Telling Your Story with Joyce Maynard

A question that probably comes up more than any other, is how do we tell uncomfortable truths that hurt the people we love or those we feel an obligation to protect? 

Today, Joyce continues this conversation with Anne, concerning the stakes of being an honest writer. 

"In ways both small and large, so often we do not tell the truth of our stories. Specifically, because that's the case, it means so much when we do."

Today, we address a subject so fundamentally important, that we will explore in 3 segments. It is a question that sooner or later, will face every author of memoir - how do you tell an authentic story about your life without hurting the people around you?

This 3 episode arc will feature Canadian writer, Anne, who poses the question, How do you write about something so personal, that risks exposing someone we care about?

Today, we discuss the central questions of which story to tell, and then, where to begin?

What is the story that most calls out to you to be told? There's a reason why that story haunts you. 

The same things that have created pain in your life are the things to explore. 

Make a list of your obsessions. 

Is it self-indulgent to write? What do I have to contribute? 

Today, we talk about why anybody should tell his or her story, why it matters, and why others should care. 

For twenty-five years, New York Times best-selling author Joyce Maynard has been leading workshops in the art and craft of memoir all over the U.S. and beyond.  Of all the places she’s taught, her favorite destination remains what has often been described as the most beautiful lake in the world: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala—where, for the last twenty years, she has been building a home and gardens that have been an oasis and inspiration to over three hundred writers who’ve travelled there every winter to work with her. This is where this series of podcasts is recorded and produced.  

It is a series of intimate conversations with Joyce and some of her writing students that explore many journeys and global questions in memoir. We start by addressing questions such as, do we need to tell our memoir? What goes in it? What are we really looking for? And how do we arrive at the sense of freedom to tell our whole, true, story?