Why do people write memoirs? What power is there in telling our own stories?

People write memoirs because in a memoir, people can share their life and experiences in an entirely different way. Instead of just telling people about their lives, memoirs allow the reader to experience the author's feelings and point of view instead of simply hearing it. The reader has the chance to become closer to the character and really understand better the things that character went through. In the novel Black Boy for example Wright shows the reader how racist the behavior was in the south during his lifetime. In a memoir the reader feels like they know Richard and can relate to him, so they are able to better understand the tragedy of how racist the south used to be. When Richard is mistreated, they reader feels how Richard feels and sympathizes, therefore they better comprehend the impact such racism had on his life.
The power in telling your own story is that it is all about you and you can tell the honest truth. It is your life and you decide how you want it to be portrayed. The power of telling your own story is that it is your personal story with your personal feelings and that makes it so much more meaningful and true. The writer has the power to affect people’s thinking simply by sharing their feelings with them and getting their story out to the public. In Black Boy, Richard Wright used this power to enlighten us about what it was like for him growing up, which caused me personally to think about how my life would have been like if I was growing up during that time, and how different things are now.