If a character is honest with a reader, then (hopefully) that will engage the reader's empathy centers; she'll meet that openness with acceptance, and they'll forge a nourishing and meaningful bond as the book continues.
Joshua MohrMemoirs need confusion. It's the thing every human has in common. We are magnificently confused.
Joshua MohrThe point of reading is to inhabit a consciousness that doesn't belong to the reader, immersing yourself in a life that's wholly realized. And a huge facet of our psychic and existential make-ups is the things we're not proud of, things we didn't ask to experience, the scenarios we flubbed.
Joshua MohrI'm a very tactile learner, so I need analog index cards, moving them all about, trying out various sequences for the book's architecture.
Joshua MohrYes, things happened to me - brutal things - but I'm not going to give them so much clout by dwelling on them, empowering them to haunt my heart years after the events transpired. And no good comes from that. These ghosts don't need us to help them stay alive. If we're after real deal healing, these ghosts must desiccate.
Joshua Mohr