Welcome:
This is a work of memoir meaning I experienced the events but will not claim everything here is the whole, provable, and irrefutable truth. Memory simply cannot supply that level of accuracy, no matter how diligent the writer and her research. Ten people can witness the same event and each will convey different versions of what happened based on their point of view, positioning, personal bias, education and emotional capacities. The memoirist attempts to tell the truth but must always be forthright about the nature of this truth. What I write here is my truth. My experience. My point of view.
The big events, the legal ones to include recovered medical records and testimony before the Oregon Medical Board are all true and recounted without modification. The course of the events with Dr. Rick are also true as they are laid out.
Names/locations/identifying features have been changed in the case of all the characters except myself, my children, and Steve.
For the sake of flow, I’ve created composite scenes from a series of conversations and events. This means I permitted myself artistic license in some cases. In other cases, I stayed as close as possible to the actual moments.
Construction of The Summer of ‘72
When I started this book in 2014, my goal was to write a memoir that could hold up next to a classic novel to include adherence to a dramatic structure and alignment with a classic plot line for the simple reason that I was told by a colleague who specialized (and taught) fiction, “It could not be done.”
He was wrong.
Memoir can be written in the same way as the best novels. Yes, it takes longer and requires the writer to have enough emotional distance from their material to think in these structural ways, but it’s possible. The reporting of events typical in memoir, the habit of “this happened, that happened” construction is tiresome.
This is a genre that can, if we are up to the task, challenge the writer to transcend our personal bias, cauterize wounds and offer them to our art, and to think in the ways of our best storytellers. I’m not claiming this is a great or even memorable book. I am claiming that I tried to make it so, or at least shove the genre forward an inch or two. We’ll see.
The plot before you is Rebirth as taken from The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker.
The structure is the classic W format learned in Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.
And this is my rough sketch of Summer. I’ll bring this—more formally—to you as chapters post.
Finally, while I had no plan to turn The Summer of ‘72 into a teaching, the times we live in seem to have offered me the opportunity. Mainstream publishing, where I was lucky to launch my career during a saner era, is in a state of confusion and chaos, rife with agenda, as well as political influences. Stepping out of this mayhem, I’ve decided that the best use of this work is as a teaching tool.
My thanks in advance.
~ Jennifer, 🐦⬛
PS: Below, a reference list of teachings from these chapters that I’ll add as I go:
3/23: The Memoir Writing Introvert: The journey to truth via memoir
4/5: Walk Your Talk: Counting scenes, lines of exposition
4/13: Refuse to Repeat Beats: Character development/escalation
The Summer of ‘72
Chapter 1: The Wheels Falls Off
I welcome your comments here, but throughout the posting of chapters, have turned off that function in order it reads like a true book. Commentary gets in the way of the continuity. Teaching posts will also have lots of places to comment. 🐦⬛
This is so fascinating, Jennifer! Thank you not only for sharing your work but taking us behind the curtain to see how it's done. About to jump into Chapter 1 now.