Liberties in Truthfulness

1.

Fluidity is a natural part of life. We are hopefully always learning and growing, while taking time to question our experiences and others. It is not black and white; I was this and now I’m that. Maddie Crum uses Eat, Pray, Love as an example for where the author seems to “speak from a place of fixed wisdom” and argues that the perspective of a person is constantly changing. Is Eat, Pray, Love a memoir that critics found “inherently mushy, self-absorbed, and full of canned advice?”

If we are open to fluidity in our writing and we acknowledge the different versions of ourselves that we and others may perceive, it can help writers avoid a mushy or self-absorbed memoir. It seems that some individuals cross the line of 82% truth and go into the dangerous territory of just “making stuff up for the heck of it.” Inconsistencies in Primates of Park Avenue show a writer who maybe took things a step too far when she wrote her story.

It doesn’t offend me to consider that some writers may embellish stories. Obviously, some days may be mundane, and people don’t particularly appreciate dull writing…so to enhance their memories and experiences is helpful to create a more “cohesive” story.

Maddie Crum states “the desired affect is to allow listeners and readers to feel how we felt, not to merely be aware of the literal circumstances leading to the feeling” so I think that a little story telling ability is very important for someone writing a memoir.

2. 

There was a post I read on herviewfromhome.com that really helped me understand some personal conflicts I was having for a while. The author talked about the rough delivery she had with her child and how she didn’t want to hand her over to people all of the time. She felt this way because in the first 20 minutes of the baby’s life she was not able to hold her. This was the same thing that happened for me and my daughter. Her face was also bruised badly when she was born and looked totally blue, prompting me to ask the 12 other people in the room if she was alive.

Reading stories of other women who may have gone through a similar thing has been very helpful for me. I don’t think that it would change the experience for me too much, as the themes of the stories still elicit the same feelings and cause me to reflect on my own experience. And these women who write their stories for this online community are truly emotionally honest with their entries. If they need to enhance these stories, but perhaps they stay at that 82% of truthful-ish writing, then I would not be offended.