What's it about?

A friend phoned the other night. She's in the same writing group as me and she's writing her memoir. She phoned to tell me she'd just listened to a speaker at a different group, the author of a published memoir. Perhaps this author will speak to our group sometime. But in the meantime, my friend had learned that the most important question to ask, over and again, chapter after chapter, is "What's it about?"

"Of course, it's memoir; it's about life, and my life in particular." It's a good answe...