I haven’t decided if this post is about pets in memoirs, memoirs about pets, or a bit of both. Pets are very important family members. Yet, they often get left out of photos and memoirs when the writer isn’t sure how to include them. In the past, they were often left out because people didn’t view them as important members of the family. Today, there are many households with multiple pets and multiple species of pets. Any animal that is loved by you and your family deserves a place in your memoirs. That animal is a part of your life. They are a part of who you are and why you became this person.
Include the pets in the same manner as you include other family members. Tell their story. How did that animal join the family? Why? Describe the animal’s personality. Tell stories about favorite pastimes and funny events. Show the interaction between the pets and the people. Let your readers see, feel, and understand, the relationship. It’s ok if you choose to be a bit anthropomorphic to give a better sense of the animal’s personality. It can make for a very good story when you do so carefully. Besides, it’s your memoir. If you like anthropomorphic animals, that’s part of you and your personality. If you’ve included photos of other family members, you should also include photos of the pets.
People who want to write the story of their pets, with the pets as the primary characters, may still be writing their own memoir too. Those animals made an impact on your life. You helped that animal, cared for that animal, and took care of that animal. You can’t write their story without including your part in their life. You probably also learned many lessons or traveled some difficult paths together. I hope you also shared more days of joy than of sorrow. You can successfully write a memoir with either of you as the primary character. Another alternative is to write two stories. One from each viewpoint and blend them.
Read a book such as “The Healing Touch of Horses” for ideas about how to write creative non-fiction involving animals, but with the human story in the forefront. If you want to express their personality with anthropomorphism, read a couple of “The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter.” They are written by Susan Wittig Albert, and she does a great job of describing the animals and their personalities using this technique. You can also experiment with switching the point of view. Don’t feel awkward about talking to the animals too. We all do it, even if we blush when caught.
Think about it. If your children were raised with animals, they may not even remember a time that a pet wasn’t in their life. Maybe you were also raised that way. How can you write a story about who you are without including those animals? Your life would not have been the same.
About Penny Leisch
- Web |
- More Posts (39)
