What would you name your memoir?

A bit of Sunday fun ...

I took a silly quiz the other day called ‘What would you name your memoir?’ The quiz itself was quite inane, but some of the questions were fun. So I thought I’d share them with you and see how you would answer.

  • Who would write your foreword? (celebrity, favourite person, author, artist)
  • What would the first sentence of your memoir be?
  • Which life-defining moment would bring your readers to tears?
  • How would your children feel about your memoir?
  • Who would you thank in your acknowledgements?

 

Have a bit of fun with it, if you’re interested (of course) – and it’d be good if we could keep this one light and easy too!

11 comments

Leon,

I write a bit of history but I am buggered if I could write a memoir.

A style or genre that is a bit beyond my capabilities.

Your really need to be a good wordsmith to write a memoir I feel.

There you go, you have at least achieved one reply to your topic. Useless as it may be.

SD

Whats useless about honesty?....It captured my interest enough to read it...lol

Title I Got The Foremans Job At Last 

first sentence I pissed on authority the moment I was born. 

I could not write anything that would bring my readers to tears , just laughter.

Children would say " Yep that's Dad" 

Acknowledgements Me for a life well led..

Foreword me  I first met me through my mothers memories.  

Who else could write your memoirs but yourself?

If it is a memoir, something that occured in the past, Just like this little episode during my time in NG. Had just waded through a swamp and were pinned down, two of us were crouched down behind a tree trunk rotting on the ground, I felt something move under my right hand, looked down and saw my hand was on a bird spider, about the size of a small saucer, after a spasm of fear and panic, I pressed down hard, closed my hand and tossed it into the swamp.  That  memory can still give a shiver down the spine.

Thats an awful experience Seth...I am terrified of spiders. Had I been in that position I would have had no choice but to hurtle off blindly in another direction ,tearing through the bush at the speed of light...and taking my chance ,if I didn't the shock would have killed me anyway...You fella's were so brave in all aspects.

...

Seth,

I am a yella belly when it comes to spiders. They reduce me to girlish shrieks and tears. Especially if I walk face first into a web in the dark. I nearly beat myself unconcious trying to remove webs and possible spiders from my cruet.

I had a big hairy spider walk over my face one moonlight night when camped out back aways. I over reacted as I do when it comes to spiders and shot it once it was clear of my moosh. With a Webley as I recall.

Dont like them spiders.

SD

We arrived at the old drivein theatre, with friends ,on our way back from a camping trip in the bush, and settled all the kids on a mattress on the top of our old falcon station wagon...The movie started and I saw from the corner of my eye, long thick hairy legs in the corner of the front window screen...It took me a while to realise it was inside and creeping closer ..I cant remember what happened next as it was all a blur, the movie stopped , a large crowd gathered and it was pandamonium..eventually someone caught it and it was removed..I was a quivering mess, but we went back to watching the movie...The next day my third son was born..two weeks early....

To whom it may concern...

Hallo World...I have arrived...

I'm naked..( thats enough to bring anyone to tears)..

Not surprised at it's content in the least

Everyone who takes the time to read it....and applauds...

 

There was a book shop in the family in more recent times. I did note many memoirs did not sell too well.

The author really does need to have an interesting story to tell and be a capable writer otherwise they become remainder books gathering dust on the bookshelves.

The writers immediate circle may find ones memoirs of interest but go outside that circle and the sales stop.

That of course is no reason not to write a memoir as it is at worst a family record and the opposite, maybe a best seller.

Not for me, I am incapable of sticking to facts, never letting the truth get in the way of a good story.

Take it easy.

SD

 

I can understand your reasoning Shaggydog, I have tried several times to write the story of my life, and I cant get past the second chapter,re-living all the experiences even on paper is very daunting..so I gave it up..If I did manage to complete it before I reach that staircase to heaven, ( I know I am going there because I woke up in ICU in a freezing white room and hell is red and hot)...I will make sure it is not read until I have safely reached my destination...and I dont have to see the reaction to it...It wont be a memoir .It'll be a soap opera...lol

Lol yes i can relate to your post Cranky, i have often been told i should write my life story but  it too would read like a soap opera and a thing from days of our  lives in fact noone would believe it. I also know that if i had to relive my life again even through putting pen to paper i would probably  not survive the very real trauma, so no, what is passed is water under the bridge and revisting that bridge that i have succeeded in crossing finally, would only bring pain not only to myself but also to my family.

No one can despute we were certainly were a tough bunch Peanuts....but I try and find a little humour when recalling the worst times , There are many that have been through far worse than us , and we have come through it all with our chins held high..and bodies intact..well almost..I think of what this body used to be capable of and now look at a ride on a roller coaster with pure dread...'C'mon nanny"..."not on your life"...lol

 

 

I was keeping an eye on the forum for a short while and wondering where I could come in. This topic seems just the right place. I have been engrossed in writing my family history for nearly two years. It’s a slow process and sometimes frustrating, however I’m not alone in this venture, I have revisited my place of birth several times to collect information from relatives and friends. Coming back to the questions asked, I am delighted to give some feedback, and certainly look forward to reading others’ posts.

My foreword would be written posthumously by my grandparents, who made it a lot easier for me to even contemplate writing this memoir. They saved all sorts of documents, and my grandmother wrote almost every day in her diary (she left five of them).

My first sentence keeps changing frequently and I imagine I shall finally decide at the end of the memoir!

Life defining moment, so many to speak of, but since I’m from South Africa, I have to place at the top of my list the end of apartheid. The events leading up to that momentous event moved many to tears.

My children are my greatest helpers and whenever possible I get them involved. They feel part of the whole process.

I would thank all the relatives and friends, all the agencies who helped me to find even the smallest piece of information, but the most thanks go to my grandparents, without whom none of it would have been possible

Bridie

Bridie,

You are to be admired for your efforts.

My family has dumped a mountain of family history on me in the hopes I might turn it all into a readable form. I poke it with a stick occassionally in the hopes it will go away but it refuses to move.

Dont leave the forum for a while as I feel I may need some guidance with this pile, if of course I ever get around to sorting it out.

Take care.

SD

Hello Shaggy Dog, don't know how long I'll be around Image result for tiny smiley emoticons but if with my limited knowledge I can give any feed back I would be delighted to do so. But then again, I read that you're a history writer. In that case am I right in assuming your style would be more formal?

I am using an informal style for this memoir since I'm hoping even the young people may want to read it. Dotted with humour etc since my grandmother was a funny person and can really spin a yarn and this is evident in her diaries. I wanted to keep it in that vein, of course taking care to note important events and also respect the sad events. 

Bridie

Interesting post Bridie, I'm a newish member too and I welcome you. We have South African relatives, they hail from Durban. Which part of SA are you from?  Cheers

Hello Ray,

Nice to meet another newbie! I am originally from Pretoria, however my father was a doctor and so we travelled a lot. Even spending time in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Married an Australian many years ago who worked in South Africa, however ten years ago decided to leave SA and return to his homeland, we’ve have been here for ten years.

Bridie

A good pastime Bridie, can take over your life, but a great feeling when you find something new. enjoy yourself. 

I began looking into my family history back in the 60s, knew nothing, it was the time before computors, would spend hours in the city library pouring over old records, discovered so much that now have a four drawer steel cabinet full plus five large folios', have it all now in' the  'My Heritage' site  which have found to be excellant and also in the Äncestry site.

My grt grandchildren just love going through the old photos.

Hello Seth

You are so correct in saying it can take over one's life, however, I try my best to be disciplined. Doesn’t work all the time though and all my resolutions go out of the window when I find something of some great interest, I want to get it down on paper immediately!

You have done a lot of research, seems a shame not to put it together, perhaps get your children, grand children & great grandchildren to help? These days putting together family histories are “in fashion”, they may enjoy it.

Bridie

Bridie, every time you discover something new, it gives you a lift. as long as you have a record of it put away, to come back to, as it is urprising how you can overlook something new, or it goes out of your mind.

I have it all down with photos etc. on the computor and in two geneology sites. All family members have access to, and they can add to it. Have fun...Seth.

 

11 comments



To make a comment, please register or login

Preview your comment