CookbookBooks and writingNo. 4
A memoir from vignettesa hundred small memories put in order
See it in know.sh
What I remember: the periods the memoir covers, from the years in each vignette
- 1952–1964
The farm on Pike Road
Chapter 1. Sixteen vignettes, from the egg money in the coffee can to Tom’s letters.
- 1959–1961
Not yet written: when Tom was at sea
No vignette covers these years. A Question waits at the end of chapter 1.
- 1964–1968
The boarding house on Elm Street
Chapter 2, the teachers’ college years. Seven vignettes.
- 1968–1971
The flat above the bakery
Chapter 3, supply teaching. Five vignettes.
- 1971–1989
Room 14 — the Harlan Street years
Chapter 4. Fourteen vignettes, three of them filed this week.
- 1989–2011
The house on Linden Avenue
Chapter 5. Nine vignettes, most from the last years of teaching.
- 1996–2003
Not yet written
Seven years inside chapter 5 with nothing in them. Leave it, or file a Question; choose.
- 2011
The lake cottage
Chapter 6, still being written. Three vignettes so far.
What I remember: the periods the memoir covers, from the years in each vignette
- 1952–1964 — The farm on Pike Road
Chapter 1. Sixteen vignettes, from the egg money in the coffee can to Tom’s letters.
- 1959–1961 — Not yet written: when Tom was at sea
No vignette covers these years. A Question waits at the end of chapter 1.
- 1964–1968 — The boarding house on Elm Street
Chapter 2, the teachers’ college years. Seven vignettes.
- 1968–1971 — The flat above the bakery
Chapter 3, supply teaching. Five vignettes.
- 1971–1989 — Room 14 — the Harlan Street years
Chapter 4. Fourteen vignettes, three of them filed this week.
- 1989–2011 — The house on Linden Avenue
Chapter 5. Nine vignettes, most from the last years of teaching.
- 1996–2003 — Not yet written
Seven years inside chapter 5 with nothing in them. Leave it, or file a Question; choose.
- 2011 — The lake cottage
Chapter 6, still being written. Three vignettes so far.
```element timeline
{
"caption": "What I remember: the periods the memoir covers, from the years in each vignette",
"events": [
{
"date": "1952",
"end": "1964",
"title": "The farm on Pike Road",
"body": "Chapter 1. Sixteen vignettes, from the egg money in the coffee can to *Tom’s letters*."
},
{
"date": "1959",
"end": "1961",
"title": "Not yet written: when Tom was at sea",
"body": "No vignette covers these years. A Question waits at the end of chapter 1."
},
{
"date": "1964",
"end": "1968",
"title": "The boarding house on Elm Street",
"body": "Chapter 2, the teachers’ college years. Seven vignettes."
},
{
"date": "1968",
"end": "1971",
"title": "The flat above the bakery",
"body": "Chapter 3, supply teaching. Five vignettes."
},
{
"date": "1971",
"end": "1989",
"title": "Room 14 — the Harlan Street years",
"body": "Chapter 4. Fourteen vignettes, three of them filed this week."
},
{
"date": "1989",
"end": "2011",
"title": "The house on Linden Avenue",
"body": "Chapter 5. Nine vignettes, most from the last years of teaching."
},
{
"date": "1996",
"end": "2003",
"title": "Not yet written",
"body": "Seven years inside chapter 5 with nothing in them. Leave it, or file a Question; choose."
},
{
"date": "2011",
"title": "The lake cottage",
"body": "Chapter 6, still being written. Three vignettes so far."
}
]
}
```How it works
You remember the smell of the chalk in Room 14, the flood of 1957 and the morning your father sold the cows, in whatever order they come. Your assistant files each vignette word for word into its chapter, asks the questions a good interviewer would, and shows you the years you have not written.