Episode Details

January may get all the attention, but September offers its own invitation to begin again.

In this episode, Kerry reflects on several seemingly unrelated moments: teaching aspiring memoirists at the library, accepting two proclamations for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, returning from a late-summer trip, and welcoming college football season.

Together, these moments reveal an important truth: We don’t need to feel completely ready before beginning something that matters.

Kerry explores the difference between resting and postponing, how survivorship changed her relationship with time, and why writing often helps us understand our stories—not merely record them.

You’ll also receive a simple 10-minute exercise to help you turn a September memory into the beginning of a meaningful memoir scene.

In this episode:

• Why September feels like another new year
• The questions that keep aspiring memoirists from beginning
• Why confidence often follows action
• The difference between a memory and a memoir
• How survivorship can change the way we think about “someday”
• A 10-minute writing exercise to uncover the meaning within a memory

Your writing prompt

Set a timer for 10 minutes and complete this sentence:

September always reminds me of…

When you finish, ask yourself:

What is this memory really about?

The event is what happened. The memoir emerges from what you now understand about what happened.

Ready to begin your memoir?

Make Memoir Magic begins September 14.

Through four course modules and four weeks of live group coaching, Kerry will help you identify your memoir’s central story, shape its structure, strengthen your voice, and create a writing practice you can sustain.

Learn more and register for Make Memoir Magic

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who has a story they’ve been meaning to write—and subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations about writing, publishing, and sharing the stories only you can tell.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Making Memoir Magic. To learn more about my course, Make Memoir Magic, click here. 

Join my free Facebook Group, Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors, where we honor your story, provide tips, create community, and help you write the story you were meant to tell. Join here!