SOURCE: “They Did It Their Way,” in Los Angeles Times Book Review, April 4, 1993, p. 12.

In the following mixed review of Written by Herself: Autobiographies of American Women, Miner praises the inspirational autobiographies included in the anthology, but criticizes Conway's failure to provide smooth transitions and questions her inclusion criteria.

Jill Ker Conway's anthology, Written by Herself: Autobiographies of American Women, is part of an avalanche of recently published or republished memoirs, journals and autobiographies. What makes this self-writing so popular among writers and readers?

The writers' motives vary: to inspire, to propagandize, to settle scores or justify choices, to secure places in history. The most interesting stories ask, How did I get here from there? When narrative is a process of discovery for the writer, so it can be for the reader.

We read these stories for literary pleasure, entertainment, escape, psychological and social edification. What distinguishes autobiography...