Narrate Memoir

How does hearing the stories of Katrina survivors help you better narrate your own memoir? What strategies do they use that you can also use to make your memoir stronger?

Listening to the heartfelt stories people were telling after the occurrences of Katrina really brought to my attention the kind of emotion that accompanied their telling. Seeing many different perspectives in which the storm destroyed people's lives made me feel as though I was present during the disaster. I felt as though I had also become a victim in Hurricane Katrina. There was one particular story that made me tear-up when listening. A mother told her daughter that if the waters become too high, just to swim on without her and to save herself. When you hear a mother telling her child to save his/her self instead of looking back, it touches a point in ones heart to ask themselves, "What would I do in a situation like that?" To think of saving myself instead of trying to save my own mother is heart wrenching. I could never just leave someone who meant/means so much to me for the sake of my own selfish life. When I heard this story, questions upon questions began popping into my head. What the hell would I do? What if I got pulled under the deep waters and just went back for nothing? What if my mother was caught in something? What if the current swept me under so deep that I wouldn't be able to even reach the person I set out to rescue? How would I live with myself had I only gone back to help a loved one? These questions probably will never be answered unless a situation was put forth in my direction.
Finding the deep emotion within each story has shown me that writing a memoir is more than just the telling of one's misfortune or joyous past occurrence. It's about the traumatic experiences people face and the emotions in which allow them to tell their stories. I’m going to incorporate emotion and deep sentimental feeling in my memoir that allows the reader to understand where I came from and who I am today. They are going to help me tell my story.