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Teri Rowe's avatar

Two of my favorite quotes by memoirists:

โ€œI donโ€™t believe writing creative nonfiction is synonymous with revealing yourself, or anyway it hasnโ€™t been for me. The goal is to use oneโ€™s own experience as a launching point to talk about something bigger, something beyond the writer. What you want to reveal is not necessarily yourself, but some kind of truth.โ€

Jo Ann Beard

โ€œIt was not the subject matter of my memoirs that I hoped would be startling, but rather languageโ€™s capacity to name what was once nameless, to define what had once been vague and chaotic. The chief privilege of writing a memoir was the opportunity to go back and make sense of events that left me dumbstruck...โ€

Bernard Cooper

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Natalie Serber's avatar

I love that Jo Ann Beard quote! Thanks so much for sending. And, thanks so much for reading.

xN

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Jennifer Louden's avatar

Just adore you and wish you lived next door!!

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Natalie Serber's avatar

same-same! xN

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Mich Quigley's avatar

Why do people write, why do we read their stories? To find ourselves, to learn, to feel less alone, to heal. I cannot disagree more with Brooks. Thanks for asking :)

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Natalie Serber's avatar

D'accord! I am a deep thinker, a deep feeler and thus I am often in deep shit! When I read of other people, swimming in feelings (happy, lonely, confused, mad) I feel seen and known. Bring me your stories! Thanks for reading! xN

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Deirdre Lewis's avatar

First off, my comment to the Atlantic article: Oy. Life is people's stories, let's hear more. And second, that is one of my favorite poems ever. Thank you for all the treasure here.

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Natalie Serber's avatar

Life is people's stories feels like a great motto. And yay for another fan of that poem. Thank you for reading and for writing. xN

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