What time span does your memoir cover?

I'm curious because my current memoir draft covers a 20-year period, which I'm worried is too long. I do "skip the boring stuff" by leaping over certain years and collapsing some events, but I'm used to reading memoirs that deal with a very specific incident over a period of months or maybe a few years.

I fear I'm veering into autobiography territory, except it's not an "I was born on such-a-such date..." kind of story. I am focusing on two themes, it's just that these themes play out over 20 years of my life.

Has anyone here written a memoir that covers a decade or more? Do you think it's okay as long as I can keep the reader engaged throughout?

Hi Emily, my draft is 96,000 words so clearly I need to take your advice about ruthless pruning. I'm going to let it sit for a few weeks and go back in with fresh eyes and a sharp knife. I've wracked my brain for ways to shorten the time period, but my story is specifically about a long-term relationship, so it's tricky. Thanks for chiming in.

That's a great way to put it, gettingby: make sure I'm always telling the same story. I'll keep that in mind as I edit. I have the feeling some sections I love will have to get cut too. I'm encouraged that you don't think the time span is inherently a problem, though. Thanks for your take on this.

Hi mayaone, is the interwoven part dominant enough that it needs to be mentioned in your query? Is it given equal weight to the rest of the manuscript? If not, you might not need to mention it. I think the important thing with queries, in addition to piquing an agent's interest, is to set an accurate expectation about the book. So it kind of depends on how central the interwoven part is. If you're willing to share some details, I can try to be more specific in my advice. Or feel free to PM me if you don't want to spill lots of info publicly.