memoir

Memoir is a nonfiction narrative that centers on memory, personal experience, and interpretation. Unlike an autobiography, a memoir does not attempt to recount every event of a life; it selects episodes, periods, or themes and treats them as a lens through which the author considers larger questions of identity, meaning, or culture. The narrative voice is usually first-person and reflective, balancing scenes with introspection, and often employing literary techniques such as scene setting, sensory detail, and dialogue to convey significance rather than chronological completeness.

Origin and history: The word memoir comes from the French mémoire, meaning memory or record. While autobiographical writing has ancient roots, the modern memoir emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions (1782) widely cited as a foundational example; Augustine's Confessions is an earlier tradition of self-scrutiny. In contemporary usage, the memoir form has diversified and proliferated, including many personal, travel, illness, or family narratives.

Topics and form: Memoirs often focus on a defining period, relationship, or event—war, migration, addiction, illness, coming of age, or family history—framed by the writer's interpretation of its meaning. Subgenres include literary memoir, travel memoir, food memoir, and political or historical memoir that centers on personal experience within public events.

Notable examples and authors: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions; Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes; Mary Karr's The Liar's Club; Cheryl Strayed's Wild; Alison Bechdel's Fun Home; Tara Westover's Educated.

Reception and critique: Memoirs are valued for intimate insight but are subject to questions of memory reliability and selective memory. Ethical considerations arise in the portrayal of others and the balance between honesty and privacy.