Memoir Writing

I attended a workshop yesterday on spiritual memoir writing presented by Phil Cousineau, author of “The Art of Pilgrimage.” I’d like to share some of his insights for writing a spiritual memoir, plus some questions for you to ponder.

—Memoir is interior, there is an entire universe in a memory.

—Spiritual memoir is about a soul struggle, sharing your inner truth. The inner war is the engine of memoir. The heart of memoir is “Did you change and how.”

—Do you feel an inner necessity, an urgency to write your story?

—What is the necessity, the urgency?  This is your need to write the story.

—Does writing your story move your spiritual quest forward?

—What would you write if you were not afraid of your own soul?

—Write about what you didn’t talk about at the dinner table.

—What would you write if you weren’t afraid of what family or others would say?

Memoir is your truth and only you can tell it. May these questions support you in your quest to write your story.  If not for others for yourself.