Let's Talk about Me: Why We Write about Ourselves

Pearl Cleage: sassy, seemingly self-assured and wise, I enjoyed her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote her 1998 Oprah Book Club selection, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997), which I also enjoyed. Edwidge Danticat: a fellow compatriot, I've taken personal pride in her publishing success. James McBride: Winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction for The Good Lord Bird (2013), his candidness during his acceptance speech and his interview with Anna Sale for her WNYC podcast Death, Sex, & Money (one of my favorites) drew me in. Cheryl Strayed: Best known for her memoir-turned-into-feature-film, Wild (2012), I mostly know of her wisdom and forthrightness in sharing thoughtful and empathic advice (along with co-host Steve Almond) on another of the best podcasts around, WBUR's Dear Sugar Radio.

What do these authors have in common--other than being published, successful writers? They are also four of the twenty writers whose names stand out brightly against the backdrop of a colorful (though dated-and-insipid-for-2016) cover of Why We Write about Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature (2016), one of the newest and best collection on writing around, edited by Meredith Maran.

Though seeing the names of Cleage, Danticat, McBride, and Strayed got me most interested in reading Why We Write About Ourselves, all the featured authors' essays are interesting, engaging and inspiring. Just as with their memoirs and other writings, ideas and advice they share in this collection are sincere and insightful, so much so that readers may feel the need to bookmark or highlight every page.

Want a taste of what's in the pages of the book? Here are quotations from the main four who got me interested in reading it. First up is Cleage who explains her purpose in having written her memoir:

I wanted to speak as a woman of my age to younger women who sometimes will encounter me now, when so many areas of my life look calm and serene, and assume that I was this way when I was twenty-five, or thirty-two or forty two.

Danticat explains why she writes memoir by saying:

I write memoir because there are people in my family who no longer can. I write memoir to honor their lives and share their stories...I also write memoir for the same reason I read memoirs; with the hope that my story might connect me with others. I write memoir to feel less alone.

Much of my impression of McBride is based on his interview from Death, Sex, & Money. He presents as an introspective man and a haunted/restless, creative artist. Since listening to his story on the podcast, thoughts of him evoke sounds and images of swirling, bluesy jazz, a dark lounge, and cigarettes. He shares the following about being a writer:

A writer can't be too negative. You have to have a little bit of innocence...You need that sense of discovery...You have to stay away from people and places that foster cynicism and bitterness.

On writing memoirs, he advises:

When you're writing a memoir, you have to be careful because you don't want to bruise people too much. You have to give people the benefit of the doubt...Just show them as they are, but don't blast away. Because everyone is capable of change. 

Last is Cheryl Strayed, whose chapter ends with one the following wisdom about writing a memoir:

The most powerful strand in memoir is not expressing your originality. It's tapping into your universality.

While the writers featured are the stars of this collection, props also to editor Meredith Maran for assembling a collection of writers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. This was a conscious choice, which I greatly appreciate, based on an interview available on her website. Moreover, I love the clear, logical, and uniform structure of each chapter. Clean and clutter-free, the presentation makes this collection inviting to read at leisure:

1. Chapters are presented and organized in alphabetical order by writers' last name.
2. A relevant description from the author's work is quoted.
3. A short biography and/or anecdote of the writer is included to give some context, followed up with "Vitals"--a snapshot--about the writer.
4. Then the meat of the chapter is presented, though in manageable bite sized chunks: the author's reflections about why s/he writes memoirs and insights about life and writing. 
5. Each chapter ends with the writer's "Wisdom for Memoir Writers."

Whether you are interested in reading or writing memoirs, specifically, or writing in general, Why We Write about Ourselves is a great read, not only because of the diverse perspectives presented but also because of the "To Read" pile it leads readers to create. ;)

A CBR8 posted review.