Memoir Basics 2: Using memory to tell a story

I don't remember any more...

The final memory example we’ll look at not having a memory of an event.

Read the snippet, and think about how this would be used to tell a story.

I remember that the bus turned right off the main road at the army checkpoint as always and rounded the corner past the deserted cricket ground. I don’t remember any more.

I Am Malala(2013)

‘I don’t remember any more’ is traumatic and emotional. It’s the other extreme of ‘I’ll never forget’.

In the case of Malala Yousafzai, she was shot by the Taliban for speaking publicly about the right for all girls to go to school. Here, Malala’s memory loss adds tension to the story and emphasises the shocking impact of the event.

Notice that the vivid memory is bland and very normal, again adding to the impact. The slightest of clues hint to the traumatic event that’s about to happen. 

I remember that I had a terrible head cold that day. Brain fuzzy, couldn’t smell a thing. I turned on my old gas cooker and lit a match to fire it up. I don’t remember any more.

I remember watching Dad complain to me about the trucking company for the umpteenth time. He was reaching the peak of his argument when he looked back at the road and swore. I don’t remember any more.

Note: If all of your stories have been about your life up until this point, and you’ve never had a traumatic experience where you’ve lost your memory, that’s understandable (and great)! This can be one of those times where you make something up. Again, if you write something worrying or disturbing, don't be surprised if you need to explain to your readers that you’ve made the experience up!

Write a passage that finishes with ‘I don’t remember any more’, following the same pattern as the snippet. Make the core memory bland, with the slightest hint of the traumatic event they can’t remember.
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