Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory

by Maureen Murdock

Book Overview

Beginning with the idea that memory is nothing more than "an angle of perception," Murdock explores the recurrent question asked by writers and readers of memoir alike: what actually happened? Prompted by the loss of identity that accompanied her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's and subsequent lost memories, Murdock offers that perhaps the faithful recording of the past isn't where the strength of memoir lies. Instead, Murdock looks at the basic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580050832
• ISBN13: 9781580050838
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Totally captivating!

Murdock is fabulous as she winds us through numerous perspectives of the art of memoir, the unstableness of memory and her own personal journey. Filled with references from other great authors, Murdock challenges the reader's thinking. This book provides great insight to any would be memoir writers. The first section deals with memory and asks us 'what is truth?'. Truth according to who's viewpoint and, if our viewpoints on the same situation are different, does it make our view any less or more truthful? Murdock spins the reader into her story of her mother's illness as a way of showing us how memoir works. Then in the 2nd portion of the book, she gives us more of a step-by-step journey to memoir writing. I found this book fascinating, well written and highly informative.

What is Memory?

This book is a thoughtful introduction to memoir writing as a means to explore memory. The book is divided into 2 parts. In the first part, Murdoch presents an extended example of memory exploration through memoir as she describes her relationship with her mother up to the time of her mother's death from Alzheimer's. In this section, not only does she present her own memoirs, but she also analyzes the process of recollection and writing. In the second part of the book, Murdoch offers advice about writing memoirs. She includes a few suggested exercises in this section. The book includes a glossary of terms and a bibliography. I found the book extremely accessible yet academic in tone at the same time. In writing about memoirs, she draws examples from many published memoirs, including those by such authors as Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, and Ruth Riechl. Rather than being didactic, she encourages contemplation and experimentation. She draws a clear distinction between autobiographical and memoir writing, noting that the genre of autobiography is "a recounting of linear events from birth to death", but that of memoir, "a selected aspect of a life." She provides very useful advice about how to choose stories with universal themes and fill them with sensory details. The book is geared towards assisting those who would like to engage in the writing of memoirs as a process of self-discovery or spiritual search.

fascinating exploration of memory and memoir

I've read many books about writing memoir as well as many memoirs. This book combines some of the best of both. Teasing out the distinction between remembered "facts" and emotional truth, Murdock uses her skills as a therapist, writer, and teacher to weave together a very valuable, to me as a memoirist, volume.