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Surviving Childhood Abuse: A Writer’s Experience

Denise Brown — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 05:55:00 +0000

Congratulations to Denise Brown on the publication of her book, Transcending Darkness: A Memoir of Abuse and Grace. I recently had the opportunity to interview Denise about her experience writing her book on surviving childhood abuse. I am pleased to share her experience. To read Part 2, click here. To read Part 3, click here.—DL […]

Writing the right memoir

Denis Ledoux — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:15:34 +0000

not writing the right memoir can constrict your writing. The person who has put down one memoir a number of weeks, or months or even years ago, may not be able to pick it up again because the energy that had initially informed it is gone. The memoir has become the wrong memoir to be […]

Difficult, Painful Memories Can Make a Memoir More Psychologically Astute.

Denis Ledoux — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:45:58 +0000

We all arrive at adulthood with some difficult painful memories. In this post, I offer you procedures for dealing with and healing those memories. First of all, writing about painful memories should not be an occasion to re-traumatize yourself. Stop for the moment if you feel overcome, but if you feel ready to write about […]

Banish Fear of Revealing Too Much: Be a Bigger Presence in Your Memoir

Denis Ledoux — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000

The fear of revealing too much of ourselves in the memoir we are writing can be paralyzing. We wonder: “What will people say? How will people react to what I am revealing?” So… We hold back in our writing. We stop ourselves from personal revelation, from sharing secrets. The fear is founded—it’s not always a […]

Who is Your Memoir Narrator?

Denis Ledoux — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 15:31:01 +0000

This may sound like a trick question, but it’s not. In fact, “who is your memoir narrator?” is a very serious question that will determine—or at least greatly influence—the tone and the theme of your narrative and how your reader views your story as being truthful. (more…)

Writing more Deeply: The pain in telling the truth

Denis Ledoux — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 11:00:00 +0000

My new memoir, French Boy (due out in the summer of 2023), is about my childhood. Much about this time in my life has a context that is unique and consequently different from that of my contemporaries. This memoir has a place in the world of memoirs, and I want it to find that place, […]

Work With or Through Pain: Writing Painful Memories

Denis Ledoux — Tue, 17 May 2022 15:30:00 +0000

In this video, Work With or Through Pain: Writing Through Painful Memories, I talk about writing through painful memories. Pain is often a barrier to memoir writing. Who wants to revisit difficult times? Although delving into the past is a generally pleasant experience and promotes healing and growth, it can also be painful. (more…)

The Theme-focused Memoir

Denis Ledoux — Tue, 03 May 2022 14:43:52 +0000

While many of the people whom I have helped to write a memoir have come ostensibly to write about their lives – to celebrate some achievement, I would say that many of these people are also writing a mission-driven memoir, a theme-focused memoir. Behind the desire to tell about their lives, there is some intent […]

“Making Nice” Will Trip You Up

Denis Ledoux — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 11:00:00 +0000

You can always tell the story in the “official” version, but you will be at odds to tell the story well. When you distort your insights in order not to contradict other people’s take on your story, your readers will sense that something is wrong. (more…)

Revealing Ourselves in a Memoir — 3 Reasons We Don’t Do It.

Denis Ledoux — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 15:20:00 +0000

Why are we afraid of revealing ourselves in a memoir? As we reveal too much about ourselves, are we revealing too much about someone else as well? (more…)