper – The Bill From My Father
- Alfred Kazin - A Walker in the City
- Abigail Thomas - Safekeeping [Kim: Another book by Abigail, Thinking about Memoir, has been recommended to me several times.]
- Mary McCarthy – Memories of a Catholic Girlhood and Intellectual Memoirs
- Tobias Wolff - This Boy’s Life
- Geoffrey Wolff – The Duke of Deception
- Mary Karr – The Liar’s Club[Kim: The New York Times just named Mary Karr's latest memoir, Lit, one of the top ten books of 2009.]
- Gretel Ehrlich – The Solace of Wide Open Spaces
- Nancy Lord – Survival
- Eva Hoffman – Lost in Translation
- Caroline Knapp – Drinking
- John Steinbeck – Travels with Charley
- Simone De Beauvoir – Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter [Kim: I'm reading She Came to Stay for a Literary Luncheon on Thursday, I'd never heard of De Beauvoir before reading this book and am very intrigued to read her memoir.]
- Terry Tempest Williams – Refuge
- Annie Dillard - An American Childhood and Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek
- Frank Conroy – Stop Time
- Reynolds Price – Clear Pictures
- James Baldwin – Notes of a Native Son
- Stephen King - On Writing [Claire: This is simply the best book on writing; it's the only one I'd ever want to reread.]
- Frank McCourt - Teacher Man
Remember – buy two books at an independent bookstore and qualify to win an ABA gift card!
Claire
Kim
