What is your memoir or biography about?

My memoir is about becoming pregnant at a late age. I was 42. My daughter is now 5. I had miscarriages and 10 years of not being able to get pregnant.

My memoir (agented!) is about living in the wilderness of Canada's far northwest (air and water access only, off grid), not as a one-year adventure but a long-term way of life.

I wrote a memoir about a field trip to Cuba - one week camping on the Isle of Youth and one week living on a boat going scuba diving. It was only meant to be a 12,000 word project but ended up being 35,000 words. I don't think I'll ever try and get it published but family and friends have enjoyed reading it - I think I only wrote it for them anyway, and myself.

My story centers around a string of synchronous events and psychic anomalies that inevitably lead me to discover the work and life of deceased science fiction writer, Philip K Dick. Once this connection is formed, life for me becomes even stranger. While all this is going on, I also battle depression, OCD, depersonalization disorder and an existential crisis.

The memoir I'm writing about has mostly been about my late best friend, and my hospitalization around that time.

Hi I'm new. This is is my first post outside of introducing myself. I'm writing my memoir, the story of having a debilitating childhood illness that started when I was 10 years old. It takes the reader struggling to go to school from the 7th grade and finally graduating from high school. Side note: the doctors said I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 18, and would be dependent on someone for the rest of my short life, which was expected to end at 30 years . I'm 47 and not in a wheelchair and live independent with this condition.

samilad said:

Hi I'm new. This is is my first post outside of introducing myself. I'm writing my memoir, the story of having a debilitating childhood illness that started when I was 10 years old. . . .

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I'm publishing (tentatively scheduled for next Feb. or March) a memoir by Laurie Hoirup. Her condition was initially diagnosed when she was one year old, and has progressed over the years. But she has accomplished much (including having two children, teaching, completing bachelor's and master's degrees, and holding administrative positions). A literary agent instantly rejected her manuscript, saying, "We don't do misery memoirs." Pfah. Laurie is one of the least miserable people I have ever known. Hers (like yours, I suspect) is not a story of misery (despite challenges and hard times) but of accomplishment.

Good luck with your memoir. You might find Laurie's book, I Can Dance: My Life with a Disability, of interest when it becomes available.

--Ken

ResearchGuy said:

I'm publishing (tentatively scheduled for next Feb. or March) a memoir by Laurie Hoirup. Her condition was initially diagnosed when she was one year old, and has progressed over the years. But she has accomplished much (including having two children, teaching, completing bachelor's and master's degrees, and holding administrative positions). A literary agent instantly rejected her manuscript, saying, "We don't do misery memoirs." Pfah. Laurie is one of the least miserable people I have ever known. Hers (like yours, I suspect) is not a story of misery (despite challenges and hard times) but of accomplishment.

Good luck with your memoir. You might find Laurie's book, I Can Dance: My Life with a Disability, of interest when it becomes available.

--Ken

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Thanks Ken, I'm not going to even look for a publisher. I already know I'm going to self publish. My story is a not is a testimony, not a misery. Now if I had died, it would have a miserable story and I wouldn't be writing it because I would be dead. But since I'm not dead and I'm writing it, it has to be a story of accomplishments. Laurie's life seems to parallel mine, including administrative positions, 2 kids, etc. Interesting. I'm going to have to check it out. Did you see how quickly I went away and came back to myself? LOL.

My memoir is about becoming delusional.

My memoir is about my family's bike trip from Alaska to Argentina. We cycled 17,000 miles through 15 countries. It was so great to watch the boys grow up on the road!

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

The memoir I'm working on centers on the question (asked me by an atheist), "Why does God want to be worshipped?"

I'm a former suicidal depressive who found happiness practicing Kundalini Yoga and Sikhism, a former singer who lost her voice, and the friend of a man who committed suicide right while I was dealing with the vocal loss. You can guess what the answer to the atheist is!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Hi,

I am new to the forum and working on my memoir. It deals with a few years of my life as a Borderline Personality Disorder sufferer, encompassing four hospitalizations, self-mutilation, an addiction to sleeping pills and three suicide attempts. Not the most uplifting subject, I admit, but I'm approaching it with a sense of observational humor and recovered understanding.

Take care,

Nick

Mine is a diary I started when I was put into chemical menopause and ended when I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, 10 months later. Also, my mother had just died and I was dealing with that and her stuff. Its about aging, death, running, cancer, running . . . and it has funny parts.

After I finish writing my paranormal romance that im currently working on now, I want to write my story as a mother of a child with peadiatric cancer. The trials and triumphs, the losses and the bonds I've made over the course of his treatment and beyond.
My son is now in remission, has been for 9 months, we still have 9 years and 3 months to go until he is considered cured, but his/my story is one I think will help other parents/ families of children with cancer.
Plus it's an incredible story to tell

I haven't, actually. Maybe I could start one.

I became a product of the care system when i was 14. By 15 i was in the Criminal Justice System. i'm a former Gang leader, Armed Robber, Cocaine addict. I've been shot at, stabbed, physically tortured/interrogated and had terrorists try to abduct me.

I broke away from that lifestyle some years ago. now teach personal protection, Reiki, yoga, and other spiritual things. Have my own 'system' which i use to help promote crime prevention/rehabilitation. As well as mentoring in many fields. I'm fast becoming a public speaker. I've an intense desire to use my past for the benefit of others. My life experiences are easily applicable to anything life has to offer, i teach it like this. It is what my whole life is about now. It is everything i do day in day out.

I've likely around 40 major life events that are out of the ordinary, I aim to use these in a book. It is a story about the darker side of humanity, and how something extraordinary may come from that. It will progress to what has been a truly wonderful life.

I believe in it. Feel it is a story that needs to be told. A real honest look at me. My weaknesses. My countless mistakes. The decent person i have managed to mold myself into.

I only started it yesterday. After some procrastination & recent planning. It's flowing easy. Nonetheless i'm glad to be here to learn from you all.

Thankyou for reading this, .

warmest wishes
Wayne

Sounds like a story worth telling Wayne!

milarepa said:

I became a product of the care system when i was 14. By 15 i was in the Criminal Justice System. . . .

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Wayne, you might find the gentleman behind this site of considerable interest (and the site itself, of course). He is also a member of AW's forums, and that is how I met him.

--Ken

I'm new to this site and was referred here by Work Place Like Home forums. I started a blog about my son who was diagnosed with PPD (autism spectrum), sensory processing disorder, and a lot of anxiety. I wanted to include him in the book, but now wondering if I should hold off since I'm not sure about how to retell certain events. Most of it is public as it happened in the school system, but I'm thinking I might write it down but hold off on publishing.

I do want to write about losing my second son to a gentic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I never heard of it until his diagnosis. It was grim in the fact he would probably die before 1 years old. I had to make a gut wrenching decision of prolonging his life for a few more months or to let him go. We decided to let him go. I had my first panic attack on the way home. That attack set the stage for several years of battling anxiety. I really stopped caring about myself, and gained over 100 pounds. I kept going for my oldest son, who was 2 years old at the time, but I just went through the motions. I also had a huge amount of support and kindness from complete strangers in our community and online.

I want to discuss all my fears I developed and how I basically withdrew from life. I made excuses not to go anywhere, and I was miserable. I really wanted to die. I didn't try to take my life, but I was slowly killing myself with food. I hated the person I was becoming, and did mention a few times I just wanted to die. I remember driving a couple of times thinking what would happen if I just let go of the wheel. Seriously it was scary to me.

When my oldest son started having behavior issues at school, then I had to take action. I finally got the help I needed and started taking Zoloft. It really did help me regain control of my life. I'm not advocating drugs, but I was able to lose 100 pounds in the next 14 months. I have kept it off over a year later. My son is doing so much better in school. I'm back in college finishing my Associate's Degree in General Studies. I graduate in May, and think I will go back to finish my Bachelor's degree. I am taking writing classes.

Good luck with your story, bclause. First and foremost, I'm sorry to hear of you and your family's suffering. I'm sure writing this story will be cathartic and therapeutic for you.

Thank you so much Alienus. The little bit I've written has helped. I wrote a post about the fears I had, and it felt really good to share. It's empowering but I'm just glad I am on the other side. That level of anxiety and depression can cripple you and take over your life. I did meet some wonderful people, and was able to reconnect with old friends as well.

We constantly see on the news all the bad things that happen, and we become scared and cynical. The amount of love and support I received from strangers was amazing. Our story was front page news in our little paper and picked up by another local paper. This happened about a month before my son passed away. I was truly touched by the outpouring of geniune concern and love from others. I really feel paying it forward can make the world a better place even if only for a moment. Sometimes a tragedy can tear a family apart, but it made us closer than ever. My marriage is stronger, and I cannot imagine my life without my husband and oldest son.

Again I apologize for rambling, but I'm so excited about finally having the strength and courage to write my story. It's not a super happy ending, but there is always a light or hope at the end if you choose to see.

Mine is the story of a breakup written from a man's perspective, something that I've found hasn't been done very often. Men don't tend to reflect, and it seems that I've stumbled upon a topic that women are interested in reading about. We'll see... that's my hope anyway!

My story starts with the breakup and then follows the steps I take to "get back to normal." In alternating chapters I review moments in the past to try to understand what happened. I have attempted to throw in a lot of self-depricating humor to lighten it up.

And I've thrown in some fiction, so while it is officially a "fictionalized memoir," I'm going to publish it as a novel. James Frey taught me that you don't want to end up on Oprah's sofa explaining yourself to a hostile audience!

ResearchGuy said:

. . . P.S. Although the publishing agreement is not yet signed, I expect to publish a memoir by a woman who tells of her life with serious physical disability, progressive since birth. She is now in her fifties, with a bachelor's, master's, and years of employment, including as a state department director. It is an intimate, detailed, and revealing book that will open eyes. I've done a lot of preliminary work on the manuscript and design; we have just not gotten around to a signed agreement yet. Not MY memoir, but maybe of related interest here.

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Update: I Can Dance: My Life with a Disability, by Laurie Hoirup, is scheduled for March 14, 2012 publication, but it has leaked out already and Amazon is shipping. BarnesAndNoble.com is taking pre-orders, but I would not bet they will fill the pre-orders. (I have prior experience with them that leaves me skeptical on that specific point.) See www.laurieslegacy.com for more information. (BTW, the book is very frank, and for age 18 and up only.)

--Ken

Looks like no one has been here in a while, but I'm new here, so I thought I'd jump in My memoir is about going through some mental health crisis, in and out of psych hospitals and dealing with different psychiatrists - including one that was more concerned with handing out the medication then what that medication what capable of doing and in what quantities. I'm doing it a lot for me but I've also gained a lot from memoirs of similar topics and if I was ever able to help someone it would be an awesome bonus