Routledge The Work of Life Writing: Essays and Lectures

Explore the unique impact of life writing through this collection of essays and lectures from the Routledge Auto/Biography Studies series. This book examines how life writing functions differently than imaginative genres like fiction, drama, or poetry. It explores how these narratives bear on the world and act in history in significant ways. As memoir and other forms of life writing see unprecedented production and consumption, this text provides essential context. It looks at specific ways these stories shape our understanding, such as how memoirs of illness and disability can work to depathologize the conditions they recount. It also examines how memoirs written by children about their parents can extend or alter the relations formed within the home. This volume serves as a necessary reminder of the power held by the memoir genre. It is a valuable resource for those studying the distinct ways that personal narratives engage with history and human experience.