--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a memoir, I think, the contract…" description: "\"In a memoir, I think, the contract implies a certain degree of truth. I think you have to be as true to your memory and your experience as you possibly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/david-leavitt-25573_certain_in-a-memoir-i-think-the-contract-implies_616492.jpg" --- # In a memoir, I think, the contract implies a certain… ![“In a memoir, I think, the contract implies a certain degree of truth. I think you have to be as true to your memory and your experience as you possibly can.” quote by David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/david-leavitt-25573_certain_in-a-memoir-i-think-the-contract-implies_616492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/david-leavitt-25573_certain_in-a-memoir-i-think-the-contract-implies_616492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/david-leavitt-25573_certain_in-a-memoir-i-think-the-contract-implies_616492.jpg) > “In a memoir, I think, the contract implies a certain degree of truth. I think you have to be as true to your memory and your experience as you possibly can.” [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote stresses that memoirs should reflect genuine memory and experience, not fictional embellishment. **In simple terms:** Memoirs must be honest to personal memory. Key Takeaway Prioritize factual honesty in personal narratives. Themes honesty memory authenticity Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing a memoir - personal storytelling - historical recollection - family histories Key Concepts subjectivity truthfulness narrative integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify personal memories? - When is artistic license acceptable? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable; absolute truth may be unattainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The only time I think about my contract is when I'm asked about it by the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-epstein/the-only-time-i-think-about-my-contract-is-when-i-m-asked-about-it-by/) [Theo Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-epstein/) > [When you start a memoir, you think, 'I'm going to blast all the people who were mean to me.' And then you start writing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-scovell/when-you-start-a-memoir-you-think-i-m-going-to-blast-all-the-people/) [Nell Scovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-scovell/) > [The stupidest thing that a writer can do is write a memoir I think, unless it's right before you die -- maybe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-earle/the-stupidest-thing-that-a-writer-can-do-is-write-a-memoir-i-think/) [Steve Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-earle/) > [I don't read memoirs. But if you write a memoir, I would think you'd want people to know, "O.K., look, I've taken some liberties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-don-t-read-memoirs-but-if-you-write-a-memoir-i-would-think-you-d/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [We hear from sex workers who have through their own volition become media figures, or have despite their own wishes become media figures. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/we-hear-from-sex-workers-who-have-through-their-own-volition-become/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [We all have love stories that go terribly wrong; we all have horribly broken hearts. And somehow we endure. We're not destroyed by it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/we-all-have-love-stories-that-go-terribly-wrong-we-all-have-horribly/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I made the contract with God years ago, that no matter what came through, I would say it, but if I ever hurt someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/i-made-the-contract-with-god-years-ago-that-no-matter-what-came/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The marriage bond is more than a civil contract. It is a reward for loving well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-marriage-bond-is-more-than-a-civil-contract-it-is-a-reward-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you have a record contract? I have a recording agreement. What's the difference? One is an agreement and one is a contract! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/do-you-have-a-record-contract-i-have-a-recording-agreement-what-s-the/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [First of all, it was in my contract. I knew I would be directing an episode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-michael-hall/first-of-all-it-was-in-my-contract-i-knew-i-would-be-directing-an/) [Anthony Michael Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-michael-hall/) > [The first principle of contract negotiations is don't remind them of what you did in the past - tell them what you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-musial/the-first-principle-of-contract-negotiations-is-don-t-remind-them-of/) [Stan Musial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-musial/) > [I have a contract but it's not a commitment in the ordinary sense. It's our ongoing conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/i-have-a-contract-but-it-s-not-a-commitment-in-the-ordinary-sense-it/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [A group is as healthy as its 'social contract' is clear; a congregation as faithful as its covenant is mutually understood; a pastor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-group-is-as-healthy-as-its-social-contract-is-clear-a-congregation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Nowadays, in the contract that actors sign, you have to agree that you're going to do a certain amount of publicity-the hard part they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/nowadays-in-the-contract-that-actors-sign-you-have-to-agree-that-you/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) ## More by David Leavitt > [The Term Paper Artist' represents two models of writing, one of the little boy bouncing his ball, generating stories for the sheer pleasure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/the-term-paper-artist-represents-two-models-of-writing-one-of-the/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [I could hear the knock and whistle of the water pipes, the purr of the calico cat. And at that moment a happiness filled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/i-could-hear-the-knock-and-whistle-of-the-water-pipes-the-purr-of-the/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [Childhood smells of perfume and brownies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/childhood-smells-of-perfume-and-brownies/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“Hope had stolen into his life just as he was growing comfortable with despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/hope-had-stolen-into-his-life-just-as-he-was-growing-comfortable-with/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [It was an instinct to put the world in order that powered her mending split infinitives and snipping off dangling participles, smoothing away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/it-was-an-instinct-to-put-the-world-in-order-that-powered-her-mending/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [Obviously any fiction is going to be a combination of what is invented, what is overheard, what is experienced, what is experienced by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/obviously-any-fiction-is-going-to-be-a-combination-of-what-is/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“Cautiously his foot explored, wiggled as it could, and finally felt warm flesh under the pants leg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/cautiously-his-foot-explored-wiggled-as-it-could-and-finally-felt/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [It is so common to write autobiographical fiction in which your own experience is thinly disguised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/it-is-so-common-to-write-autobiographical-fiction-in-which-your-own/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“Sometimes I think you are doomed to happiness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/sometimes-i-think-you-are-doomed-to-happiness/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“She looked toward the window, smiling away her life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/she-looked-toward-the-window-smiling-away-her-life/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [We all spend so much time worrying about the future that the present moment slips right out of our hands. And so all we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/we-all-spend-so-much-time-worrying-about-the-future-that-the-present/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“Sex, my darling, is often the least important part of a passion. You'll learn that when you get older. - Maria Luisa (Tushi) Strauss”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/sex-my-darling-is-often-the-least-important-part-of-a-passion-you-ll/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [When one writer tries to silence another, he silences every writer-and in the end he also silences himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/when-one-writer-tries-to-silence-another-he-silences-every-writer-and/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [You are not supposed to get it. It's a paradox. All of mathematics is built on paradoxes. 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I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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