Should I write a memoir?

[EGspirit]

I feel arrogant when I consider writing a memoir. Like, who am I? But I've had some pretty unique experiences (as all nurses do), but I'm also a writer. I've written several books. So, I know how to write and publish a memoir, just in general.

Is it arrogant to do something like that? On the one hand, I think it is--on the other, I think it's almost a sin if I don't. Like, if I've been given the ability to write and the experience to write about, to keep it all to myself would be totally selfish--to just let it all die with me.

What do you think?

Here's what I wrote just to jot down my reason for writing:

A very honest memoir of my life as a nurse. I discuss the things I've seen, experienced, and done in hopes that others who read this and are starting their own journey in nursing will find the understanding I've found to be a light that helps them find their own understanding. I hope that this will be a book I can share with future students that I teach, perhaps CNAs, perhaps LPNs.

Or maybe I should just keep my head down, shut up, and be glad to have a job. I just don't know what to do.

[EGspirit]

Thanks for all the input, but I've decided not to do a memoir. I've been brought to the realization after praying about it, and being shown what I believe is a sign, that the legacies we leave are in the kindnesses we show and the one-on-one interactions we have with others.

Example: The greatest religious witness I ever met was a guy carrying a sign on the street that said the Day of Judgment was approaching. I was a security guard at a mall in Riverside, CA, and he was on our property, so I drove up to kick him off.

But he wasn't crazy, and he wasn't a bum. He was rational, kind, level-headed, and apologetic, and we got to talking. And I told him some of the problems I had with the Christian Church and he totally understood, and then he said to me, "You're going to be alright. You're doing just fine." And that really meant a lot to me, and it meant a lot to me to not be judged, but to be understood.

25 years later, he represents the most significant religious encounter I've ever had with another person. And I still remember him. That's "legacy."

You know, I didn't kick him off the property, I drove on and let him do his thing. When I circled around the mall, he was gone. But he was really gone. I didn't see him anywhere, not up the street, not a block away, nothing. Granted, maybe his car was somewhere close by. But I always thought of him like an angel God sent. But of course, he's not really an angel, but that's legacy. That's real legacy. And that's what I want to be to people.

No more books. I've written enough of them and said everything I wanted to say. I don't need to write anything else. I need to go out and do.

[Daisy4RN]

If that is what you believe God is telling you, then God be with you! I also believe that we touch people everyday by our words and actions. But just remember that just because God says no today doesn't mean it is no forever. Keep praying and God will lead you in your decisions always, Godspeed!