Unreliable Truth [Paperback]

Maureen Murdock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003

Beginning with the idea that memory is nothing more than “an angle of perception,” Murdock explores the recurrent question asked by writers and readers of memoir alike: what actually happened? Prompted by the loss of identity that accompanied her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s and subsequent lost memories, Murdock proposes that perhaps the faithful recording of the past isn’t where the strength of memoir lies. Instead, Murdock looks at the basic components of memoir writing and the process of self-reflection it requires and how they bring awareness to the underlying patterns of life. This captivating treatise on the corruptibility of memory, willed identity, and the self as reflected through the lens of memoir speaks to all attracted to this most intimate of genres, and provides tools for exploration of the self and soul through personal narrative. Included are practical tips and writing suggestions for the aspiring memoirist and a glossary of writing terms.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If, as Murdock says, we use memory to create our identities, then at last there's an explanation for why members of a single family will remember in radically different ways an event that affected them all. For just as memory shapes identity, says Murdock, identity, once formed, shapes how we remember things: "If the image of the event we have participated in does not match the image of the self we have carefully constructed, then we rarely remember the facts of the event at all." Yet according to the author, each memory, no matter how discrete, has a structure similar to that of myth; beneath each memory is a psychological archetype, such as that of the journey. So while it's possible for a memoir to be narcissistic, Murdock claims, most of them transcend petty egotism; a book like Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes "stirs our collective memory and inspires our collective compassion." In trying to describe the writer's relation to his or her unconscious, Murdock counters the shadowiness of her subject by referring to such well-known memoirists as McCourt, John Bayley, Isabel Allende, Mary Karr and J.M. Coetzee, as well as lesser-known authors. Part One of this study outlines Murdock's general ideas about memory and identity interspersed with an often painful-to-read account of the author's relationship with an angry, controlling mother. Part Two is essentially a textbook, complete with exercises designed for those interested in organizing their experiences as best they can and, given memory's unreliability, making as much sense as possible of them.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580050832
• ISBN-13: 978-1580050838
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is Memory?, February 10, 2006

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unreliable Truth (Paperback)

This book is a thoughtful introduction to memoir writing as a means to explore memory. The book is divided into 2 parts. In the first part, Murdoch presents an extended example of memory exploration through memoir as she describes her relationship with her mother up to the time of her mother's death from Alzheimer's. In this section, not only does she present her own memoirs, but she also analyzes the process of recollection and writing. In the second part of the book, Murdoch offers advice about writing memoirs. She includes a few suggested exercises in this section. The book includes a glossary of terms and a bibliography.

I found the book extremely accessible yet academic in tone at the same time. In writing about memoirs, she draws examples from many published memoirs, including those by such authors as Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, and Ruth Riechl. Rather than being didactic, she encourages contemplation and experimentation. She draws a clear distinction between autobiographical and memoir writing, noting that the genre of autobiography is "a recounting of linear events from birth to death", but that of memoir, "a selected aspect of a life." She provides very useful advice about how to choose stories with universal themes and fill them with sensory details. The book is geared towards assisting those who would like to engage in the writing of memoirs as a process of self-discovery or spiritual search.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating exploration of memory and memoir, February 10, 2004

By 

James E. Van Buskirk "jevb" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unreliable Truth (Paperback)

I've read many books about writing memoir as well as many memoirs. This book combines some of the best of both. Teasing out the distinction between remembered "facts" and emotional truth, Murdock uses her skills as a therapist, writer, and teacher to weave together a very valuable, to me as a memoirist, volume.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally captivating!, January 13, 2008

By 

K. Wojcik "stacks o'books" (Montana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unreliable Truth (Paperback)

Murdock is fabulous as she winds us through numerous perspectives of the art of memoir, the unstableness of memory and her own personal journey. Filled with references from other great authors, Murdock challenges the reader's thinking. This book provides great insight to any would be memoir writers. The first section deals with memory and asks us 'what is truth?'. Truth according to who's viewpoint and, if our viewpoints on the same situation are different, does it make our view any less or more truthful? Murdock spins the reader into her story of her mother's illness as a way of showing us how memoir works. Then in the 2nd portion of the book, she gives us more of a step-by-step journey to memoir writing.
I found this book fascinating, well written and highly informative.