2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures bomb books budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal portland mayor president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes television terrorism theater third parties timber payments transportation union university of oregon violence washington water wildfire women

for me, memoirs are one of the most profound ways to connect to other human beings. they are a vehicle to share experiences that would otherwise go untold. by reading a story someone else is telling, it is possible to connect to someone you don't even know on a very deep level. specifically, i find memoirs written by people who have suffered unbelievable atrocities to be very compelling and important. some brilliant examples that come to mind... zlata's diary by zlata filipovic (war in sarajevo experienced through the eyes of a young girl), stolen lives; twenty years in a desert jail by malika oufkir (her family suffered & survived 20 years in prison in morocco), Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai (woman who survived torturous chinese cultural revolution). to think that such a memoir could be faked would be painful. i would feel cheated and it would decrease my trust in humanity.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
view in context