Write Part of My Memoir in November, Day 7: Woo Woo

Write Part of My Memoir

Welcome to Day 7 of a memoir-writing challenge that has turned a bit weird.

Not exactly the challenge itself, but rather its intersection with the memoir.

I am just coming close to the end of a chapter in which I:

  • wrote a not-so-flattering portrait of a man I had briefly dated but hadn’t seen or heard from in years
  • made fun of all things woo woo (I was mocking the bent towards organized New Ageism in the Southwest).

Within an hour of finishing and scheduling yesterday’s post, which focused on the problem of writing negative things about people who are alive, I got a request on social media to connect with the guy I’d just portrayed in unflattering terms, the one from whom I’d heard nothing in years. And no, I hadn’t googled him or looked him up on social media.

Cue Twilight Zone music.

This coincidence — or is it? — made me realize I might still be on other people’s radar, whether I knew it or not. And it made me rethink what I had written about this man from my past; even though I had changed his name and no one else might be able to identify him, he would be able to recognize himself in my portrait. Two of the things I said about him weren’t especially complimentary, but they were fair. The third was funny but a cheap shot.

I think I’ll get rid that one.

Rules to live by: Dance like no one is watching. Write a memoir like everyone is reading. Diss the people who deserve it, no problem (but do change their names). Cut the others the same slack you’d want for yourself.

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About the Author

Edie Jarolim is a writer and editor living in Tucson, Arizona. Sign up on this blog to get updates about her humorous tell-all/memoir, GETTING NAKED FOR MONEY: An Accidental Travel Writer Reveals All.

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