---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It…"
description: "\"Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my perspective, that's the beauty. But I still wanted to be as factual as I could.\" — Cheryl Str..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png"
---

#  Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my…

![“Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my perspective, that's the beauty. But I still wanted to be as factual as I could.” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png)

> “Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my perspective, that's the beauty. But I still wanted to be as factual as I could.”

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Memoirs blend personal perception with a desire for factual accuracy, acknowledging subjectivity while striving for truth.

**In simple terms:** Memoirs are personal but aim for truth.

Key Takeaway

Balance honesty with personal view.

Themes

memory subjectivity truth writing

Mood

reflective introspective

Type

literary personal

When to use this quote

- author interviews
- creative nonfiction
- personal essays

Key Concepts

Narrative self‑reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify memories?
- What truth matters most in storytelling?

A Different Perspective

Subjectivity may color facts, limiting objectivity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Factual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factual/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memoir Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir-subjective-1834345/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Obviously Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obviously-memoir-1834346/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective/) [Subjective Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective-truth-213353/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-memory-1772197/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/)

## Related quotes

> [Psychoanalysis has a degree of unreliability about it. You will never know whether you've found the truth. You may find a subjective truth, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/psychoanalysis-has-a-degree-of-unreliability-about-it-you-will-never/)

[Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/)

> [Mythology is a subjective truth. Every culture imagines life a certain way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/mythology-is-a-subjective-truth-every-culture-imagines-life-a-certain/)

[Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/)

> [“All things have the appearance of solidity, but it's an illusion, a trick of perception drawn from our eternal entrapment in the present. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-lockwood/all-things-have-the-appearance-of-solidity-but-it-s-an-illusion-a/)

[Todd Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-lockwood/)

> [“These are true stories told from memory – to which you are entitled to ask, what is truth, and what is memory to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/these-are-true-stories-told-from-memory-to-which-you-are-entitled-to/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/pithy-sentences-are-like-sharp-nails-which-force-truth-upon-our-memory/)

[Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/)

> [“Memory's truth, because memory has its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies also; but in the end it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/memory-s-truth-because-memory-has-its-own-special-kind-it-selects/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“I like writing that is restrained and invisible. I don't mean that I like things to be simple and easy to decode, the opposite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/i-like-writing-that-is-restrained-and-invisible-i-don-t-mean-that-i/)

[S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/)

> [“We should recognize how in a culture where each person wants to be bearer of his or her own subjective truth, it becomes difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/we-should-recognize-how-in-a-culture-where-each-person-wants-to-be/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [“True means without variation, but finding something that doesn't vary feels impossible. Instead, to establish the truth, we need to confront messes without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-covert/true-means-without-variation-but-finding-something-that-doesn-t-vary/)

[Abby Covert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-covert/)

> [You can get a subjective and highly factual dossier on most anyone in the public realm almost instantly. It's why publishers don't worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-get-a-subjective-and-highly-factual-dossier-on-most-anyone-in/)

[Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/)

> [“A well-written article does not make what was written factual or something to subscribe to. Fiction does not become fact because it looks good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/a-well-written-article-does-not-make-what-was-written-factual-or/)

[Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/)

> [Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly moral to defend them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/should-our-moral-beliefs-really-prove-to-be-dependent-on-factual/)

[Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/)

> [To claim that science and religion pose different questions to the world is not to suggest that if the bones of Jesus were discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/to-claim-that-science-and-religion-pose-different-questions-to-the/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/)

[Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/)

## More by Cheryl Strayed

> [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

[Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

## More Beauty quotes

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/)

[Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

[Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/)

> [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/)

[Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/)

[Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my perspective, that's the beauty. But I still wanted to be as factual as I could.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Cheryl Strayed"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it-is-my-memory-my-perspective/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it-is-my-memory-my-perspective/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/cheryl-strayed-605_beauty_obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it_1777562.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It is my memory, my perspective, that's the beauty. But I still wanted…” — Cheryl Strayed",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Cheryl Strayed",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Obviously memoir is subjective truth: It...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it-is-my-memory-my-perspective/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/obviously-memoir-is-subjective-truth-it-is-my-memory-my-perspective/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
