Reality-Based Memoir vs. Non-Fiction by Cinda Williams Chima Summary and Analysis

Even though Ellen Hopkins was telling true stories in "Crank" and "Glass," she decided to make it a fictionalized account inspired by true events. Recent scandals about true stories not really being truthful have made the reading public skeptical. Two recent examples are: "A Million Little Pieces" and "Misha: A Memoir of the Holocaust Years," which were both proven to be mainly fiction.

The purpose of a memoir is to tell the truth, deliver a story and help both the reader and writer make sense of an experience or life. Some critics are a little more lenient as to what the "truth" is although journalists are more prone to demand verifiable facts. Novelist Anna Quindlen vows to never write her memoir because she has a bad memory...