Exploring Memories

 Becoming and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? uncovered powerful memories from the protagonist's childhood. In Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? the author describes in-depth memories in an interesting way. She doesn't really question if her memories are true or not, she just states memories about her troubled upbringing. While it was sad to read about her hard childhood I really enjoyed her writing style. It was very blunt, but she still expressed some emotion. I also liked that the writing was split up into a lot of lines, not just blocky paragraphs. One of my favorite passages is, "I needed words because unhappy familiar are conspiracies of silence. The one who breaks the silence is never forgiven." I really related to this quote because I have an interesting childhood and a lot of hardships having to do with my parents fighting. This excerpt relates more to The Art of Memoir because there are a lot of details conveyed like a story, presenting things without question. Whereas in Becoming by Michelle Obama, she questions what little details really happened. She really focused on how it made her feel rather than the little details going on around her. Something she wrote that really stuck out to me was, "If there was a challenge to vault, I'd vault it. One proving ground only opened onto the next. Such is the life of a girl who can't stop wondering, Am I good enough? and is still trying to show herself the answer." (89) I really liked that she was still questioning herself, but still working towards her goals in life. I find myself questioning if I am good enough to accomplish certain things every day. Both excerpts explore the storytelling of memories and are able to make you feel connected to the author.