“How do I write the last chapter of a memoir?” coaching and editing clients will sometimes ask me, wondering how to end a memoir.

It is a good question because the last chapter of a memoir is your final shot at affirming your theme and at creating a satisfying and meaningful ending to the story the reader has been engaged in for perhaps 200 or 300 pages—or even more.

Revising the last chapter is something I worked on carefully with on my childhood memoir—French Boy/A 1950s Franco-American Childhood.

As I wrote my memoir

For a long while, I had contributed to the text of the second half of my memoir, and the text had become a bit rambling. Without much awareness that I was doing this, I filled it with vignettes—my “little darlings” as many writers refer to these vignettes—I had forgotten to include elsewhere. Some of them are going to have to submit the fate that writers refer to as “killing their little darlings.”

MEMOIR NETWORK MEMBERSHIPS

Receive the level of support you need to finish your memoir.

Launching May 21

Learn more by clicking here.

From DIY with our free materials to workshop feedback from a mentor and peers that will expand and polish your book.

New User Registration

Choose a Username*

Email*

Input the code:

First Name *

Last Name *

*Required field