Memoir Friends

A good editor is worth its weight in gold. I think I have found gold. She read and edited the first thirteen chapters I’ve written.

Her email began: “First I have to say that I’m so sorry you went through all of this—and I’m grateful you’re sharing such a vulnerable (on many levels) manuscript with me. I truly believe that the best memoirs tell the hardest truths—and as a result, affect lives. I think your book will do this.”

There is much work to do from suggestions she made throughout the manuscript and writing the last few chapters. I write and revise a little bit each day, in between reading other memoirs and enjoying Montana’s summer where I want to be on the river everyday.

One reason I joined Twitter a few years ago was because of its writing community. Several women writers found each other there and now support each other through our own social media group. Though many of us have never met in real life, because of the vulnerability we have shared with one another, we have grown to love each other.

Some of us have published memoirs. Others are in the process of writing one.
Recently, I read two memoirs from our group. Both are difficult subjects, well written with much to glean from.

Melissa M. Monroe’s Mom’s Search for Meaning: Grief and Growth after Child Loss shares her grief process after losing her two year old daughter, Alice, from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). It’s an unimaginable loss with so many unanswered questions. I was touched throughout Melissa’s memoir. What she has written is a beautiful tribute to Alice and helpful for anyone going through grief or supporting someone who is grieving.

Love in the Archives, a Patchwork of True Stories about suicide loss by Eileen Vorbach Collins. Throughout the stories the reader gets to know her daughter, Lydia, how Lydia saw the world, the love that Eileen still carries for her and the places Eileen found some comfort after losing Lydia. Helpful for others who have experienced suicide loss, grief or supporting someone in the midst of grief.

More memoirs from our group are either on my bookshelf or will be soon. Click the links below to learn more.

Goodbye Again by Candace Cahill

Growth, a Mother, her son and the Brain Tumor They Survived by Karen DeBonis

Tap Dancing on Everest, a Young Doctor’s Unlikely Adventure

Broken People by Rachel Thompson

Midlife Cancer Crisis by Maureen C. Berry

I Can’t Remember if I Cried Rock Widows on Life, Love, and Legacy by Lori Tucker-Sullivan

Forthcoming books:

Rebecca Morrison’s memoir- 2026

Heather Sweeney

Casey Mulligan Walsh – THE FULL CATASTROPHE: All I Ever Wanted, Everything I Feared forthcoming from Motina Books in February 2025!

Anne Rollins – Famished

Jacque Gorelick – Map of a Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Finding the Way Home (Vine Leaves Press 2026)

Jocelyn Jane Cox – Motion Dazzle: A Memoir of Motherhood, Loss, and … Skating on Thin Ice

Happy reading and thanks for reading!