How to write the last chapter of a memoir

“How do I write the last chapter of a memoir?” coaching and editing clients will sometimes ask me.

It is a good question because the last chapter of a memoir is your final shot at affirming your theme and at creating a satisfying and meaningful ending to the story the reader has been engaged in for perhaps 200 or 300 pages—or even more.

Revising the last chapter is also something I have been working with on my childhood memoir—which, alas, is still nameless.

As I write this...