Truth in Memoir

LEARNING INTENTIONS

To be able to explain the role of truth in memoir.

To form on an opinion on whether or not it O.K. to manipulate facts in the service of conveying a true story.

QUICK RESEARCH TASK

RESEARCH - Greg Mortenson or Helen Demidenko or Misha Defonseca and find out what happened with the books they published.

When Is Lying in Memoir Acceptable?

Author Tracy Seeley looks at three main claims for why lying in memoir is acceptable and provides a "Why It's True" and "Why It's Not" explanation for each.

They crop up like weeds in the literary garden, those memoirs that lie. James Frey invented some details of his life and wildly exaggerated others. Greg Mortenson and his co-writer turned two events that happened a year apart into a single, dramatic episode. They also claimed Mortenson had been imprisoned by the Taliban, which others claim never happened.

Then there are entirely fake memoirs—lies from beginning to the end. The international best-selling memoir Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, for example, told a riveting tale of the author’s escape from the Warsaw ghetto to safety among a pack of wolves. It would have made a great novel; none of it was true.

When memoir falsehoods come to light, readers feel betrayed. They expect the truth, and they should. When a memoirist writes, “This happened to me,” readers should be able to trust that it did. Lying about what happened violates that trust. It’s that simple.

It’s also more complicated. Unlike news articles, another fact-based genre , memoirs give us more than the facts. As memoir writers, we’re crafting a literary work. We’re also relying on memory and our own interpretation of events. All three factors make truth in memoir a complex business.

READ THIS extract from a REVIEW OF A CHILDREN'S BOOK VERSION OF A BEST SELLING BOOK by Greg Mortenson.

Why do you think 1.2 million people were interested in reading Greg Mortenson's story Three Cups of Tea?

Now read this blurb about a book called Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Greg Mortenson, the bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea, is a man who has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. But, as Jon Krakauer demonstrates in this extensively researched and penetrating book, he is not all that he appears to be.

Based on wide-ranging interviews with former employees, board members, and others who have intimate knowledge of Mortenson and his charity, the Central Asia Institute, Three Cups of Deceit uncovers multiple layers of deception behind Mortenson’s public image. Was his crusade really inspired by a desire to repay the kindness of villagers who nursed him back to health when he became lost on his descent down K2? Was he abducted and held for eight days by the Taliban? Has his charity built all of the schools that he has claimed? This book is a passionately argued plea for the truth, and a tragic tale of good intentions gone very wrong.

TASK

What do you expect from a book labelled nonfiction?

What is the difference between an autobiography and a memoir?

What role should truth play in nonfiction?

What responsibility, if any, do you think publishers should have in verifying the facts of an author’s recollections in a memoir?

To what degree, if at all, does questioning the facts in a memoir affect your willingness or ability to learn from the overall lesson or moral the author is trying to relate?

Now read this article from a journalist, Nicholas D. Kristof where he discusses his feelings about the allegations against his friend Greg Mortenson:

TASK

For what is Greg Mortenson known?

What exactly has he been accused of?

What does Mr. Kristof suggest might be a reasonable explanation for the discrepancies in Mr. Mortenson’s stories?

Why does Mr. Kristof admire him?

In your opinion, to what extent does this news about Mr. Mortenson detract from his good works?

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