Viva70 – A good life at any age

Memoir Writing: Emotional Minefield or An Epiphany?

10 March 2026 | Life-Style

Along with most 70-year-olds, I began writing a memoir three years ago. Called “Our Story,” I envisaged a readership of one, my son. I expected to write in a humorous style, engaging, deft, clever wordsmithing that would leave my reader enthralled, wanting to know more. I would be meticulously truthful, careful not to edit the poor mistakes I made in my life, bad behaviour and lessons learned. I would focus on human stories and narrative not historical content. Our Story would be less about dates and chronology and more about the human condition. The book would also unpack the genetic influences on my life, explaining some of those poor decisions I made and excuse some of my poor parenting! I thought this book would detail the lives of other inhabitants of our family tree. Three years ago, I planned to have the book finished in 6 months!

Three years later, the first draft of “Our Story,” is finished, and the second draft is half finished. At 80,000 words it is still growing and changing shape. More than the actual product, the book, I have learned so much about the process of memoir writing. I can confidently say that nearly every assumption that I made three years ago about writing this book, was incorrect.

” A memoir is my version of events. My perspective. I choose what to tell and what to omit. I choose the adjectives to describe this situation, and in that sense, I am creating a form of fiction.” Isabel Allende