Sparkling as ever, Lee Kofman charmed her audience at The Memoir Salon last Wednesday with her candid talk and surprising insights on the topic emotional honesty in memoir.

Listening to Lee, who has been more than brave in her writing, made me realise that while there are topics and stories that make people feel guilty, embarrassed or ashamed, these sentiments can shrink with the placement of words on paper and the more objective interpretation of the reader. Rather than not write about them, I observed that decisions on how best to manage them ultimately may have no bearing on what reaches the shelves in a bookshop. So why not make an attempt to write it all down and see whether it looks different; see whether the intensity of the sentiment attached to it fades a little, or a lot.  Or whether it keeps its strength and enhances the overall story. I think it was a bit of a turning point for me in my writing to come to that view.

At the conclusion of the evening, Tash’s reading from her manuscript was riveting. I can’t wait to read her book!

Perhaps there are other such events for budding and experienced memoirists, but I don’t know of any, which is why these Salon sessions are so valuable to me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Josiane for a wonderful evening.

I’m so looking forward to hearing Kate Holden at the next event in early December.