“Why Should I Read Your Memoir?”

“Why Should I Read Your Memoir?”

March 2014

Several months ago, a rather blunt fellow in the book business in Vancouver asked me, “Why should I read your memoir?” I was taken off-guard, and didn’t have an answer that satisfied him. Or me.

I do now.

Why should you read my memoir, Coastal Lives, published by Pottersfield Press and on the bookshelves any day now?

Have you ever been single for some years – and really hated it?

Have you ever been lonely, and wished you could share your life with someone who sees the world as you do?

Have you ever been scared out of your wits, almost frozen in place – and changed your life anyway? Has the word home ever confused you – I mean really confused you!

Have you ever said, I need to go home – and realized you had at least two homes you needed now?

Are you passionate about the place(s) you call home?

No matter where you were raised and now live, have you ever felt that you were a Come From Away – someone new to a region who sometimes has to scramble to keep up to new ideas and realities?

Have you ever lived far, far away from your family and old friends– and missed them terribly?

Do you love learning – about history, music, new cultures, geography, weather and food?

Do you have dogs and horses in your life?

Do you live to go horseback riding?

Do you you need oceans and rivers in your life?

Are you an adventurer?

Have you lost a beloved sibling to addictions, or a spouse to early death?

Have you ever been so sad and discouraged that everyday life was a struggle?

Have you ever been so injured you were unable to walk – or to even turn over in bed?

Have you ever healed from a bad injury – but still had fears of re-injury to deal with?

Do you accept the inexplicable or even magic in human lives – or do you fight it?

Do you like a fast-paced memoir?

Do you like drama and surprise?

Do you enjoy a good laugh?

Do you like “hybrid-memoirs” – memoirs that blend different genres to tell a story?

Do you demand “a good story”?

Well, I hope you’ll find these features and others in my memoir. Why should you read Coastal Lives? Why should you read any memoir? To enjoy a good read – and visit someone else’s life, just for a short while. With luck, to come back to your own life, with new insights and gratitude. Or perhaps, you may decide to change your life, take on some new adventures and experiences. You may even decide to write a memoir of your own.