Why
Write a Memoir?
By
Ronda Beaman
Why write a memoir?
Better yet, why write a couple of them?
As my sister said when I told her I was writing another one, “You’re not that interesting.”
It’s not that I disagree.
I did not grow up to be a President, a Premier
or a Princess. I am not a social activist, have never been a prisoner of war or
a serial killer. I was never left for dead on the top of a snow capped mountain
or sold into child slavery.
I have not faced and overcome severe or dire circumstances, did not chew off any of my body parts, drink or eat myself into a pitiable condition and I am not related to anyone famous or infamous. I am not even an ordinary person who thinks they have lived an extraordinary life.
And in that, I believe, lies the power and purpose of memoir. To remind the reader that he or she is not alone, that being fallible and fantastic, depending on the moment, is what we share. The reminder of the mundanity and magic of being alive is what we need to celebrate and be reassured by, and is what, ultimately, binds us together.
If memoirs, done right, tap the right sort of personal journey to ignite fresh insight and inspiration into the human journey, then what better way to humorously and poignantly illuminate the sequential steps and stages of life than with shoes?
My latest book, My Feats in These Shoes is a spirited and irrepressible romp—as well as slips, missteps, leaps, scuffs, and twirls—toward becoming something bigger, something better, something more.
After being told by my father that I had the ugliest feet he’d ever seen, I resolves to reject his paternal foothold. I found myself, and hard-earned firm footing, in a hilariously flawed, lifelong, cute-shoe-based revolt.
Far from serving up trauma porn (or emotional bunions), this memoir is an upbeat, humorous, affectionate and affecting coming of age memoir that ends each chapter with a ‘Put Yourself in My Shoes’ section for readers to consider their own strides in pursuing an out of the shoe box life.
From wondering who might have purchased my eventually bronzed baby shoes, considering elementary school footwear choices, lying about owning and being able to dance in tap shoes, and including being shoed for college and my first job, right through marriages, babies, careers, sickness and health, My Feats in These Shoes is a vintage piece, an historical retrospective and an inspirational and motivational series of stories that will guide readers to think about their own feats and the accessories of achievement that made them possible.
As author Flannery O’Connor said, “Anyone who has made it through childhood has enough material to write for the rest of their lives.” I urge you to give it a try, write for your children, your grandchildren, share your stories, your successes and disappointments and you might find that in using your life to illuminate others, you begin to shine brighter.
Dr. Ronda Beaman is the author of 5 best-selling books including the memoir “Little Miss Merit Badge” and her latest release, “My Feats in These Shoes.” She is a multiple Tedx speaker, university professor and shoeaholic.
Her national award-winning book, You’re Only Young Twice, has been printed in five languages. Her memoir, Little Miss Merit Badge, was an Amazon bestseller and was featured at The Golden Globe Awards. Her children’s book, Seal With a Kiss, is designed to improve skills for beginning readers and is offered at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers internationally. My Feats in These Shoes will be released in Spring 2021.
Dr. Beaman is an internationally recognized expert on leadership, resilience, fitness, education, and life coaching. She has conducted research in a host of areas, written many academic articles and books, and won numerous awards. She was selected by the Singapore Ministry of the Family as their honored Speaker of the Year and named the first recipient of the National Education Association’s “Excellence in the Academy: Art of Teaching” award. She has been selected as a faculty resource for the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) university in Argentina, Kyoto and India, where she received the highest speaker ratings among 36 elite faculty. She has been featured on major media including CBS and Fox Television, USA Today, and is a national thought leader for American Health Network.
Dr. Beaman earned her doctorate in Leadership at Arizona State University. She is also a certified executive coach and personal trainer with multiple credentials from the Aerobic Research Center. Her family was named “America’s Most Creative Family” by USA Today and she won the SCW National Fitness Idol competition.
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