Why a memoir?

Why did I decide to write a memoir? A memoir is a very expansive  word and implies that someone has had a very interesting life and therefore he or she wants to share his or her experiences with everyone else. Even though I believe everyone of us has had an interesting life full of life lessons learned that one can share, not everyone is interested in recording those experiences and sharing them with others. Do I think I have had an interesting life that has resulted in lessons learned? Yes, I do. Do I think I have a most interesting life? No. In many ways my life is an ordinary life. But I have lived in three continents of the world, speak four languages and feel that I have battled with health battles, the ones you don’t see, most of life. These challenges have broadened my perspective and helped me develop as a human being. 

When I was a teenager, a book caught my eyes in the library. It was called “To be seventy”. As I flipped through the pages, I wondered if some time in my life I would write a book like that. At that time, I had an ordinary life, was a teenager in high school, and life had been a smooth ride. Why I had this thought I don’t know. The only thing I can think of is that I loved to write and I loved biographies and autobiographies and memoirs. As it happened, these are the books I mainly read throughout my life. 

Something about a life story fascinated me. I could see how someone dealt with the challenges of life and how they brought their dreams into reality. So after publishing 8 books of poetry and prose, I thought it was time that I tell my life story so far. I would include insights looking back and lessons learned.