I'm no longer sure when exactly I requested a review copy of *Why We Write About Ourselves*, but it's sat in my to-be-read queue for nearly a decade now. I know that I'm fascinated by both memoir and published diaries. I recall that once I received the ARC, I wasn't sure how to review it because I feared everyone would assume I read it because I'm interested in writing a memoir. That isn't true, at least not yet. But I'm still fascinated that many choose this route, and I choose to read many of them.

I'm still unlikely to ever write a memoir, at least one that would be published. I'm very happy to write about myself in my private diary with pen on paper and hope that it never sees the light of day. To paraphrase Ayelet Waldman, I like to essentially open a vein and bleed on the page. I don't expect it to be good writing, but it is emotionally satisfying.

I'm fascinated that nearly every one of the twenty memoirists wrote that they found they suddenly had to write the memoir: to tell the story, to make sure it was read. As Jesmyn Ward writes, she wanted to tell the story of "other people out there living through this who were wondering why nothing of their experience was being reflected back to them" while also hoping to "make connection" and help others "see us in a way they'd never seen us before."

What I also found interesting was something Dani Shapiro wrote. Because this book was published nearly a decade ago, each author is prefaced with a short blurb by the editor of the collection, Meredith Maran. It also includes a section, "Vitals," which includes date of birth, where they live, family (sometimes with ages), some "notable notes," and social media/website information. That bit is now likely dated. Anyway, Shapiro wrote: "I'm not a believer in memoir as catharsis. It's a misapprehension that readers have that by writing memoir you're purging yourself of your demons. Writing memoir has the opposite effect. It embeds your story deep inside you. It mediates the relationship between the present and the past by freezing a moment in time."

If *Why We Write About Ourselves* were published today, the essays would be very different. The tone might be as well. The world and each author has changed. But like the memoirs they discuss, this collection itself is frozen in time—echoing Shapiro's observation about how writing embeds and freezes moments. I have a feeling one theme would remain: how much each author put into deciding who they wrote about in their lives and why, how they chose to approach asking for help with details, and how they chose to include memories and their understanding of events.

Nearly a decade on, *Why We Write About Ourselves* is an interesting read and gives a glimpse into those who write and publish memoir... and the rest of us who read them.