The Autobiography Box [Paperback]

Brian Bouldrey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Past & Present | Publication Date: August 2000

The memoir is fast gaining on the novel as the most popular literary form for readers and writers today. Gone are the days when people used to talk over the back fence, swapping stories and the day's gossip. Enter the next best thing: the autobiography, back porch conversation in book form. Contemporary and fresh, The Autobiography Box presents innovative writing suggestions in a visually dynamic, totally inviting, hands-on portable kit. Sixty appealing cards filled with quotes, questions, directions, and exercises provide the practice, while an engaging book with journal spaces for fill-in and excerpts from such literary greats as Vladimir Nabokov, Marcel Proust, Muriel Spark, and Tobias Wolff offer the inspiration. Perfect for both beginning and seasoned writers, The Autobiography Box is all any memoirist needs to get started-that and maybe a comfy porch swing and a tall glass of lemonade.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inside a pretty little box with a sepia-tone photograph of a manual typewriter on the cover is a compact journal with a sepia-tone photograph of crumpled paper on its cover and 60 smooth, oversize cards (yes, more sepia). The cards--labeled "remember," "discover," "dramatize," and "structure"--are meant to assist in your memoir writing. OK, so it's a gimmick. But it surely beats the many hokey, answer-the-questions amateur memoir guides out there, and even the serious memoirist will appreciate the substance beneath its sweet exterior. Taken by themselves, the "remember" cards are less than scintillating (most interesting among them: "Write about a strange family member" and "Write down a story that you tell people that didn't really happen the way you usually tell it"). Pair them with the other cards, however, and you'll soon be writing your memories as conversations among the people involved, or in the form of fairy tales. You'll be asking yourself whether there is a moral to your story, or a sense of drama. "You'll have to find tricks to fool yourself into telling truths you may not wish to reveal to yourself," says the author, Brian Bouldrey, but don't fret if you don't come up with anything deep and dark. "Everything is interesting," Flaubert is quoted as saying here, "if you look at it hard enough." --Jane Steinberg

About the Author

Brian Bouldrey is the author of five novels. His fiction and essays have appeared in numerous literary publications. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Book and Access edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811826732
• ISBN-13: 978-0811826730
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful resource, November 22, 2000

By 

"eac67" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography Box (Paperback)

i was very happy to find this box recently, having started journalling - this is a nice change from most writing guides, which seem to set out very rigid guides about what it means to be a writer, in that it's insightful, flexible, and appealing all in one. if you are or are thinking about writing a journal or memoir, i'd recomment this as a good resource.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun in a box, December 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Autobiography Box (Paperback)

I bought this for a Christmas Gift and instantly it became a success. The cards, which ask questions prompt the author to remember some key life milestones,"Remember your first kiss?", "Look at the scars on your body and explain them". Not all the memories will be happy but they certainly are worth remembering. It may be more fun to discuss some of the questions with friends to help discover what they may have to say or remember. This "Box" will make rainy days, long flights and quiet afternoons pass by quickly. We've had some great life experiences and I can't wait to get it all down on paper and share it with the world. I'm buying my own copy and some addtional gifts today!!

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful junp-starter to your life recording your life., January 24, 2012

By 

P M Evans - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography Box (Paperback)

I have thoroughly enjoyed this kit. It has not only been a great aid in writing an autobiography but has helped me to jump-start my journal on many slow days.