Is theme important in memoir?

Theme influences choices for every element in the story: plot development, characterization, and setting.

So is theme important in memoir? Let’s look at these elements. Here’s the shell of the plot: your father was laid off; a difficult time followed for the family; your father received additional training and obtained a different job.

Your treatment of this plot will vary according to your theme.

Let’s suppose the following is your theme: “events whose consequences we can’t understand happ...