Difference between memoir and biography

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes. Memoir, biography, autobiography, oh my! The adage that truth is stranger than fiction rings true when we delve into the lives of significant people or people who have endured something significant. Each has different requirements to qualify as a memoir vs. The topic of a biography will often be someone who is an important historical figure, a celebrity, or a person who has had significant cultural or societal impact.

This real-life tale reveals a hidden narrative in modern medicine and points to a history of racism in the field. The story was written and recounted by Rebecca Skloot, an American writer who has contributed to many scientific publications. Reading an autobiography can be more powerful and intriguing than a biography, partly because the words and perspectives are unique to the subject.

There are details and insights that only the person who is the subject can convey — unfiltered by the lens of someone else.

Difference between biography and autobiography and memoir

As they recount the important events of their lives from start to finish, we get to experience it in their own words. It gives us a unique look into a specific period that was transformational to the person writing it. More than the other real-life accounts, memoir proves over and over how ordinary people can have great impact and insight writing about the trials they overcome.

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed, is a compelling example of a memoir vs. This is a story about a young woman who, after losing her mother to cancer and getting divorced among other travails , embarks on a 1,mile hike on the Pacific Crest trail — alone. Having no previous professional hiking experience, her expedition mirrors the inner trials and tribulations she overcame before surviving in the wild on this extraordinary hike.

She traces the impact of these losses through her own family history and writes of the complexities of love and grief. When a person picks up a memoir, they are expecting a story that truly happened to the author.