Autobiography and memoir are slightly different approaches to recording one's life and making meaning of it. In memoir the writer searches memory for the meaningful moments that come together to make a life. In memoir the events and memories can come up randomly. Or they can be summoned in a focused way, for example All the things I wished I'd learned but didn't or All the teachers of my life and what I learned, etc.

In autobiography, the writer attempts to capture history, or at least a chronological set of facts that show the movements of a life. Autobiography typically starts in childhood and ends with the present moment. Of course, it is not possible to do either memoir or autobiography without doing the other. In autobiography we also must reflect on the meaning of events and in memoir there must be some grounding in time and place. Still the two practices are different.

If you would like to think about a personal autobiography take a sheet of paper and divide it into ten year segments of your life. For each segment simply list any memories that come to mind whether you think they are significant or not. List the dates of important events in your life as well as those that you recall as important for your community, nation or world. This life spreadsheet can serve as a general outline of your autobiography. Before you begin it will be helpful to decide who the intended audience is for your autobiography. Do you want to leave it for your children or grandchildren? Do you simply want to write it for yourself as a way of coming to peace with your experiences? Do you hope to publish your work? Do you want to write as a prayer of thanksgiving to God? Each of those intentions will inform the way that you write.

When you are ready, begin your writing by telling the story of your birth. Tell the reader all the details that you have been told about the circumstances of your birth. What do you know about your parents' and other siblings' reactions to your coming into the world? What was the house like? What did your father or mother do for a living? Who took care of you as a baby? What was going on in the country the year that you were born? Was it a time of security and optimism or a time of uncertainty and anxiety? Paint a picture of your family and its place in the community. How did you fit? Use as much detail as you can come up with. You can always edit later. Details turn facts into biography.

After setting the stage for your life, choose the memories from your spreadsheet and write about each one. Be sure to be as concrete in your descriptions as possible. This will give your writing immediacy and energy. For example. If you want to describe something that happened in the summertime you could start by saying, ‘The room was hot.’ Or you could say, ‘The air in the old house was thick as cream, so hot the wall paper seemed to sweat.’ Which one of those sentences paints a more vivid picture of a hot summer day? If it is hard for you to get started try doing a 'timed writing'. Set an egg timer for 10 minutes and just write on a sheet of paper everything that comes into you mind about a particular year of your life.

For example, choose the year that you were 8 years old and just start writing. Where did you live? Who was your teacher? Who were your best friends? How did you get to school? What did you do after school? What was happening in the world that year? How did that affect your family? What was your most embarrassing moment? Who made you feel good about yourself? What were your past times? What did you read about? What was your favorite subject? Did you go to church? What was that like? What did you think God was like? What was Thanksgiving Dinner like? Christmas Eve? Were you an early riser for school or did your parents have to drag you out of bed? What did you dream of doing when you grew up?

Just write and your hand will tell your story. One other thing, memory is a wily thing. Not all memories are factual in the concrete historical sense. You may remember vividly the red plaid dress that you wore on Christmas morning only to find a picture to discover that it was moss green. That doesn't matter. You will remember the real 'truth' of the moments and experiences and that is where the value of a life lies.

As you think about your life, it may be helpful to go back to your spreadsheet and add more details. Try asking these questions to fill in the picture.

• Who were the most important teachers in my life?
• What are the most important lessons I have learned?
• What have I lost?
• What have I found?
• What are some things I learned to do?
• What were my 3 biggest mistakes?
• Who were your best friends?

As you write your biography (and, by the way, take as much time as you need) check to see if you have written about the major turning points in your life, your relationships with family and friends, your work or contributions, your spiritual life, your health, your losses, your accomplishments, your experiences of joy, your experiences of art of music, your loves and hates, the experiences of money in your life, how you have grown and changed, your hopes for the future and your ideas and feelings about death and the afterlife.

If you can get down on paper even a glimpse of who you are as a person you will have given a great gift to those who love you.