Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on March 15, 2010 at 5:55am

Dear Jan,

Thank you so much for sharing your memoir journey, and telling us about your new book, PIECES OF SOMEDAY. It sounds fascinating; I'm going right out and buying it! My memoir (which I'm preparing a proposal for) also involves the 60s and 70s, the anti-war movement, women's liberation, and my revolutionary (or at least revolutionary wanna-be) first husband. And oddly enough, I my dad was Jewish and my mother Italian, and I was raised as a Catholic. My family and I also lived in Florence for several years recently. Please contact me if you'd like to be interviewed on my memoir blog (pamelajane@pamelajane.com). We can talk about you new book. All best, Pamela

Permalink Reply by Jan Vallone on March 15, 2010 at 8:59am

Thank you, Pamela! You are right: we have quite a bit in common, and judging from the latest nine or ten posts on your blog, I see the commonalities are more than superficial.

I'd love to be interviewed on your blog. It's insightful and beautifully written. Here is one of my favorite sections. It stikes me as especially true--it describes how it felt to write my memoir:

By finding the story of your life you literally do repair the past because you give it the structure (and therefore the meaning) that the raw experience lacked. It's not that you prettify your life in retrospect, but that you piece together the disparate parts of the past by finding the themes that unite them. You create a design, an order from apparent chaos. And pulling the elements of story together takes you much deeper into the experience. If it was a painful one, you have a chance to resolve it; if it was positive, you get to relive it. Either way, it could be a lot better – and more meaningful – the second time around.


I will send you my email address via your She Writes inbox.

Thanks again.

Jan
www.janvallone.com

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on April 7, 2010 at 7:02am

Jan,

I visited your website, and really enjoyed it! I look forward to reading PIECES OF SOMEDAY and interviewing you for me memoir blog.

Permalink Reply by Jan Vallone on April 7, 2010 at 8:34am

Thank you, Pamela Jane--I emailed you some information!

Jan
www.janvallone.com

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on March 15, 2010 at 5:51am

I'd love to invite those of you who are writing or publishing a memoir to be interviewed on my memoir blog http://pamelamemoir.livejournal.com. You can contact me at pamelajane@pamelajane.com. Thanks all!

Permalink Reply by bj rosenfeld on March 15, 2010 at 11:27am

Hi Ladies, Check this website for book promo info: JohnKremer@bookmarket.com

Permalink Reply by Julie Mihaly on March 15, 2010 at 1:35pm

Dear Pamela-
Please forgive me for taking so ridiculously long to thank you for starting this remarkable discussion. It's been touching, inspiring, and wondrous to follow. Thanks so much to all of you who've contributed. This is where "Sisterhood is Powerful" goes beyond rhetoric and heads straight for the heart. I'm so happy you're all out there.- Julie

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on April 16, 2010 at 11:09am

Julie,

Thank YOU; it's been great for me, too. I worked on my memoir for so many years in deep solitude, and it's amazing now to hear of so many women who are writing and publishing their memoirs. We have so much to share about our on-going journey (from writing to publication and beyond.) Also we have in common coming of age (more or less) in the Sixties and the take on that is so widely and fascinatingly varied. I love reading memoirs! Pamela
http://pamelamemoir.livejournal.com

Permalink Reply by Lynette Benton on March 17, 2010 at 2:42pm

I'm writing two memoirs, and have emailed you about them. In the meantime, I can't wait to check out your site!

- Lynette
http://lynettebentonwriting.com

Permalink Reply by Jan Vallone on April 11, 2010 at 8:10am

Hi Jenne--Actually, I think the description of memoir that you included in your blog post is a good one:

Memoir is the art of writing about the past from the perspective offered by the present. It is the genre of reflection, not martyrdom or self-dissection for its own sake. The purpose of memoir is to illuminate life within the context of time, place, culture and history– to illuminate and reveal that which is both universal and singular. True memoir is only secondarily related to personal catharsis.


I disagree though that the right to write memoir should belong to only those who are of a certain age, are publicly recognized or have found themselves swept into world events. It's not about who the writer is or what has happened to the writer, but, as you pointed out, the writer's ability to artfully reflect upon and illuminate life for others. If a thirty-year-old soccer mom with an adopted son with RAD can do that, I believe she can make a worthy contribution to the genre of memoir. That she may also experience a personal catharsis in the process of writing doesn't diminish her work.

I look forward to your memoir.

Jan Vallone
www.janvallone.com

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on April 12, 2010 at 12:22pm

I finally finished my series on 10 Reasons to Write a Memoir, but I didn't really need to convince myself at this point! I saved the final installment - the dessert -- for last! http://pamelamemoir.livejournal.com

Permalink Reply by Jan Vallone on April 12, 2010 at 1:00pm

Hi Pamela--Thank you for ALL TEN of your reasons to write memoir. Like you, I think the rewards of writing one are great. I loved every minute of writing and revising my memoir, even, in retrospect, the moments I cried over some of the memories or out of fear that my work wasn't good and would never be read. My favorite moments, though, are reading reader comments. I've received more support than I ever imagined I could or would. To touch even one person or help him or her reevaluate the world is worth all the work.

I mailed you Pieces of Someday last week. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you, Pamela.

Jan
www.janvallone.com

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