Memories to Memoirs

There is no right way to structure a memoir; like a novel it can start at any time, jump decades ahead or back, its chronological order irrelevant. An autobiography, however, requires that timeline to structure your life into some form of order.   
Memoir comes from the French word meaning memory.  Always in the first person, it is the written memory or a series of memories that have really shaped your life.  Our memories never fade and can be brought to life whenever we choose; snapshots of our life, so crystal clear we can picture the scene still in our minds eye.  We may experience the sights, the smells, the emotions, and the lessons we learned, for we wouldn’t have remembered them, had we not learned something from the experience.  These are the memories we should turn into memoirs.
Very often these memories document a turning point for change, an epiphany, a realisation of the truth, so they keep locked away, rarely resurfacing, sometimes because of pain and the emotional attachment it still connects with.  Or merely forgotten, confined to the dark recesses of the mind.  It can take time to allow your past, passage to your present, but it will ultimately shape your future.  Re-visiting a memory and the process of writing it down can be most therapeutic, letting go of something that no longer serves us.  The memory remains, but without the emotional baggage, the experience can be shared to support others who are going through a similar issue.   Honesty is most important, but to speak openly needs courage, especially when talking about sensitive subjects and family members.  But a memoir is about you, what lessons you’ve learned, not about pointing the finger at someone else.  Everyone we meet teaches us something, and all learning is positive.
My dear, late mother always said that there was a silver lining in every situation, however desperate you may feel at the time.  She was right, and although things didn’t always go as planned I learned a great deal more through adversity.  What you think you need is not always what you really need, and need, and want, are different things entirely.  Weddings or special events are remembered by everyone present with a different perspective from others.  We all have distinctive memoires, so our storytelling will have a unique feel.
I once heard that your first memory is traumatic, and whether that’s right or not, mine was.  I can picture the scene so vividly: watching my two-year-old self running down the corridor in the bungalow where I was born and tripping headfirst on the floor.  I got up, shook myself down and looked around, wondering what had just happened.  My brother and sister had pulled a string across the rooms opposite, and now my seven-year-old brother was howling with laughter.  My sister, who was only five at the time, has confirmed this story to be accurate, but insists that she did it under duress, maybe, but I do remember her laughing too!  My thought simply, ‘Why do these people whom I love, want to hurt me?'  It’s a concept that I have pondered over ever since!  Was your first memory traumatic, I'd like to test this statement?
Writing your memoirs is a way of sharing your memories with others, not necessarily just with family or friends, but with people who have had similar experiences, and will feel supported by what they have learned from you.  We all have a story to tell, and every person is their own storyteller.