What are the Different Types of Memoir

This is actually a loaded question since there are a lot of different types of memoir. However, not everyone’s life story or memoir will fall into a certain category.  So, what are the types?

Well, according to all the research I have done on the subject, there are quite a few. The list below is just a few from my notes. I will put another list in the next post as a continuation. These lists will be, by no means, complete but may give you some ideas of what you would write and/or where it would fit in.

1. Coming of Age - This is basically a genre itself. It’s a very popular topic and revolves around your transition from child to adult.
   Examples:
   This Boy’s Life: A Memoirby Tobias Wolff
   The Liars’ Club: A Memoirby Mary Karr
2. Travel Memoir – This type is a first person account of a journey to somewhere or having lived away from your home. It usually mixes history and facts about the destination with your opinion, emotion and personality.
   Examples:
   An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser
   Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Occupational or Vocational Memoir - Deals with your career or journey through the ranks in your vocation.
   Examples:
   Becoming a Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School by Melvin Konner, MD
   Unrepentant Leftist: A Lawyer’s Memoir by Victor Rabinowitz
4. War or Military Memoirs - Pretty self explanatory.
   Examples: Brutality of War, The: A Memoir of Vietnam by Gene Dark
   Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery by Nick Popaditch
5. Spiritual Memoir - There are actually a few types of spiritual memoirs including seeking, confession and redemption. I don’t know much about this sub-genre but I do know it is popular.
   Examples:
   Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Spiritual Memoir by Elizabeth J. Andrew
   Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir by Joan Chittister
   Devotion: A Memoir (P.S.) by Dani Shapiro

Mandee

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