Putting the Writer's Voice in Proper Perspective in the Instant

As I woke up this morning, bleary-eyed and stumbling as the alarm sounded at 5:30am, my first thoughts, other than coffee, were on what voice and perspective I should use to write my family history memoir.

Sipping from a cup that warm hazlenut-flavored liquid that at the same time warms my insides, centers my focus, and allows me to wrap myself in the world of ideas, I sat down at the computer to begin reading my Facebook updates.

After taking a moment to watch a poignant video of Dr. Cornell West, explaining why watching President Barack Obama taking the oath of office with his hand on the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Bible makes his blood boil, I followed the link to a blog post from Life Story Writing: Tinted Memoir and Why You Should Do It.

Available at Amazon.com

The article was on target. Or should I say, at that moment I, too, was on target...writing my family history memoir through the lense of grief recovery. I followed the link to a book. I had heard of the title before, but did not realize how powerful the words were until I read the first few pages on Amazon.com and realized that I could not put it down.

The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. I see now that this will be a memoir that I must read.