a record of important events based on the writer’s personal observation or knowledge.

To record thoughts and actions for future reference or reflection. To share achievements, influences, and incidents of a person’s life.

A memoir is a form of autobiography usually focusing on a single period in the author’s life and on well- known people the author knows. A memoir often focuses on a major event in the author’s life; the author reflects on the implications of this event.

More subjective than a biography in that they focus on a personal memory. Differ from autobiographies because they stories are personalized, focusing more on what the author has witnessed than on his or her own life and character.

A narrative told in the first person (I, me, my, our, we) Very descriptive of people, places and circumstances. May be selected diary or journal entries or letters to a close friend or member of the family or selections from official documents.