Aphrodite’s Breath is the story of the island of Kythera, and of being a sometimes unsatisfactory daughter to a much loved, but aloof, mother.
Articles on Memoir
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Why was Susanna Kaysen really hospitalised? Her memoir Girl, Interrupted turns 30 this year. It investigates whether she was ‘mad’, or medicalised for a ‘chaotic’ life that defied gender norms.
Journalist Shannon Molloy was sexually abused as a child, by another young person. He talks to experts, and to other men who’ve experienced sexual abuse, to make sense of his experience.
Kate Legge’s husband was chronically unfaithful. So was his father, who was forced to leave the family home after revealing his mother’s affair. Legge reflects on generational love and infidelity.
D.H. Lawrence is a writer who provokes adoration or loathing, depending on one’s taste, politics and patience. How reliable is he as a guide to life?
To read a “memoir” by Janet Malcolm is to enter a realm where the very idea of memoir will be treated with mistrust.
Why are we so utterly in thrall to upper-crust tales of privilege, riches and scandal? Because it’s a great story of wealth, heritage and survival in the modern world.
When the global press first reported on Prince Harry’s Spare, they were doing so from the Spanish translation – an expert explains the surprisingly significant impact this had on its interpretation.
Daniella Mestyanek Young grew up in the Children of God cult, also known as The Family. She escaped aged 15, then joined the US army after college – and recognised similar systems of toxic control.
Over 100 life stories of Holocaust survivors have been published through a Holocaust survivors’ memoir program. Listening to survivors narrate their stories is a powerful learning experience.
With the disastrous effects of climate change already upon us, past events may have lessons for the future.
Prince Harry’s long-awaited memoir tells a story of a troubled young man, traumatised by the death of his mother when he was just 12. And a man, closer to his 40s, who remains angry and anxious.
Bret Easton Ellis’s first novel in 13 years blurs fact and fiction, mining his youth for material. The result is Joan Didion meets Brian De Palma.
Children and the adults they become need to choose how they grieve. That may include sharing their experiences and getting angry.
Vince Copley lived a long, impressive life, helping to make a better world for Aboriginal people. Born on a mission in 1936, he died aged 85, just after finishing his memoir, on 10 January 2022.
Family estrangement feels shameful and isolating: but if you’ve experienced it, you’re far from alone. Sharing true stories can help reduce shame and create awareness.
Hancock isn’t the first politician to attempt redemption through memoir.
Fighting became a metaphor for Donna Lyon to recover from her childhood abuse. When her boxing career finished, she wondered if boxing – combined with creative writing – could help others like her.
Detention at Manus Island was not the same as detention at Auschwitz, writes Jordana Silverstein. But the historical insights from those who were in those places echo through time, across generations.
In her new memoir, Stella Prize winner Heather Rose reflects on overcoming childhood trauma and adult pain with spiritual work. But our reviewer wishes it allowed moments of ‘pause or ambiguity’.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Researcher, English and Writing, University of Tasmania
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Professor of History, School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences, University of Newcastle
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Visiting Fellow, Centre for Cultural and Creative Research, University of Canberra, University of Canberra
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Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University
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Senior Lecturer in Humanities, University of Southern Queensland
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Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Wollongong
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Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney
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Casual Academic, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
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Associate Dean Indigenous and Professor of Publishing and Communications, The University of Melbourne
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Historian, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Sydney
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PhD Candidate and literary critic, The University of Melbourne
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Personal Chair, Literary Studies, Deakin University
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Professor in Gender History and the History of Sexuality, The University of Queensland