Reading the lives of relevant people, their experiences, adventures and learnings is usually a nourishing experience. Depending on the author we can learn from their story and apply it to our lives. However, when it comes to us, we may be afraid to recount our experiences by naming situations that marked our course.
an autobiography It is its own story where the life and journey of people is addressed. It is one of the branches of the narrative subgenre known as “autofiction.” It is also a new way of confessing and another way of knowing the essential self of each person. Memoirs, captured in an autobiography, are increasingly popular due to the social circumstances in which we operate, since at the same time recounting our experiences from the self makes us vulnerableaccording to the writer Gloria Hernández.
This story does not necessarily have to be written from birth. You can take a tour of each stage of life, focusing on a specific period with the purpose of narrating a legacy. The desire to write an autobiography It is born from the intention of transmitting parts of the personal history that we want others to know, with the intention of sharing valuable lessons learned.
The idea of narrating our life does not necessarily have to be oriented towards a publication. “It may be the desire to leave a legacy, to talk about our history to our descendants and family, or it may just be a learning experience.” comments the writer and also sociologist Denise Phé-Funchal.
The interviewee points out that many people feel the need to recognize themselves, reconstitute themselves, and take stock of the damage and findings. They have that desire to continue existing, even if it is captured on paper and they resort to autobiography to create this narrative.
Where do I begin?
Generally when writing an autobiography we decide what to tell. It is important to be clear about which parts of life we are going to tell and we want others to know. For this, there are several ways to begin to relate experiences. It can begin with a personal introduction and the objective of the narrative, or begin with the story of life to provide a context for the reader.
“In general, I prefer the naturalness of the anecdote to other more complicated ways. Many times, when people start to write an autobiography, they use stuffy language, which they consider literary, and then the product is no longer so pleasant to read,” says Hernández.
Another way to start the autobiography is by telling a specific event that has been triggered by a personal transformation. Many times it starts from a certain point in our history and develops chronologically.
It is possible that we want to narrate only one area of our life, whether personal or professional, although as Phé-Funchal shares, Life is not delimited: “At some point in the story we will always talk about other areas.”
Autobiographical writing is a healthy exercise to narrate negative experiences. The ups and downs, the mistakes, the falls, the defeats provide important lessons to those of us who experience them. Phé-Funchal comments that in narration you can resort to sweetening the story, softening some parts of life. It is not even necessary to get naked in front of others. “In the end an autobiography is autofiction and a very own narrative,” shares the writer. There is no official or specific time to write an autobiography, since personal experiences emerge at different times. “You write when you have something to say,” says Gloria Hernández.
Normally An autobiography is told in the first person, since this form brings the reader closer. Although literature also allows play and combination with a third, these writings are narrated from the self. The two genres in which autobiographies are generally written are the novel and the literary essay. Phé-Funchal considers that chronicle and modern free verse poetry can also be taken into account. The writer considers that in addition to having a clear objective, The autobiography must create moments of narrative tension that are attractive to the reader.
Writing as a healing tool
At the general level, writing has several benefits such as clarity of thought, free expression, effective communication both professionally and personally, creativity and problem solving, based on the recording of experiences and memories. Writing activates the artistic part of people and activates the creative and rational parts of the brain. Doing writing exercises is also often a useful tool to reduce stress and free our thoughts.
Many therapists resort to autobiography as a complement to therapy sessions in order to know and understand the patient’s experiences. Psychotherapist Regina Villagrán uses this technique by the recommendation to write by handto have an approach with emotions. “Writing helps us give it a new meaning or reinterpret our history and give it a new meaning,” he comments.
Villagrán mentions that Writing an autobiography works as a mirror where patients encounter their emotions., they know themselves and become aware of what they are experiencing. “Talking about oneself is constructing and approaching experiences from an emotional x-ray in which we become aware of our emotional reality and reconnect with our own being,” comments the therapist. Added to this is that writing allows us to open the doors of the emotional territories that we have hurt.
Do This exercise of introspection will allow us to discharge ourselves emotionallylearning to live with our wounds, embracing our history from love and understanding.
When writing an autobiography we give names to those past situations that for a long time were unspeakable. This creates a healing and restorative effect, and helps us become “literate” emotionally, according to mental health professional Villagrán.
Practice and share
There are many in-person and virtual workshops where we can practice and start writing our story. Gloria Hernández recommends Clara Lucía Pérez’s workshop taught by the Sophos bookstore.
The writer also suggests reading existing works of autofiction such as A Promised Land by Barack Obama; The Life of My Father by Raymond Carver; Michael Ende’s notebook; Live to Tell It by Gabriel García Márquez and The Crazy Woman in the House by Rosa Montero. If her desire is to share her story, in Guatemala there are several publishers that offer review, correction, editing and publication services.
Basic guide to writing my story
The writer Gloria Hernández suggests the following step by step:
- Write an index of important topics such as events, dates, losses, achievements and more.
- Consult details of the common history with family members, photographic albums, newspapers of the time, personal diaries, etc.
- Take a notebook and develop each of the topics without reading again.
- Transcribe to computer, correct language, writing and style.
- Add photos, newspaper clippings, important documents, if desired.
- Share with the world.
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