Ahead of beginning their interviews, every LifeBook author is asked to select how they would prefer their book to be structured—chronologically or thematically. By making this choice, they give their writing team a clear starting point for shaping the manuscript as the interviews unfold.
These two seemingly simple choices—chronological and thematic—are by no means prescriptive, and both can become highly personalized, as you will discover…
Chapter by chapter: The power of chronology
“Start at the beginning and work forward.” It sounds easy, doesn’t it? And yet, “the beginning” looks different for everyone. For some, their beginning is the moment when they entered the world; for others, it can be any point in the distant past where they feel the direction of their lives was set or strongly influenced. For example, many chronologically structured LifeBooks begin with the author’s relatives landing at Ellis Island. Their ancestors’ decisions to emigrate directed where these authors grew up, what language they speak, and their connections with their “home country.” In turn, these factors set the scene for authors’ childhoods and the people who influenced their early lives.
At LifeBook Memoirs, we invite authors to create a timeline during their first meeting with their interviewer, to help the project team prepare thoughtful questions and structure the manuscript effectively. This exercise is especially important for authors who are looking to structure their books chronologically. Mapping out the key events in one’s life enables everyone, including the author, to ensure that no important events are forgotten and that each is allotted the appropriate time for discussion.
We also encourage authors to use their LifeBook journals to help with this task ahead of time, as even a little extra preparation and forethought can help everyone hit the ground running and be as efficient as possible with interview time. LifeBook journals include pages of prompts, given by decade from the 1930s to the 2000s, so that authors can tie in social history with their memories. Many of our authors enjoy reflecting on the changes they’ve witnessed over their lifetimes. In fact, the desire to preserve these personal accounts of recent history has often been the very reason they chose to invest in their LifeBook projects. For these authors, a chronological structure is the best choice, and it will only enhance the storytelling as the reader gets to experience history through the author’s eyes.
Chronologically structured LifeBooks can be personalized with unique chapter titles and artistic touches, like epigraph quotations that an author has selected because they resonate with different periods of their lives. Authors who emphasize social history have been known to define each chapter by decade, giving an idea of what the stories that follow will include and what stands out to the author about that period—for example, “The 1960s: Miniskirts and Pop Music.” We have also prepared chapters organized by home address, by song lyrics relevant to the author’s life and from the period being discussed, and puns on film titles.
It’s worth stressing that a chronological structure doesn’t have to mean a rigid sequence of events—it can still offer plenty of flexibility and creativity. To muddle the known phrase, life is a rich tapestry, and in writing, that tapestry sometimes needs unraveling, rearranging, and reimagining for readability. Themes that are constants throughout our lives, such as faith or a special interest, cannot be broken down and inserted in between chronological events, so thematic chapters later in the book are often required. Thematic spotlight chapters can be really useful for easing the pace of the reading experience. Rather than continually pushing forward, in a sense these chapters are like settling with the reader and having a broader discussion, reflecting on a particular aspect of one’s life, sharing life lessons, or paying tribute to a special person.
Idea by idea: Building your life story thematically
Thematic narratives, though a little more logistically complicated, can be really dynamic and a great way of creating a unique memoir. These books can be themed in their focus, by concentrating solely on a person’s career or family history, for example, or they can approach all aspects of the author’s life through a specific lens. Examples of such books include Stanley Tucci’s memoir Taste, which looks at the author’s life in relation to food and shared meals, and Paul Dodgson’s On the Road Not Taken, which is about the author’s life and music, traveling from his first musical experiences to his decision to start performing for the love of it. Nominated for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction in 2024, Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Sudden Death was written by art critic Laura Cumming as a biography-cum-tribute-cum-art-essay about losing her painter father, her memories of him and how he introduced her to art, and how that influence and shared love has impacted the author’s own life and career. It would be unusual to have a LifeBook centered around Dutch Golden Age art, but plenty of our authors have devoted their lives to a family business or the pursuit of a particular passion, or they’ve been especially inspired by a loved one.
More commonly, thematic LifeBooks are divided into thematic chapters. Recently, we produced a book organized by the author’s various “joys” of life: the Joy of Working, the Joy of Making, the Joy of Moving, the Joy of Family, and so on. Another author, who had lived and worked all over the world, told their life story country by country. While not strictly thematic, being lenient with chronology is often necessary for our authors who have been in the military too, as they cannot interweave stories of their career and home life easily when the two were often lived separately between postings and leave periods.
It’s important to understand that a thematic approach isn’t just a device for adding flair or novelty to a life story. Every life story is interesting and worth telling; the value of a LifeBook lies in who it is being written for and what the experience of writing it gives to the author. If there are no obvious topics into which you can pick out and organize your key memories, trying to force the structure will only complicate the storytelling, and the result will be awkward to read. In such cases, the thematic approach probably isn’t the right one. A chronological style will still be as engaging and compelling.
When less really is more: Alternative twists
Occasionally, a slightly different approach is required to share stories from a person’s life.
One great story, beautifully told
Some authors come to us with the aim of telling one specific story in depth or wanting to discuss just one period of their lives, and we welcome that! This can sometimes be the case for authors in midlife (meaning, therefore, that their book can very much be a “Part One”) and for those who want to focus on a particular experience.
Life, unfiltered: Selected anecdotes and personality-driven stories
In cases where an author is overwhelmed by the breadth of the stories they wish to tell, releasing the possible pressure of writing a comprehensive personal history and instead telling favorite anecdotes can be the most suitable approach. Falling somewhere between chronological and thematic, this structure allows the author’s personality to take center stage and prioritizes storytelling and punchlines over fine detail.
This style of memoir is often the best for authors experiencing memory loss. The realization that once-familiar dates and exact details are becoming difficult to recall can hugely knock any author’s confidence, and some will shy away from memories that they’re no longer completely sure of, relying instead on familiar, fond dinner-party stories. If not structured appropriately, the lack of detail and the gaps in the author’s memory can feel more conspicuous to a loved one reading the book. Framing the book as a collection of short stories, however, can help set the reader’s expectations—it’s not a comprehensive life history they’re reading but a selection of cherished moments. The result is often a warm, celebratory memoir that captures the author’s personality, charm, and sense of humor.
Blended narratives
Occasionally, very sadly, an author is not able to complete their book due to illness or passing. In these instances, wherever possible, we always try to complete such projects according to their or their families’ wishes. Our team takes case-by-case assessments as to what is feasible, based on where the author was in their LifeBook journey, either finishing their story using the input of family or asking for family contributions to expand the book.
In a few special cases, our Opus team (which creates bespoke books) has had the privilege of creating specialist tribute books. Using testimonies from multiple contributors, we have been able to capture the life stories of people who have passed away for the benefit of people who loved them or who were not able to know them. For instance, the wife of one man commissioned a tribute book about her husband, who had died tragically young, for their two young sons, so that they would be able to learn about their father from the people who knew him best.
Closing thoughts: Let your story lead the way
Ultimately, the best structure for your story will be what’s right for your story; it should give you freedom and scope to express what is important for you to share with your readers and serve to enhance their experience. Reviewing what will be the right structure requires introspection and a vision of what you want to achieve with your memoir, and we encourage all authors to consider this ahead of their first interview.
Written by Isabella Samuels, LifeBook Memoirs editor
