Autobiography, the Author Must Be

¶ … autobiography, the author must be willing to share the story of his/her life with the people. The autobiography contains details of one's life - may it be his/her successes or failures or both. An autobiography is a special form of literary material because it contains some aspects which other literary forms do not have.

The author of the life story must be the subject of the story." (Olney, 1980)

Of course, the book must be in the first person point-of-view in a way that the author is also the main subject of the story. he/she is relating his/her own life to the public. he/she could reveal his/her most darkest secrets or he/she can only tell information which he/she wants the readers to know.

Autobiography is generally nonfiction, meaning the work of literature is not filled with blatant fabrications" (Olney, 1980)

An autobiography is about the author's life. he/she could put his/her dreams and even some part of his/her imagination which he/she actually had at some point of his/her life. But all of these must be real. There's no need for any proof nor are any documents that will tell how real the information contained in the book. But the essence of this is the fact that the autobiography is written merely because the author wants his/her life be revealed to the public, and not because he/she wants to impress the readers or he/she wants to tell lies to the readers. Again, on this aspect, it can be noted that the author may choose which information about himself to be include and which cannot be included.

He/she may choose to leave out some events in his/her life which he/she thinks is not for public consumption. The contents will always be dependent on what the author wants to include in, only ensuring that what is included are real and factual.

A an autobiography conveys some significant message or moral that the person derived from their life" (Pilling, 1980)

It is part of the autobiography's purpose to allow the readers learn from the life of the author himself. In an autobiography, the author is not suggesting that what he/she did is right or wrong. However, it is part of the lesson for the readers to know what is right and what is not based on what had happened to the author's life. This is the very reason why the author himself can filter the contents of his/her own autobiography. Only the information about him/herself which will be relevant to the learning or lessons that he/she wants the readers to achieve will be included in his/her autobiography.

These three aspects of autobiography are present in Ann Patchett's "Truth and Beauty: A Friendship." Ann wrote this book with the purpose of sharing to the readers about her own life. Not only did she wants to let the readers have a glimpse of her own life as a writer, but she also wants the reader to see how truthful and beautiful the friendship she has had with Lucy.

The Book: "Truth and Beauty: A Friendship"

Ann Patchett's "Truth and Beauty" is her first non-fiction book. The book can be considered as an autobiography. However it is not just a biography of Ann's life or of Lucy's (her best friend). The book is an autobiography of their shared lives. It contains the most memorable moments that these two best friends were able to share together - from their ups and downs; from their moments of sadness to moments of extreme happiness; from their moments of success and even to their moments of failures.

An autobiography contains detailed memoirs of a person' life. However, an author has the prerogative to choose what to put in and what to leave out in the autobiography. This is exactly what happens to this book "Truth and Beauty: A Friendship."

Normally, an autobiography contains information about the author - from birth until the peak of his/her career. Ann Patchett chose not to do that. Her so-called autobiography showcased the love and sweetness that writers can feel and share with their beloveds. The story started the day she met Lucy. It was during their college days in 1981. They both enrolled in an Iowa Writer's Workshop. The workshop did not only open up their minds about their passion for writing. It was also the venue where they realized that they could be good friends - real good friends.

The "Truth and Beauty: A Friendship" is an inspiring autobiography of the 20 years of friendship that Ann and Lucy shared together. Ann revealed how they both enjoyed their college life. How they lived like the typical college teens - going out, having fun and doing some adventures which they never thought they could do.

Ann had become so honest in revealing the mishaps and deviant acts they did during their younger years. She could choose to focus on how fun their younger years were, but she opted to include even the disastrous moments.

After college, Ann and Lucy's friendship continually grew. They both started to weave their own career as a writer. Ann did not write if it was her or if it was Lucy who seemed to be more successful or more prominent. What she put was that when she was able to publish her very first book and it became successful, it was Lucy who called her first and expressed her happiness for her.

Ann felt that time that even though there could be competition on their part because they were both writers and they have almost very similar style of writing, they never saw each other as a competitor. In fact, they helped each other, shared each other's success, and were proud of each other's triumphs. Ann had highlighted that even if they are just writers, they know how to love and be loved. They know how to be sweet and become caring for one another.

Ann revealed everything. She could opt not to include the drug-related activities that Lucy had had when she was still alive. She could choose not to include how Lucy suffered with her sickness or how Lucy chose to die. Ann could leave out the information regarding how she felt tormented when that happen. But she included all these information. She had her reasons for doing so.

In an autobiography, the normal purpose of the author is to write about his own life - without any emotions attached to it. A typical autobiography contains information about the author that are blatantly stated - neither remorse feeling nor happiness can be felt on every lines. But on this book, every pages showcased various feelings that the author may have been feeling while writing the book.

When she was writing about their college life, it can be felt on the lines how proud and excited Ann was during that time. It is reflected in the book that both Lucy and Anna are eager to face the world. They were both invigorated to put their skills into good use. However, there were also some pages where confusion and longings can be felt. This was the time when Ann and Lucy were starting their life as a professional writer. Ann chose to include information about their failures because she wanted to let the readers know how sad they were back then. She wanted to allow the readers to feel for them. She wanted the readers to understand how they were able to stand up amidst those trials.