The mantel of a memoirist

Here is what writer Hilary Mantel has to say about the art of memoir writing:

It's not an easy form. It's not for beginners, which is unfortunate, as it is the place where many people do begin. It's hard for beginners to accept that unmediated truth often sounds unlikely and unconvincing. If other people are to care about your life, art must intervene. The writer has to negotiate with her memories, and with her reader, and find a way, without interrupting the flow, to caution that this cannot be a true record: this is a version, seen from a single viewpoint. But she has to make it as true as she can. Writing a memoir is a process of facing yourself. So you should do it when you're ready (to face yourself).