Autobiographies: Fictional Truth, Right or Wrong?

[Mango, Goddess of Mangoes]

Hi!
Do autobiographies have to have whole truth? Do you think the author has the right to omit certain truths which they don't feel like sharing? Do they have their rights to privacy? And should we judge an autobiography on the basis of truths?

[Shawna]

This is an interesting topic to think about right now as I'm dealing with a situation with an ex-friend that is somewhat influencing my thoughts on this topic. I think that autobiographies need to have enough of the truth to make an accurate picture of the events of someone's life, but the author is entitled to some privacy. People can easily skew the idea of who the villain in a situation is by intentionally leaving out parts of the truth and that's not okay. For example, saying that someone is posting mean things about you online but leaving out the part that you lied and verbally abused that person isn't okay. But at the same time if an author had a deep trauma or personal embarrassment that is hard to talk about, they can leave it out if they want to as long as leaving it out wouldn't change the reader's judgement/perception of the content in the autobiography. I hope this makes sense.

[Rushali, Head Mod]

Shawna wrote: "This is an interesting topic to think about right now as I'm dealing with a situation with an ex-friend that is somewhat influencing my thoughts on this topic. I think that autobiographies need to ..."

It does make sense Shawna, you are right, I also think the author should have some right to privacy, as you cleverly explained through the example. Also, I think there are some things which only remain with the person, some secrets we cannot share with anyone, so it's only right to leave them out in autobiographies, and the purpose of autobiographies, is not to present oneself as an open book but to bring out the meaning of life the person lived and what they learnt, and if leaving certain truths doesn't affect the overall picture and the message of the book, I think it's alright. On the other hand, it shouldn't be a blatant false personification of the author.

[Erica]

Can an author really put the whole truth if the book has to go through editing and marketing to make is sellable?

[Rushali, Head Mod]

Erica wrote: "Can an author really put the whole truth if the book has to go through editing and marketing to make is sellable?"

Wow! Good point Erica 👍

[Erica]

Thanks. I still think a non-fiction book needs to stay non-fiction and the author doesn't need to share things they don't want to share.