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Hi there Word Nerds! Thanks for joining me for today\\u2019s episode of DIY MFA Radio. Today I\\u2019m talking to Meredith Maran about her latest book:\\xa0Why We Write About Ourselves.

Following up on her previous collection: Why We Write, Meredith\'s\\xa0most recent book is a collection of essays from memoirists, talking about why they write memoir in the first place. The lineup of authors featured in this book is a veritable who\\u2019s who of the memoir world, and the insights they share are no less awesome. Today I\\u2019m delighted to speak with Meredith\\xa0and hear her take about writers love to write (and read) memoirs.

In this episode Meredith and I discuss:

• Writing memoir and embellishing the truth
• How our perspective changes over the course of our lives, but our writing stays constant
• Pros and cons of being truly authentic in your writing
• The writer\\u2019s responsibility to protect the innocent (or the guilty) in their writing

Plus, Meredith #1 tip for writers.

About Meredith Maran:

Meredith Maran is \\xa0a passionate reader and writer of memoirs, and the author of thirteen nonfiction books and the acclaimed 2012 novel, A Theory Of Small Earthquakes. Meredith writes book reviews, essays, and features for newspapers and magazines including People, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Salon.com, and More. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, Meredith lives in a restored historic bungalow in Los Angeles. Her next memoir, about starting over in Los Angeles, will be out from Blue Rider Press in 2017. To learn more\\xa0about Meredith and her work, follow her\\xa0on Facebook and Twitter or visit her\\xa0website.

Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature\\xa0is the follow-up to editor Meredith Maran\\u2019s last collection, Why We Write, this new book\\xa0tackles one of the most popular literary genres: memoir. Meredith\'s new book\\xa0features some of its most-read authors, including Cheryl Strayed, Anne Lamott, Nick Flynn, Sue Monk Kidd, and James McBride. Contributors candidly disclose the origins of their memoirs: a traumatic experience, like Darin Strauss or Ishmael Beah; family relationships, like Sue Monk Kidd, Edwidge Danticat, or Pat Conroy; or simply a knack for personal storytelling, like Sandra Tsing Loh or Anne Lamott.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/081