Why We Write About Ourselves Quotes

“It’s impossible to write about yourself when you’re hiding.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“So I write memoir because there are people in my family who no longer can. I write memoir to honor their lives and share their stories. George Meredith said, “Memoirs are the backstairs of history.” I want to find those backstairs over and over and keep a map of them for future generations. I write memoir for the next generation of my family and others yet unborn. I also write memoir for the same reason I read memoirs; with the hope that my story might connect me with others. I write memoir to feel less alone.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“Blue Plate Special was the most difficult book I’ve ever written, as well as the easiest. The material was all there. I just had to find the thread, weave it through, and tie it together at the end. No big deal. Ha! It was agony a lot of the time. Ecstasy the rest of the time. Such a roller coaster. I kept vacillating between “I can’t do this, it’s too hard” and “God, this is fun.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“I wrote it for insomniacs at three in the morning who were wondering how they’d get through the next day. And I wrote it for my past self, that girl who promised herself she’d write a book someday.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“All this navel-gazing is virtually unreadable now—at least it is to me. I wrote things as they were, and I stayed stuck. It’s frustrating to read them for that reason. I want to yell, “Get out of there! Quit that job! Leave that guy! Get a new apartment! Speak up!” It’s a bit like watching a horror movie and wishing you could tell the girl not to go into the abandoned house alone at night, but of course she does it anyway.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“Some of us are the designated rememberers,”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“I began to think that some of us are the designated rememberers. Why do we remember? I don’t know. But I think that’s why memoir interests us—because we’re the ones who pass the stories. --Pat Conroy”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“When I’m writing about myself, I write out of a strong urge not to protect myself. When I feel ego or self-justification or defensiveness creeping in or a wish to make myself look better than I was, I squelch it, if I can.

It takes vigilance. Exposing myself is the only way to go, though. If I’d rather wear veils, I should write fiction. I write out of the sure knowledge that the more honest I am, the freer I am, and the freer I am, the happier I am.

Kate Christensen’s Wisdom for Memoir Writers

Don’t be afraid of writing into the heart of what you’re most afraid of. The story of a life lives in what you would rather not admit or say.

Memoir writing isn’t therapy—it’s better than therapy. It opens out your life to the world and lets the world in.

Finding the universal in the singular, and vice versa, is a challenge and a thrill and, ultimately, a source of tremendous peace.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“At its best, writing draws from the inner life, from a place deep within where we are sourced. We could call it the life of the soul. This place is filled with so much genius—an ordinary genius that’s common to us all. It’s the room where our dreams and imagination live. It’s where our wisdom lies, where memories are metabolized, images are born, and creative connections are made. I see it as an inner reservoir. I think there’s even divinity in it—something beyond our egos and our conscious selves. I’m talking about the contemplative life, of course, which is, for me, a significant part of the writing life. On the other hand, I don’t want to mystify the process too much. Another significant part of writing is just plain hard work: sitting your behind in a chair and staying there.”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature

“I’ve given my memoirs far more thought than any of my marriages. You can’t divorce a book. —Gloria Swanson”
― Meredith Maran, Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature