Writing Your Memoirs - How Soon is Too Soon?

Everyone has a story they want to write down as part of their legacy, but at what point in time does it become acceptable to start writing your own memoirs?

 

Bookstore shelves are lined full of celebrity memoirsby persons under 35 years of age. At a first glance it seems silly to think that they have so much to say from such a short span of time. Perhaps it’s a little too early to be publishing their life highlights when they still have more than half their life to live, so whenis it actually acceptable to start writing your own?
 

First, what is a series of memoirs?
On further investigation I discovered it is not, as I first thought, an entire life story but a selection ofmemories from that life. In real terms this means that one single person could create a countless number of memoirs over time, filling several books and continuing to line those book shelves in their honour. Celebrities, you are forgiven.
 

I then had to ask myself, what is the point in writing memoirs?
There are several reasons people write their own memoirs, the main being it is a way to reflect on your life as it has been and how you got to be who you are. Writing it all down becomes a therapeutic tool to confront the memories that haunt you. Once you reflect on them and see how things are different now, they lose their power over you. This means the person writing has the opportunity to consider how to move on in their life and start a new chapter, so to speak.
 

So, why are young celebrity memoirs so highly prized?
Popular culture has always fed upon this curious obsession we have with delving into the private lives of those who currently spend their time at the forefront of our attention. Role models from a young age, these people have a duty to keep their public image the way they want it to be portrayed.
 

A recent article about celebrity memoirs highlights Suri Cruise, about to become 7 years old, as the highest priced memoirs book they’d like to get their hands on. This seems ludicrous and a little sad because it is all down to her association with her well known parents. With so much gossip and rumours flying around the press, it’s even more important for them to relay the truth about their life at an earlier point in time. 
 

How soon is too soon for the average Joe?
I’m 25 years old, that’s a quarter of a century. I feel that I’ve lived a lifetime in itself through all of the experiences I’ve had,butis it time to start writing my own memoirs? Starting the writing process doesn’t actually seem like such a silly idea if I am to try and remember and string together all of the finer details of my life before this point in time.
 

For an average person like me perhaps the planning and writing is okay. It’s even acceptable to post my accounts on an online blog. However, attempting to create and publish a whole book before I’m 40 is perhaps a bit far-fetched unless I have a truly unique set of memoirs that need telling – and that make for good reading.
 

I think I’ll save the relayingof my own very average experiences and wisdom till I’m older, but if you have a story that you feel would be important to share with the world then don’t wait, start writing it down. It may be that it has such a powerful message it will change someone else’s life. 
 

This is just my own perspective, but what do you all think? Let me know!
 

Author Bio:
Kayleigh Fuller is an arts and cultural heritage enthusiast and keen writer for GKBC. She believes that the best stories come from previously very private and untold experiences; her favourite being the fictional Memoirs of a Geisha.