![]() “International baggage claim in the Brussels airport was large and airy, with multiple carousels circling endlessly. 4 – Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Woman’s Prison by Piper Kerman ![]() This opening uses relatability in her anecdote to establish rapport with the reader-we like her, and we want to learn more. Additionally, the interaction the mother has with her children is relatable. We have different descriptions of bread and a specific, familiar brand of margarine listed. The details make this opener outstanding. ‘Eat your bread and butter and then you can go play,’ she’d say, as if it were a green vegetable. My mother insisted that my two brothers and I eat a slice of the airy bread smeared with Blue Bonnet margarine as part of our supper. “The only bread that I knew as a child was store bought, machine made, sliced, plastic wrapped, and white. 3 – Bread: A Memoir of Hunger by Lisa Knopp This opening makes us want to know how he got into this situation, what this situation is, and how he’ll survive. We know that the speaker survives, since he’s writing this memoir, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t worried about him. Here, we’re given an immediate sense of danger. “The blood is still rolling off my flak jacket from the hole in my shoulder and there are bullets cracking into the sand all around me.” 2 – Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic The contrast between the narrator wondering if she’s overdressed and Mom rooting through the dumpster is interesting, but honestly, Mom rooting through the dumpster is interesting all on its own. This opening launches the reader directly into action. “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through the dumpster.” Here are four examples of solid openings to memoirs: 1 – The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls Whichever part of your life you’re focusing on, how do you know where to start? Examples of starting a memoir Reading compelling, real-life stories about other people can hit home like nothing else, so when you set off to write your own memoir, it can be daunting just to get started. As any fan of memoirs will tell you, memoir is an immensely powerful medium.
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