In published articles here on this blog I have stated -write what you know about and write from your truth. I think Sarah Palin did just that in her new book “Going Rogue.” Never thought I would ever be defending Sarah Palin. After seeing her interview on Oprah I think she wrote from her view point and how she remembered things. Of course we all have filters that allow us to see the world as we see it . It is why we remember things the way we do and they can be different than others remember them. I am sure if she took a lie dictactor test it would say she was telling the truth. That is part of conflict since the fact checkers are finding lots of fact errors. I am not sure how I feel about that. Most publishers have fact checker prior to publishing a book so this stuff does not happen especially since people can sue the author and publisher.
I do know she broke one of my big rules…do not try to get even in your life story or memoir. It makes you look small and it says more about you than the person that you are trying to blame. Most of us will not have 1,000;s of people reading our books but if some one read it 100 years from now they would say that person was very petty. I do not think I would invest the time to write my life story and want to come across as petty.
I think that is why we should write our books farther in time from when an event happened. It gives us time for reflection of the situation and ourselves. It gives us time to forgive those and ourselves for the errors in our past. We all make them and writing about them gives our stories depth and lets our readers get to know us.
I never planned to buy her book even if it was given away free. I have too many books to read that I think either inform me or take me to a place I have always wanted to go. I have been to Alaska four times and never wanted to spend time to get to know Sarah. It seems the way she has framed her book I will not spend my reading time to get to know her either. My conflict over truth and what you know has really torn me and if you have any ideas how to rephrase that so it is not violated I would be appreciative.
Truth is relative. Everyone has their own perspective and assesses facts differently. This has become especially evident to me after several years as a journalist. It’s the journalist that frames the story–we choose who we interview, crop quotes, weave in facts that we deem relevant, and try to turn a phrase.
The same is true for a memoir writer. I don’t think we should necessarily be concentrating on truth, because that implies that there is one truth (which may be possible in math, but is much harder to achieve in other fields). For there to be one truth, we’d all have to agree on one truth. Good luck with that!
I think it makes more sense to discuss our lives in terms of honesty. Being true to yourself and your interpretation of the world, with an explanation of the context. Be clear. If someone was “mean” to you–for instance, in Palin’s case it might be the media–explain that the role of the media is complicated. You use it and it uses you, but maybe it went too far in certain instances. You’re not an innocent victim, but you still feel victimized.
That being said (having given some context and provided some explanation), boo Palin!
Hella,
To me, Sarah Palin is like the train wreck that you can’t keep your eyes off of. But, I would never buy her book or even borrow it from the library. (I don’t think I have any friends who would buy it.)
I totally agree with your comment about getting even. We all have the opportunity to wallow in our pain or move on. It is far healthier to move on and do something to better the world. And it’s also healthier to be honest and self-reflective and not blame your problems on us. That’s being a grownup.
Really good blog post..
Sue
In writing our stories, a reminder about the proof of different points-of-view in stories is relevant. Experts tell us one story with three participants will yield three points-of-view. This can not be dismissed from our memoirs. In fact, literature abounds with conflicting stories by the characters. I think to include other family members’ views are important also. Our filters of our experiences are as legitimate as Sarah Palin’s.
I am saddened by this response to Sarah Palin. I am reminded of classroom lessons (I am a retired teacher) when I taught students to be independent readers and not judge until they have all the information they need. I asked students to be informed before they criticized or before they take a stand. Have you read the 11 points the AP researchers found? What they found was not very consequential, in my view.
By-the-way, another viewpoint of getting even is setting the record straight.
Best wishes in writing your memoirs!