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The acclaimed author of Sins of My Father shares the secrets of writing a new, transformative kind of memoir.
Into being is an essential guide to writing memoir in a radical and empowering way. Drawing on her experience as a memoirist and a teacher of creative writing, Lily Dunn presents the ground-breaking idea that the craft of memoir itself can offer a form of transformation.
Dunn demystifies the memoirist’s art, helping readers to find meaning in raw experience and elevate the personal to the universal. She considers intriguing questions, from why our memories give greater significance to certain events to how we can write honestly without intruding too far into the lives of our loved ones. She also explores how writers are extending the memoir form to create something hybrid, playful and subversive.
In an age of social media, filled with confessions, re-inventions and distortions of the self, the question of what it means to be an individual is more urgent than ever. Into being shows readers how to turn writing memoir into a journey of discovery – one that can be shared with the whole world.
‘Lily Dunn is one of our best teachers and theorists of autobiographical writing and Into being is an inspiring, philosophical and helpful guide. If you are a memoirist feeling discouraged or lost, this book will give you both encouragement and insight into the value of the form, and practical ways forward. I copied many lines into my own journal.’
Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun
‘As astute as it is generous, Lily Dunn’s Into being draws a capacious doorway for all who seek to write from lived experience, illuminating the contours of the endeavour using copious examples and abundant wisdom.’
Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood
‘A beautiful book: absorbing, propulsive, generous and humane, both in its honesty and in its willingness to share process.’
Marina Benjamin, author of The Middlepause: On Turning Fifty
‘Into being is a startlingly beautiful book that unpacks the craft of memoir with compassion and vast wisdom. Lily Dunn has written an indispensable companion for any writer embarking on the time-bending, often overwhelming journey that is the creation of memoir. I loved everything about it, and I'll be giving copies to all of my students.’
Elissa Altman, author of Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create
‘A profound examination of the value of memoir for both writer and reader, with practical advice on how to access emotionally meaningful events. Lily Dunn’s Into being is the essential guide to all things memoir.’
Richard Beard, author of The Day That Went Missing
‘Into being could not be more timely. Life writing, memoir and autobiographical storytelling are culturally prevalent and Lily Dunn has provided us with a sensitively written, wise and insightful combination of advice, reflection and theory. An instant classic that I will be using in my teaching and writing life.’
Suzanne Joinson, author of The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things
‘A revelatory and vibrant exploration of the transformative power of memoir - an essential read for writers, readers and teachers.’
Jenn Ashworth, author of Notes Made While Falling
‘This book is a gift to the serious memoirist or life writer looking to develop their work. Full of practical advice, inspiring examples and a generous breadth of references, Into being looks set to become an essential part of any writer's toolkit.’
Julia Bell, author of Hymnal
Introduction: From repatterning to becoming
1 Taper in the rushing wind: moments of insight
2 Snow in August: when memory collides with the imagination
3 From the static into the moving world: the memoirisation of time
4 Radical deconstruction: embodied writing and protective forms
5 The holder of the threads: who is speaking and where are they standing?
6 Writing about others: our other selves
7 Who gets the last word? extracts from author interviews
Index