MEMOIR: A type of autobiography in which the principle interest usually resides in significant events or persons other than the author him- or herself, although s/he was a witness to them.

<psychology> A memorial account; a history composed from personal experience and memory; an account of transactions or events (usually written in familiar style) as they are remembered by the writer.

memoir noun [C]

a written record of a person's knowledge of events or of their own experiences

She wrote a memoir about her years as a war correspondent.

A memoir is a piece of autobiographical writing which is often shorter than a comprehensive autobiography. The span of time covered in the memoir is often brief compared to the person's complete life span. The memoir often tries to capture certain highlights or meaningful events in one's past. Included in the memoir is a contemplation of the meaning of that event at the time of the writing. The memoir may be more emotional and descriptive, and concerned with capturing the feelings of the event, rather than documenting every fact and detail of a person's life. A memoir usually has a particular focus of attention, focusing on the selected events from a perspective that may not include other facts and details from the person's life. In other words, the memoir is highly focused and selective in the memories it includes.

(N. Zuwiyya, 10/2000)

A memoir does the following:

• Explores an event or series of related events that remain lodged in memory
• Describes the events and then shows, either directly or indirectly, why they are significant --

or in short, why you continue to remember them

• Is focused in time; doesn't cover a great span of years -- that's an autobiography
• Centers on a problem or focuses on a conflict and its resolution and on the understanding of why

and how the resolution is significant in your life

(Burch, C. Beth. Writing for Your Portfolio. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.)