Memoirs by Students
A.C., My Favorite Place.
A daughter visits her father in jail. 455 words. From Teen Ink.
Alison T., Disruption.
A young woman remembers her grandfather’s reaction to a panhandler. 551 words. From Teen Ink.
Andrea W., A Sorrowful Goodbye.
A daughter says goodbye to her mother. 891 words. From Lattimer, Heather. Thinking Through Genre. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2003.
Anonymous, Escape.
A girl’s painful memories of her alcoholic mother. 621 words. From Teen Ink.
Casey M., The Jumps.
A biker battles a “monster hill”. 671 words. From Lattimer, Heather.Thinking Through Genre. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2003.
Chrissie A., Tawanda!
The narrator remembers hard times and good times with her best friend. From Merlyn's Pen.
Courtney F., It Won't Happen to Me.
Her father’s illness changes a daughter’s perspective. 561 words. From Teen Ink.
DD., Angela’s Quinceañera
Emily R., Change of Heart.
A family argument has an unexpected ending. 648 words. From Teen Ink.
Fred H., A Night in Lights.
A ball player recalls the night he hit a home run. From Merlyn's Pen.
JT., Me, My Dad, and Baseball.
Kelsey J., She Lay There on Red Velvet.
A girl stands by her grandmother’s coffin. From Merlyn's Pen.
Kostas P., Wear a Tie.
A son has pride in his father and the family business. 421 words. From Teen Ink.
Kristen P., Hearts of Spaghetti.
A young American meets her Italian cousins. 665 words. From Teen Ink.
Meredyth S., Biking in Beihai.
A young traveler learns to ride a bike in China. 650 words. From The Alliance of Young Artists & Writers.
Morgan H., Blank Disks.
The author reminisces about a brother away at college. From Merlyn's Pen.
Roxanne T., My Home Run.
An athlete proves herself on the field. 738 words. From Teen Ink.
Memoirs by Adults
Carr, Cynthia. An American Secret.
A young woman learns about her grandfather’s racism. 811 words. From The New York Times.
Howe, James. Everything Will Be Okay. From Ehrlich, Amy (Ed.) When I Was Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up, Volume Two. Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999, pp.40-49. Permission granted.
Jordan, Pat. My Father, I Presume.
A man tries to remember his puzzling father. 824 words. From The New York Times.
Keeter, Nicole. The New Girl.
A black woman remembers growing up in an all-white town. 881 words. From The New York Times.
O’Neill, Heather. Almost Home.
A woman recalls the rundown building where she grew up. 850 words. From The New York Times.
Straight, Susan. We Are (Still) Family.
A woman remembers meeting her husband’s family for the first time. 826 words. From The New York Times.
Watlington, Dennis. Harlem Renaissance.
A juvenile offender gets a second chance. 811 words. From The New York Times.
Get Published
Writing the City
An online publication showcasing the best writing from schools throughout New York City
Merlyn’s Pen
Fiction, essays and poems by America’s teens
Teen Ink
A magazine and book series written by teens for teens
Word
A literary blog from Weekly Reader full of writing tips and student writing
Wordsmiths
An anthology of writing by teens on the Web
More Resources
Sports Writing
For use with supplementary lesson, Defining a Memoir.
Heather P., The Unexpected.
About softball tryouts. 836 words. From Teen Ink.
Hunter B., No Respect.
About football and respect. 312 words. From Teen Ink.
Lindsey M., One of them.
About cheerleading and friendship. 488 words. From Teen Ink.
Roxanne T., My Home Run.
About proving yourself. 738 words. From Teen Ink.
Memoirs in Print
Ehrlich, Amy (Ed.) When I Was Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up. Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996.
Ehrlich, Amy (Ed.) When I Was Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up, Volume Two. Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999.
