This interview with Hilary Mantel is terrific, especially this bit:
Memoir’s not an easy form. It’s not for beginners, which is unfortunate,
as it is where many people do begin. It’s hard for beginners to accept
that unmediated truth often sounds unlikely and unconvincing. If other
people are to care about your life, art must intervene. The writer has
to negotiate with her memories, and with her reader, and find a way,
without interrupting the flow, to caution that this cannot be a true
record: this is a version, seen from a single viewpoint. But she has to
make it as true as she can. Writing a memoir is a process of facing
yourself, so you must do it when you are ready.
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