Episode Details

You have plenty of memories—but how do you find the story that connects them?

After three trips in three weeks, an unexpected cold, and an editing project that brought back memories of Copenhagen, I found myself with plenty to write about and no clear focus. In this episode, I share how I discovered the connection—and how you can do the same with your own experiences.

We explore how travel, books, and ordinary interruptions can become meaningful material for memoir, along with practical ways to shape that material into a focused story.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to notice the emotional significance beneath everyday events.
• How to find a common thread among seemingly unrelated memories.
• How to decide which details belong—and which to save for another piece.
• How to connect sections through meaning rather than chronology alone.
• How reflection helps readers understand what an experience meant to you.

I also share why access to books matters, and how stories can introduce us to new worlds, return us to familiar places, and keep us company when life forces us to slow down.

Try this writing exercise:

List five moments from your past week. Choose two or three that share an underlying feeling, question, or realization. Finish this sentence: “These moments helped me notice…”

Then write 300–500 words using that sentence as your working focus.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Raisina Grape: Copenhagen Caper
• Big Little Truths and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
• Calamity Club
• HBO’s Big Little Lies
• My memoir, Accidental First Lady

Read the essay behind this episode:
I Came Home. The Stories Kept Going.

Explore memoir coaching and writing resources:
www.kerrykriseman.com

If this episode brought a memory to mind, write down a few lines before you lose it. You can figure out where it belongs later.

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!