First and foremost, a memoir is told by you about what happened to you from your perspective. It’s a first person narrative with lots of personal pronouns.
This is me talking to you about my life.
I was born on Chinese New Year.
Carefully, my parents chose my name: Ji-li, meaning lucky and beautiful. They hoped that I would be the happiest girl in the world.
And I was.
Let’s look at some examples based on the snippet, using a variety of personal pronouns.
We grew up in the country.
My parents hoped it would make us kids tough and resilient. They hoped that we would learn how to look after ourselves.
But it didn’t.
I was abandoned at a train station when I was four.
Not really. What actually happened was that my mum got stuck in the crowded train while I managed to wriggle my way out before the doors shut. I stood alone on the empty platform for half an hour until she could catch a train back.
I was okay. She was traumatised.
Now it’s your turn. Remember, you can choose to write about yourself or write a fictional memoir.
