Women Writing Personal Narratives

Incredible memoirist Melissa Febos writes about crafting a personal narrative. She examines the way telling one’s own story can be deeply psychologically impactful. How does a writer wrap their own mind around their life to be able to share that story with others? Each chapter tackles a different consideration that goes behind writing personal essays and memoirs, giving readers a sort of master class in this area of writing. I found Febos’ perspective on writing personal narratives incredibly insightful. I kept underlining so many different quotes from the book. She gives advice for how to examine your life and figure out which stories to share to best tell your own story. This book is perfect for anyone wanting to improve their own writing, whether that’s just journaling or writing their own memoir.

When Julia Lee was in high school, she witnessed the riots in L.A. Her parents owned a business in a predominantly Black neighborhood. After the white police officers were acquitted of the beating of Rodney King, Lee realized that even though she wasn’t white, she still possessed a type of racial privilege. This experience informs her interest in examining race in literature. Her parents are also working class immigrants, and Lee didn’t grow up with much, but she ends up attending an Ivy League school, where her working class background has never been more apparent to her. Biting the Hand is an intersectional look at Lee’s experience growing up and living as an Asian American woman in the United States. Each essay takes on the topic from a different angle as Lee examines both her experience as a multi-marginalized person who, at the same time, holds a lot of privilege in different areas of her life.