The difference between a biography, an autobiography, and a memoir.

Did you know these three types of storytelling have a few key differences? For example: 

A biography is an account of another person’s life story. Family history books would fall under this category because they typically include stories and information about relatives who have passed. Unlike an autobiography, biographies and family history books often require extensive research because they are not based on firsthand experience. 

An autobiography is the story of your life experiences and is usually written to inform and explain the motivation behind your actions and decisions. Autobiographies are most often written later in life because they are intended to encompass the entire span of your life. 

A memoir is similar to an autobiography in that it is written in the first person and is also autobiographical. However, it can be written at any point in your life because its purpose is not to recount your entire life story but to reflect on a specific time or collection of experiences. 

Because memoir writing is flexible, there are also many different types of memoirs, such as travel memoirs, childhood memoirs, professional memoirs, confessional memoirs, and transformational memoirs. 

But let’s dig a little deeper so that you can decide what type of book best captures your story.

Biography

When writing a biography on an individual or group of people, such as a family history, it’s essential to include details of key events that shaped that person’s or family’s life story. 

A biography typically provides information about the subject’s birthplace, education, work, and relationships. Therefore, if you’re preparing a family history book, you will want to collect as much information as possible, including letters, diaries, photographs, and newspaper clippings. 

Autobiography

The purpose of an autobiography is to portray an individual’s life experiences and achievements to share with the public or pass on to their children​​​​​​​. Most autobiographies are typically written later in a person’s life after they’ve had sufficient time to fully reflect on everything they’ve experienced. 

An autobiography often begins at birth or during early childhood and chronologically details vital events throughout a person’s life. Autobiographies usually include information about where a person was born and grew up, their education and career, the challenges they faced, and their key accomplishments. The story usually includes a person’s opinions and feelings on specific subjects as they navigate life’s circumstances.

Similar to memoir writing, the story may include flashbacks or jump forward to describe a specific event, but the main storyline typically follows a chronological order from a person’s early life to the present day.

Memoir

The main difference between a memoir and an autobiography is that a memoir focuses on a specific theme or period in someone’s life rather than the cradle-to-grave approach of an autobiography. 

With that in mind, a memoir will often focus on self-reflection to establish an emotional connection with the audience instead of simply presenting the facts about their life. A memoir uses personal insights to tell an intimate and touching story of someone’s life. The topic is intentionally focused and only includes biographical data or chronological aspects if they are meaningful and relevant to the story. Also, a memoir doesn’t necessarily need to be chronological to tell the story.

What makes memoir writing so approachable is that it comes in several types, such as a spiritual quest, travel adventures, a coming-of-age tale reflecting childhood events, raising a family, establishing a business, or even an athletic or political career. 

A few common sub-categories of memoirs include: 

Personal memoirs are the most common because they are written about a specific experience or event and often reflect on why that event may have occurred and what the writer learned once the situation was resolved.

Transformation memoirs are written after someone has endured a significant challenge or change in their life. This type of memoir often reflects on the coming-of-age events in a person’s life, including overcoming addictions or surviving challenging circumstances.

Confessional memoirs are less common because they often reveal secrets. This type of memoir can be very cathartic because it allows someone to share their painful or difficult memories and how those experiences affected them. This type of memoir is often selected to explore a person’s poor decisions, how they made amends with those involved, and how that process eventually changed their life.

Professional memoirs cover pivotal moments in a person’s rise to success. If someone was a politician, for example, they might write a memoir about their time in public office.​​​​​​ Similarly, a serial entrepreneur may reflect on the businesses they built throughout their lifetime. 

Travel memoirs focus on travel adventures and often include the life-changing experiences an individual or family encountered and how they adapted to their new environment. For example, a travel memoir might chronicle the lives of a family living onboard a sailboat and sailing around the world while also homeschooling their children at sea.

As you can imagine, there are many options when writing memoirs, which is why many people decide to write more than one memoir in their lifetime. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to write a memoir about your childhood and youth and then another reflecting on the unique adventures you experienced while travelling or building a successful career.

Of course, I’m here to help you write your story or get started. Email me, and we can schedule a time to discuss your story.