How to Write an Inspirational Memoir

Millions of American women loved Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Chances are you're one of them. The book spent years on the best-seller list and Julia Roberts played the starring role in the movie. Not only was Eat, Pray, Love a light, trendy self-exploration story set in exotic locations, it has also inspired many to live a creative life to its fullest. And Gilbert is no longer just an author or writer—she is a sought-after speaker, even a self-help guru. She’s followed her memoir Eat, Pray, Love with a more traditional self-help book (I haven’t actually read it, or any of her other books, but I’ve heard) called Big Magic. I am constantly amazed at how the book has become more of an inspirational, self-help phenomenon than just a memoir about a privileged white woman who gets divorced, goes on vacation, and finds another boyfriend. 

I work with a lot of people in the self-help industry—life coaches, motivational speakers—and I spend a lot of time talking to people about the book they want to write. And ever since Eat, Pray, Love hit the best-seller list, I've found myself in some version of the following conversation on numerous occasions.

Me: "So tell me about your book idea."

Client: "Are you familiar with Eat, Pray, Love?"

Me: "Yes, actually I'm very familiar with it."

Client: "I want to write a book like that."

Through further questioning, the person reveals to me that she wants to use her personal life experiences as a model for transformation that will help others—a way to show people how to bravely and boldly live a better, more satisfying life. I’m not sure that any other transformational memoir book has risen to Eat, Pray, Love’s level of popularity. But I think it's cool that so many people have embraced the narrative, memoir form as a way to help others work through their issues. 

So how does it work? How can you weave your personal experiences into a story that inspires others? Here are a few tips.

1. Think about Your Lowest Point

One must hit bottom before they can climb back to the top, like Gilbert did when she cried about her marriage on the bathroom floor. This is often where a great transformation story starts—at the lowest point. So where were you when you hit bottom? What put you there? Was it a long-overdue breakdown? Or a sudden epiphany triggered by a random event? Try to put yourself back in that place and feel those raw and powerful emotions all over again. Then write about that. 

2. Plot Out the Actions You Took to Change

When Gilbert wanted to overcome her problematic divorce, she negotiated a book deal and got a paid vacation. You probably won't have that luxury. But you most likely took some kind of bold action. Maybe you quit your job, or left your spouse, or sought spiritual guidance in some way. In some way, at some point, you decided to do things differently. And that initial decision undoubtedly led to smaller realizations along the way. Look through your memory for these actions and realizations, and see if you can figure out how one change led to another. 

3. See the End

If you're writing about a transformation that happened in your life, then you are, hopefully, already transformed. This means you have completely recovered from that terrible bottom place where you first realized something had to change. In other words, you have reached a place that allows you to look back and think, "Wow, I've come a long way." Use this perspective to think about the specifics of how your life has changed. What is different now? How do you see the world in a different way? How can you take your readers to a similar higher place? Understanding the specifics of your transformation will allow you to write about them with clarity.

4. Understand the Narrative Arc

All stories are structured on a narrative arc, meaning, they all have a beginning, middle, and an end. Making your life transformation story successful means arranging the events along an arc, showing your starting point, your actions, and your challenges, and eventually rising to a big realization or dramatic climax. Then your story should level off and wrap up with a satisfying ending, which is where you're fully transformed and life is good. Understanding how the narrative arc works and fitting your experiences into that structure make your story satisfying to read and meaningful to others. 

5. Write in Scenes

The difference between the Eat, Pray, Love-type and the typical self-help book in that it’s written as a story, using creative writing techniques, like setting, characters, and showing rather than telling. So Gilbert doesn’t say the food in Italy was delicious, she describes her meals and the sensation of eating them, so you actually feel like you’re sitting at the table with her, eating the pasta and drinking the wine. This makes the writing compelling and fun to read.

Writing Your Transformation Story

I can't promise you'll sell a million copies of your book, and I can't promise Oprah will have you on her show or that you’ll get to do a TED Talk or they’ll be a movie or any of that. But I can promise that if you want to write about your life as a way to help others, you can use these tips to make your story inspirational!

And if you need help, you can always contact me about editorial services. Click here to request a free consultation...

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