Memoir writers often find themselves on a path of self-exploration, even if they wanted to write a humorous memoir, so another goal is to give them that kind of deep emotional support through the teleseminars and tele-workshops we offer. We offer over 15 member benefits when people join NAMW, including special monthly member teleseminars with amazing experts-Jennifer Lauck, Sue William Silverman, Denis LeDoux, Mark Matousek, and many more authors, agents, marketing experts, and publishers. Most of us are the kind of people who have books piled up everywhere, and many of us were the kind of kids who read books under the covers with a flashlight! We know that memoir writers need extra support for writing those true stories, for being so exposed when they write, and they also need to know the current knowledge in the field of memoir and creative nonfiction writing. Q: Can you describe a little bit of what the National Association of Memoir Writers does? (For people who aren’t aware of the organization?)Ī: We at the National Association of Memoir Writers are passionate about memoir writing in particular, and all writing, literature, and books. I was fortunate enough to talk with the President and Founder of NAMW, Linda Joy Myers. And for memoirists in particular, it’s often therapeutic to meet and converse with others who are facing the same challenges. It’s the most important thing you can do for yourself as a writer: surround yourself with other writers. That’s why organizations such as the National Association of Memoir Writers, or NAMW, are so vital to a memoirist’s world.

There is a wide divide between reality and remembering, and the memoirist is often left alone in his or her struggle to straddle that gap. It’s how the human mind remembers: equal parts memorization and emotion. Maybe a conversation you had with your ex-husband over dinner seventeen years ago, maybe the exact words you used when you told your mother you were pregnant-we all take harmless liberties with our history. You’ve relived your pain, retold the wrongs you’ve suffered, and when the mind became cloudy, as it often does, you invented a little here and there.

You sit down, spill your heart onto the page with the best intentions, and the next thing you know you are getting angry emails from your former mother-in-law, cease and desist letters from Grandpa Joe, or dirty looks from Cousin Ned over the Thanksgiving table. I always say that memoir is the most dangerous thing you can write.

The Magic of Memoir by Linda Joy Myers