Where does a new writer of memoir begin when researching their own life?

First with yourself. Why is that you want to write a memoir and share with the world? How will your story change people and their views or help them learn something? Then talk to the people in your life, interview them formally if you can, or informally and collect stories. Look at family albums and what you can infer about what happened from the stories you have heard and the spaces in between, and then begin looking outside yourself for further research.

How does a memoir writer identify the level of truth they’re willing to share with the world?

My rule of thumb about the level of truth that you’re willing to share is about being generous in portraying other people in your writing, and being as honest as you dare about yourself, while ensuring you protect your emotional wellbeing. Sometimes there are memories that are clouded and that is for your own protection, so don’t press on these without proper support mechanisms in place.

You’ve written for numerous non-fiction anthologies and publications; do you feel personal essays as micro-memoir are a pleasant breather from writing full-length memoir?

I love the opportunity to write personal micro-memoirs to explore issues that I’m going through, process my own thoughts and share any lessons I’ve learnt. I have so many lovely moments when readers have recognised themselves in my personal essays and felt like I was writing about their own lives. It is in these moments that I see the true power of memoir; we are writing our own personal truths and yet these are universal truths.

How would you describe the unavoidable experience of discussing your personal life and history when speaking about your book?

I would encourage anyone to feel comfortable in speaking about any personal experiences that they write about. Once we put our writing into the world, we have no control about how other people will perceive it. I’ve had some interesting experiences where male readers really connected with the male relatives I wrote about in my memoir, and yet I saw this as a book about the women in my family.

What non-fiction have you read recently that you loved?

I’m currently reading Teacher, Teacher: An anthology about inspirational teachers (Affirm Press, 2023). As a teacher myself I’m always fascinated to read about how students perceive their teachers and what they see as important. I also have a piece in it where I write about teachers that inspired me and about being a teacher myself. I’ve sent copies to my teachers so they know how life-changing our interactions were and can only hope that one day I can hear from my former students who feel the same!