Fears surrounding Prince Harry’s book unveil the sensitive process of memoir-writing
Prince Harry’s long-awaited memoir, due to be released in 2023, has been making headlines again due to royal insiders revealing how the book might jeopardise the Prince’s relationship to the Royal Family. As anticipation for the book grows, the discourse surrounding its content unveils the incredibly emotive and sensitive process of memoir-writing.
The practice of writing one’s memoir is rarely linear, but instead a continual process with a series of emotional hurdles along the way. Rutger Bruining, CEO and founder of the nation’s leading biography-writing service, StoryTerrace, has seen how thousands of people have benefited from embarking upon this journey, but comments on the added challenges that come with being in the public eye.
Whatever the motive, people mostly write their life stories in an attempt to make sense of their lives or to simply narrate their family history. Everybody has a memoir in them but how does one define a clear-cut beginning, middle and end when the plot is based on your own life? Rutger Bruining says: ‘Storytelling ought to adopt the same structure that fictional works take. Non-fiction is still an art form and is one that should still evoke emotion – cherry-picking the moments, no matter how big or small, that had a profound impact on who you are today is a good place to begin.”
The Duke of Sussex revealed that his first autobiography will tell his unadulterated truth sharing the “experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him”. Research from StoryTerrace demonstrated the profound benefits that documenting one’s family history has on an individual with almost 1-in-4 (23%) Brits agreeing that they feel it would consolidate their sense of self if they were to read about their background. For the Duke of Sussex, this is indeed happening in real-time where he is given a space to reflect and remember the impact his grandmother had on his life story.
Rutger Bruining, Founder and CEO of StoryTerrace, has seen how thousands of people have benefitted from documenting their life stories with heritage being a prominent theme in the projects that get submitted. He says:
“Preserving priceless family history is one of the main motivators that propels one to have their memoir written. Prince Harry undoubtedly has one of the most incredible family histories that this nation has ever seen with all eyes of the public observing his next move. The current speculation of his additional chapter speaks to how the narrative of one’s story invariably changes according to unprecedented life events and curveballs that impact who we are.
“One similarity I have come across in so many of our stories is that people with a seemingly clear-cut life path laid out before them often make a decision that completely changes the course of their lives. What is interesting is often this key moment actually comes when they decide to put pen to paper and share their unfiltered story with the world. Despite facing criticism or adversity, these individuals are taking control of their lives, forging their own paths and simply taking the next step in their personal journeys. Prince Harry is one such individual.
“There is power in writing. Whether it is daily journaling, writing a novel, or even writing a card. It is one of the purest forms of self-expression and allows room for creativity, self-exploration and even just some fun to past the time. We have the pleasure of seeing exactly how writing directly benefits not just our clients but our amazing ghostwriters as well.”
