After reading some of the selected memoirs, I began to have a better understanding on how to write one. I started to interpret them not just as stories but more of a memory. I loved how many of them were very open and seemed to have written their memoirs just to connect with the reader. Generally, enjoyed reading the memoirs such as “Knocked up,” and “Sing with me somehow,” and the memoir written by Frank Mathias.

“Knocked Up” reveals the emotions of a teenage sibling that is anticipating her first niece. Not only is this a new experience for her, she is incapable of considering more of the big picture, therefore, enclosing herself into her own entity where only her views are accepted, and begins to question herself if she is being selfish.. Once her niece is born I suppose that’s when she begins to appreciate her sister’s pregnancy and accept the newborn. The writer seemed to incorporate humor and relevant content in her memoir, which allowed for me to enjoy it very much.

Reading “Sing With Me Somehow,” gave me a sense of comfort, as the writer describes being cuddled by her sister, Rachel, in the introduction. This memoir seemed to be role model oriented as “Rosie” describes her childhood observing her older sisters and her life around her. She provides details explaining the observations she has made growing up: Rachel’s style of clothing and who she was at that time, and Anna who became a drug addict at the age of seventeen, when one of her friends (Mitch) died in a car accident. She created this connection that seemed to be irresistible by the style of her writing but I happened to disagreed with the way the writer transitioned into each part of the memoir, but overall I think the piece was great.

Frank Mathias defines the difference between the veterans during the Civil War and of World War II. He explains how during after the Civil War period, many veterans were eager to write their memoirs and valued their experience as they saw their profession more than just a job. Frank Mathias clarifies how many memoirs weren’t published during WWII, and how his may have been the only one published. As he transitioned into his memoir, I began to gain an understanding how it may have felt to find your personal letters, and recordings from such long ago, and begin to read them as if they were another’s. With interest and realization Frank Mathias strings many of the pieces together of his life that were almost lost in his memory.

After reading these memoirs, I would like to know if Rosie followed her sisters foot steps as each set an entirely different example, or did she pave a different path. Did her sister, Anna, ever recover from her addiction? From the memoir written by Frank Mathias, what were the reasons why the soldiers’ mentalities evolved or may have tainted over time?