Research Paper on Benefits of Writing Memoir

A memoir is a type of autobiography where the narrator delves into certain situations in their lives that had a significant impact on them. There are many benefits to writing a memoir such as inducing identity integrity, analyzing one’s experiences to discover the meaning of life, increasing motivation for both the reader and the writer, and allowing the reader to think from a diverging perspective on issues that have prominence in today’s world. It is often difficult for one to understand who they really are and to find their purpose in life. Writing a memoir helps one analyze their life experiences to the fullest and come to terms with one’s identity. To unlock the true meaning behind one’s life and purpose, they have to understand and accept their identity integrity. Thus, writing a memoir increases the capacity of accepting and completely understanding oneself, which then unlocks the door to self-realization. 

As for the benefits of the reader, they will get motivated through the moral standards that are in every memoir.  A memoir contains many important life lessons that everybody faces because the author too, learns from their own experiences. The path of learning that the author experiences is something that readers may also experience, which will help them not make the same mistakes the author made. Readers will also benefit from reading a memoir through reading about certain topics through the lenses of another person which expands one’s range of thought.

Although the writer and reader of a memoir acquire many advantages through their experiences with the book, there are still many disadvantages to writing and reading a memoir. The main disadvantage to a memoir is its potential to be biased. As it is a personal narrative, it has the aptitude of taking sides in different real-life incidents, which may or may not consociate with the reader, who might have a different opinion. The nature of being biased results in a bigger predicament- prejudice and pessimistic beliefs against the author. 

It is easy for the readers to be offended if the author denounces their beliefs. According to the Autobiography and Memoir article, “Readers should take care to examine the author's persona, the image that the writer projects to readers.” Another disadvantage for an author of a memoir is that the writers could get sued for defamation. According to the Writing Memoir: Libel and Slander article, “Libel suits can be brought for false statements published in writing. Slander suits can be brought for false statements made verbally.” While memoirs could help one learn more about themselves and the people around them, it is hard to do so if the reader feels that their beliefs are being antagonized by the author’s opposing beliefs

Nevertheless, one should always write a memoir because it is not strenuous and can be written by anyone. It is not like an autobiography and is short and concise, going over only the most significant experiences in the author’s life. It is also very meaningful, not only to the writer but also to the reader who could learn a lot of morals and how to live one’s life correctly. The writer could learn from his or her mistakes by completely analyzing these situations and learning moral lessons. They could understand the true meaning of life and understand their place in today’s society. Memoirs should be written because of the monumental significance it has on the writer and reader. Even though a memoir could undermine and maybe even defame others’ beliefs, it still holds true to humanity and serves as a pathway towards self-realization.

In conclusion, a memoir has an extensive amount of benefits for both the reader and the author. The author gets to go over their life experiences and analyze what they did right and what they did wrong, which allows the writer to fathom their purpose in life. According to the article, The Pros and Cons of Writing a Memoir, “Writing about life is great therapy.” The reader also benefits from reading a memoir because they could correlate the author’s life with their life and benefit from a ubiquitous amount of motivation. As for writing a memoir, it is very simple to write because it is the most pronounced way of writing about one’s life. This is why memoirs have such a significant impact on the reader and writer. However, there are many disadvantages to writing a memoir which all center around the readers. This is because, considering that a memoir is a personal narrative, there are bound to be many opinions of the author that are either biased or defaming the reader’s beliefs on certain aspects of life. In the book The Color of Water, Ruth McBride says that “Dennis was a solid, clean Christian man” but that may be a statement that some readers, say from that time period, might not concur with because of how they view Dennis. All in all, the impact of memoirs can conjure a variety of emotions, whether it be the reminiscing of old memories or the anger of differing opinions. No matter which one, memoirs have a considerable impact on us people as humans and on the way we think.