Memoirs and biographies

1. BIOGRAPHIES &
MEMOIRS
By: Andrea Huertas Cianchini
EDU 325

2. What is a Biography?
 “A usually written history of a person's
life” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
 “An account or detailed description
about the life of a person. It entails
basic facts, such as childhood,
education, career, relationships, family,
and death. Biography is a literary genre
that portrays the experiences of all
these events occurring in the life of a
person, mostly in a chronological order.”
(Literary Devices, n.d.)
(1)

3. Types / Categories of a Biography
(2)

4. Significant Writers of Biographies
The
Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
1791
The Diary of a
Young Girl
Anne Frank
1947
Night
Elie Wiesel
1956
I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
1969
(Brookman, 2017)

5. Classic Examples of Biographies
(Good Reads, n.d.)
Madame
Curie: A
Biography
by Ève Curie
1936
J.R.R. Tolkien: A
Biography
by Humphrey
Carpenter
1977
Frida: A
Biography of
Frida Kahlo
by Hayden
Herrera
1983
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
1996

6. Bibliography of 20 Biographies
 Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan (1666)
 My Bondage and My Freedom (The Autobiographies #2) by Frederick Douglass, John
David Smith (1855)
 Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot (1957)
 The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson (1962)
 Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand (1967)
 Huey Long by T. Harry Williams (1969)
 The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom by Corrie ten Boom
(1971)
 The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff (1979)
 George Whitefield by Arnold A. Dallimore (1990)
 Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin (1995)

7. Bibliography of 20 Biographies
 American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (1996)
 John Adams by David McCullough (2001)
 Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang, Jon Halliday (2002)
 Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (2004)
 Maravich by Wayne Federman, Marshall Terrill (2006)
 Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen (2007)
 The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles (2009)
 Who Was Rosa Parks? by Yona Zeldis McDonough (2010)
 I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the
Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb (2012)
 The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King (2018)

8. What is a Memoir?
 “A narrative composed from personal
experience” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
 “Memoir is a written factual account of
somebody’s life. It comes from the
French word mémoire, which means
“memory,” or “reminiscence.” This
literary technique tells a story about the
experiences of someone’s life. A literary
memoir is usually about a specific
theme, or about a part of someone’s
life. It is a story with a proper narrative
shape, focus, and subject matter,
involving reflection on some particular
event or place.” (literary devices) (3)

9. Types / Categories of Memoirs
 Memoirs are Non-Fiction.
 Many different types of memoirs,
seeing as they are about
someone's life or personal
experiences.
 Any memory or moment in your
life that means something to you
can become a written memoir. (4)

10. Some Types of Memoirs (with Examples)
 Childhood, Adolescent, and Coming of Age Memoirs: growing up, school life, family &
friend issues / relationships
 Life Experience Memoirs: things that happened in your life that shaped you; ex: an illness,
your parents, a death, a new job, moving to a new place, marriage, divorce
 Relationships: with friends, family or strangers; some examples: love, marriage, a broken
friendship, divorce, a boyfriend/girlfriend.
 Cultural/Ethnic/Sexuality Memoirs: some examples of this could be coming out, the culture
you grew up in, a time when your ethnicity played a role in something
 Food Memoirs: memories or specific moments tied to food; Ex: cooking with your mom,
eating with a grandparent who has past, a specific food that reminds you of someone.

11. Some Types of Memoirs (with Examples)
 Travel Memoirs: memories or specific moments about travel; Ex: going on a vacation,
traveling cross country, moving to a new state, traveling for religious purposes.
 Survivor Memoirs: traumatic memories or specific moments that have occurred to you. Ex:
abuse, what you saw at a war, abandonment as a child.
 Addiction and Compulsion Memoirs: some examples of this category could be drug abuse,
alcohol abuse, mental disorders, and gambling addiction
 Emotion Memoirs: memories or specific moments in your life attached to emotions that you
were feeling at that time. Ex: the reason behind why you like a specific band, how you felt
when a loved one died, what memories are attached to specific foods.
 Spirituality Memoirs: can be about religion, soul searching, or trying to find yourself worth /
purpose. Ex: why you are an Atheist, why you left the Christian religion, when you figured out
what you want to do in life.

12. Some Types of Memoirs (with Examples)
 Humorous memoirs: memories or a specific moment in your life that was funny to you or
those around you; Ex: the first time you told a joke or a funny thing that happened on a family
vacation.
 A day in the life: a day in your life that has meaning, or just a normal day to day life for you;
Ex: work day, school life, your daily routine when you went to high school.
 Sporting memoirs: memories or a specific moment that can be tied back to sports; Ex: your
first baseball game, the football game your father took you to, your last cross country track
meet.
 A year memoir: memories or a specific moment / event that happened throughout a year of
your life; Ex: relationship, friendship, a death, a birth of a child, adopting an animal, buying a
house.
 Health memoirs: anything having to do with your health (mental, physical, emotional, and or
spiritual); Ex: a disease you have, when you were diagnosed with OCD, the time you spent a
month in hospital, the time you learned you were cancer-free.

13. Significant Writers of Memoirs
The Complete Personal
Memoirs of Ulysses S.
Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
1895
Out of Africa
Karen Blixen
1937
The Moral Basis of
Democracy
Eleanor Roosevelt
1940
(Brookman, 2017)
Walden
Henry David
Thoreau
1854

14. Significant Writers of Memoirs Cont.
A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
1964
Eat, Pray, Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
2010
(Brookman, 2017)
Cheaper by the Dozen
Frank Gilbreath
1948
This Boy's Life: A
Memoir
Tobias Wolff
1989

15. Classic Examples of Memoirs
Down and Out
in Paris and
London
George Orwell
1933
West with the Night
Beryl Markham
1942
The Water is Wide
Pat Conroy
1972
Mommie Dearest
Christina Crawford
1978
(Brookman, 2017)

16. Bibliography of 20 Memoirs
 This Boy's Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff (1989)
 Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron (1992)
 The Liars' Club: A Memoir by Mary Karr (2005)
 Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (1999)
 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby (1998)
 Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette (1998)
 Lucky by Alice Sebold (2017)
 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (2001)
 On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (2001)
 Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (2003)

17. Biography of 20 Memoirs Cont.
 Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in books by Azar Nafisi (2008)
 Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan (2005)
 Marley & Me - Life And Love With The World's Worst Dog by John Grogan (2008)
 The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls (2006)
 Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (2007)
 The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson (2007)
 The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2007)
 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (2008)
 Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin (2008)
 Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison (2008)

18. Mini Quiz Time!
 For the five statements written below please answer True or False.
 1. The definition of a Biography is a literary genre that deals with the
written account or history of someone’s life.
 2. There are three categories of Biography: Biography, Auto-Biography, and Memoir.
 3. Both Biographies and Memoirs are literary works of fiction.
 4. A Memoir is the written account or history of your / someone's entire life.
 5. Any memory or moment in your life that means something to you can become a
written memoir.

19. Bibliography
 Pictures:
1. Inez, S. (2016). How to Write a Lively Biographical Essay. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/how-to-write-a-lively-biographical-essay/
2. What's the Difference Between a Memoir, a Biography, and an Autobiography? | Blurb Blog.
Retrieved 27 October 2019, from https://www.blurb.com/blog/memoirs-biographies-
autobiographies/
3. Yates, R. (2018). Writing the Memoir (Part 2). Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://ronaldyatesbooks.com/2018/07/writing-the-memoir-part-2/
4. Genzlinger, N. (2011). The Problem With Memoirs. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/books/review/Genzlinger-t.html

20. Bibliography Cont.
 Info:
 Biography - Examples and Definition of Biography. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://literarydevices.net/biography/
 Brookman, S. (2017). 100 Most Important Memoirs of the Past 200 Years. Retrieved 27
October 2019, from https://www.stacybrookman.com/100memoirs/
 Definition of BIOGRAPHY. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/biography
 Donelson, K., & Nilsen, A. (2004). Literature for Todays Young Adults (7th ed.)
 Frida. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91767.Frida?from_search=true
 Into the Wild. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1845.Into_the_Wild

21. Bibliography Cont.
 J.R.R. Tolkien. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7336.J_R_R_Tolkien?from_search=true
 Madame Curie. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/341166.Madame_Curie?from_search=true
 Memoir. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memoir.
 Memoir - Examples and Definition of Memoir. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://literarydevices.net/memoir/
 Norton, G. (2013). 42 types of memoir writing - Wheatmark. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
https://www.wheatmark.com/42-types-of-memoir-writing/
 Warner, B. (2012). Memoir Categories | Brooke Warner. Retrieved 27 October 2019, from
http://brookewarner.com/memoir-categories/