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Mentoring Your Memoir
A 'HOW TO WRITE' AND A PERSONAL MEMOIR ALL IN ONE.
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Also available as an eBook in all formats
Review by Alan Wheatley: Emeritus editor of Bonzer Magazine
Goldie is a widely-published author of fiction and non-fiction books, articles and short stories for adults and children.
In Mentoring Your Memoir Goldie successfully blends her own memoirs with, as she says, "practical hints for both experienced and novice writers". I found her own story absorbing, which says a great deal about Goldie's skills as a writer, while the many useful tips for writers are set out clearly and with insight. In fact, it takes a brave author to put her own writing up for judgment as well as an exemplar to illustrate the tuition.
Her early life story is set in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and London and the reader is treated to Goldie's observations about the social mores of each place as they were from 1936 to 1967, and by extension, the ups and downs of her own life. She doesn't pull any punches and I consider her memoirs so interestingly written that they deserve a book of their own.
But the main focus of Mentoring Your Memoir is on the many practical hints Goldie offers that will show us, she says, "how to document our own life histories … (and) that will lead you through the creative process from research, structure, crafting, to beginnings, endings, controversial issues and publishing".
A challenging list, and one well-tackled by Goldie.
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