Unreliable Truth:
On Memoir and Memory
A captivating treatise on the corruptibility of memory that also provides tools for exploration of the self and soul through personal narrative.
Recommended by Poets and Writers as one of its “Best Books for Writers.”
"The job of writing memoir is to find one’s truth, not to determine the accuracy of what happened; that is history, a testimony, perhaps even an interesting tale. The memoirist, instead, both recounts an event and makes meaning from it."
― From Unreliable Truth:
On Memoir and Memory
Beginning with the idea that memory is nothing more than "an angle of perception," Maureen Murdock explores the recurrent question asked by writers and readers of memoir alike: what actually happened? It started as an essay about the similarities between myth and memoir but took on a more personal meaning as Maureen’s mother struggled with Alzheimer’s disease. Maureen began to look at the relationship of memory to identity as the loss of her mother’s memory affected her sense of herself. It also brokered a healing in the relationship between mother and daughter. As Maureen wrote, the book became more and more about the relationship with her mother and less and less about myth.
Prompted by the loss of identity that accompanied her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s and subsequent lost memories, Murdock offers that perhaps the faithful recording of the past isn’t where the strength of memoir lies. Instead, Murdock looks at the basic components of memoir writing and the process of self-reflection it requires as they bring awareness to the underlying patterns of life.
This captivating treatise on the corruptibility of memory, willed identity and the self as reflected through the lens of memoir speaks to all attracted to this most intimate of genres, and provides tools for exploration of the self and soul through personal narrative.It is used in college writing courses throughout the country.
Published May, 2003 by Seal Press.
Reviews
Unreliable Truth is both a beautifully crafted book about memoir writing and a rich, honest memoir on its own.
Susan M. Tiberghien,
author of Circling to the Center
Drawing on her background as a psychotherapist, she richly illuminates questions about memory and the self, the way emotions are embedded in metaphors, and the underlying myths of our stories. A pleasure to read.
Kimberly Snow,
author of In Buddha’s Kitchen
Written with compassion and wisdom, this book not only awakens the story-teller in all of us, but also inspires us to search for the great gifts hidden in our ordinary lives. An extraordinary exploration of the healing power of writing memoir, Unreliable Truth helps the reader find the thread to metaphors that link humanity across the boundaries of class, culture, race and time.
Flor Fernández Barrios, PhD,
author of Blessed by Thunder