Someone besides you needs to read your memoir. After all, you are writing for an audience. (If you are writing for your own therapeutic reasons, that’s fine, too, and you can disregard this lesson.) The big problem when other people read your work is that they will always compliment you on how great it is. No one wants to hurt your feelings, and that is exactly what would happen if they told it was terrible.

If you were writing fiction, you would want a disinterested third party to read and critique it. People who read fiction are interested in the story, not necessarily in you. But you are learning how to write memoirs for your family and friends to read, so you should have a friend or family member give you feedback. In order to be sure that the feedback is positive and productive, we’ve prepared four questions on Remembers When Lesson 11 Worksheet, “Getting Feedback.” Print the worksheet and include it with your memoir when you give it to your reader. You’ll ask them the following:

• If you have heard me tell the story before, what did I leave out that I usually say or that I should have said?
• What did I include in the story that made it confusing or wasn’t really relevant or interesting?
• At what points did it not sound like me telling a story to family and friends? Where did I lose my “voice?”
• What are some other experiences you know I’ve had that you think I should write about?

These four questions will generate positive feedback that will help you improve this and future memoirs. When you talk to the people who have read your memoir for you, listen carefully to what they think is interesting or noteworthy about your life. This can be a great source of inspiration to you.