ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents four reasons for writing autobiographically, and discusses some of the challenges. The first reason for writing autobiographically is epistemic. A second reason for writing autobiographically is pedagogic. A third reason for writing autobiographically is revelatory. A fourth reason for writing autobiographically is ludic. Like light and shadow, the reasons for writing, and not writing, autobiographically are inextricably connected. Writing autobiographically is entering into a chorus of voices. All writing is social and communal, and entails a complex network of connections with the multiple voices of others. Writing is always joyful and fearful, compelled and constrained, full of desire and danger. The author aims to promote autobiographical writing in school and university classrooms by inviting scholars, writers, and teachers to engage in an ongoing conversation about the efficacies and challenges of writing our life-stories.
