Week 6: Analyzing Memoirs

 1. The authors of both memoirs have drawn me in different ways. The community blog is relatable and just by reading the memoir I could feel just how much sadness and nostalgia the author felt during the time she could not talk to her cousin. I have severed ties with some people in the past and this blog hits close to home. Lena Dunham’s memoir is not as relatable because I have not struggled with any type of mental illness in my life. However, the author of the memoir was interesting from the beginning. I only realized that the memoir was long after finishing it.

2. In the community blog, the writer is brief and tells the story in two paragraphs. I prefer such short yet engaging stories as opposed to long ones because I get distracted easily when reading. Also, short stories tend to give just enough details instead of rumbling about one thing for a long time. Lena Dunham in her memoir Growing up in Therapyincluded a lot of vivid description which made the memoir more real. Vivid description creates a vivid picture for the reader, it allows them to open a gateway to your story and imagine themselves within your fictional world. However, Dunham made the story slow which could make a reader bored.  

3. I get a sense of truth-telling in the community blog because of how raw the emotions feel and how easily the author has told the story. However, Dunham’s blog seems fluid because some things seem exaggerated. Also, there is humor in Dunham’s memoir which makes it look more like fiction than a memoir. Regardless of whether the authors were fluid or not, their stories are not only inspiring but also interesting. I would still read both memoirs a second time in a heartbeat.