The past two decades have seen a proliferation of memoirs about prominent public figures in entertainment, sports, and politics, who believe that they have inspirational life stories to share. Fass (2006:107) states that this boom has created a source of historical facts. In fact, in addition to providing a glimpse into the subject’s personal life journey, memoirs are a historical tool that affords authors opportunities to express their voice. Frayn and Houston (2022) note how historical events such as the wars in the early 20th century have led to an increase in war books, based on personal experiences. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, there has been an increase in motherhood memoirs based on contemporary motherhood and family life (Douglas & Klar 2019). However, these personal narratives, as noted by Fass (2006), Douglas and Klar (2019), and Frayn and Houston (2022), overlook how memoirs express deeper emotions, such as grief or loss. This is the problem that this article aims to address.

In an article that analyses language learning memoirs, Pavlenko (2001) underscores the need to categorise memoirs as a genre rather than simply as ethnographic data subject to content analysis. Generally, memoirs are shaped by complex sociocultural and socio-historic contexts. Maluleke (2024) argues that memoirs, as an example of personal writing, can be used as a tool to develop students’ voices in their academic writing, and students’ voices derive from their personal experiences, interests, taste, and views. While grief is one of the themes that emerged from Maluleke (2024), its focus was on how a synergy can be created between personal narratives and academic writing. In this article, by focusing on the grief memoirs written by undergraduate students at an open distance e-learning (ODeL) university, we examine how they use such writing to find their voices while interrogating how certain painful events made them feel and express such emotions freely.

Research has noted how memoir writing can provide intimate accounts of people’s traumatic experiences caused by events such as wars. Baines (2017:252) explores the memoir of Clive Holt, a former soldier in the Angolan War, which is ‘a frontline account … [that serves as] as a window into the world of post traumatic disorder’. In the examination of this memoir, Baines intends to gain insight into the post traumatic disorders and the psychological effects caused by wars on soldiers. Baines (2017:252) calls memoir writing ‘a narrative therapy’, as it helps writers to restructure and reconfigure their life stories that had been shattered into pieces. However, he does not delve into how such events might have led to loss. This article is particularly interested in gaining a deeper understanding about how life events might result into loss and eventually grief. Grief memoir is a popular genre that serves as a tool to express deep emotions that are associated with bereavement (Deller 2024). The terms ‘bereavement’ and ‘grief’ are salient in grief memoirs and are often regarded as synonymous because of their conspicuous overlaps and ill-defined contours. Bereavement denotes loss, deprivation, being robbed of something or someone through circumstances such as death, accidents, sicknesses, separation, and divorce, whereas grief entails the psychological processing of loss (Fabry 2024; Małecka & Bottomley 2022). Jain et al. (2019) argue that although grief is a psychological reaction to loss, it is unique to each individual and influenced by the nature of experiences they have undergone. Goldie (2012) explores grief as a mental reaction and describes it as:

In addition, grief may extend over weeks, months, years, or even a lifetime, as individuals deal with the disruption caused by loss differently (Ratcliffe & Byrne 2022).

This process may lead to healing or leave lasting emotional effects. Cholbi (2022) further indicates that grief is a multi-state emotional process during which individuals move through stages such as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Although grief is commonly linked to loss, it does not always stem from death. Joutseno (2024:1) defines grief as ‘not as a procession of uncomfortable feelings with an end goal, but a life-altering temporally ambiguous state’. This article defines grief as a psychological response and an extended process of dealing with loss that arises from traumatic experiences such as accidents, illnesses, death, separation from a partner, and betrayal, which represents a loss of trust.

Against this background, grief memoir writing is described as a ‘carefully crafted and curated literary artefact’ (Fabry 2024:2), which the authors employ to reflect on moments of grief in their lives. The term ‘memoir’ originates from the French word for memory. Grief memoirs serve therapeutic purposes as they allow authors to reflect on and interrogate their thoughts through writing, which may result in emotional healing (Ruini & Mortara 2022). Małecka and Bottomley (2022) also observe that such writing provides a sense of companionship for readers and authors. For authors, memoir writing creates a safe space in which they can express their emotions without fear of judgement. For readers, an engagement with others’ painful experiences may reinforce the idea that they are not alone in their struggles.

Our article is based on research within the South African educational context. It sheds light on how memoir writing can help writers express their voices and emotions beyond simply recollecting and documenting memories of events. We examine the subtle ways that memoir writing serves therapeutic purposes, as authors share deep emotions that they might never have told anyone before. Students wrote about topics of their own choosing, and their memoirs show how freedom enhances the development of authority and ownership in writing, as well as the confidence to articulate what one wants to say in one’s own voice. Although this is not discussed in this article, for first-year students, the ability to express voice confidently lays a strong foundation for their future academic writing proficiency.

This article adopts Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which views writing, like language, as a cultural tool developed to serve various social purposes, and whose evolution influences how society develops and operates (Smythe & Klein 2009). The theory posits that learning and development are mediated by cultural artefacts such as machines, objects, activities, concepts, and semiotic tools, such as language and writing (Alkhudiry 2022; Mohammadzadeh, Ahour & Saeidi 2020; Prior 2006; Simeon 2016). Influenced by German philosophers, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Friedrich Hegel, Vygotsky rejected (Prior 2006):

The sociocultural theory is premised on the idea that cognitive development occurs within the individual’s cultural, social, biological, and historical context (Scott & Palincsar 2013; Shabani 2016; Slavkov 2015). It construes development as (Lantolf & Thorne 2000):

Against this background, we argue that memoir writing serves an important social purpose, as writers not only document historical events but also express their emotions in therapeutic ways.

Furthermore, the sociocultural theory capitalises on the idea that writing is collaborative in nature. It is shaped through social interactions between writers and a knowledgeable other (such as a teacher or mentor) and among writers themselves (Allman 2020). Through collaborations, authors share ideas about their writing and give each other comments and peer feedback through dialogues (Slavkov 2015). Accordingly, this study is premised on the idea that memoir writing thrives through collaborations and interactions among authors, and meaning is constructed through multiple modes.

Memoirs are often confused with autobiographies, and it is important to highlight their differences although the latter is not the focus of this article. As with other types of life writing, such as autobiographies and biographies, memoirs rely on memory to narrate how events occurred as the subject experienced them. In theorising how memory operates, Rubin and Umanath (2015:1) introduce the concept of ‘event memory’ to describe ‘the mental construction of a scene [as a single occurrence], real or imagined for the past or the future’.

According to Ruma (2016), recollections are influenced by individual perspectives and are prone to inconsistencies. Thus, as much as a memoir relies heavily on memory, it is plausible to suggest that certain aspects may be unreliable, as memory tends to fade over time. This raises concerns regarding its accuracy and authenticity.

Memoir writing is generally understood as an act of expressing the ‘self’. As explained by Williams (2013:1), ‘memoir writing entails more than researching, recording, and constructing the past “self”’. Instead, it involves a set of critical strategies that are employed in other genres like fiction. It is an act of problem solving where the writer makes conscious narrative choices to achieve an intended rhetorical goal. Memoir writing uses the first-person narrative voice, ‘I’, to bring the author at the centre of the story although based solely on their recollections. Memoirs are often mistaken for autobiographies because of their conspicuous overlaps as both genres rely on memory and a first-person voice. Unlike memoirs, autobiographies are based on verified facts drawn from multiple sources, so that the self that is portrayed in an autobiography represents an amalgamation of different perspectives. Agostino (2023) clarifies that, while autobiographies rely on the narrative voice of a writer who is also the central subject, memoirs, as with biographies, may focus on the life of another individual. Couser (2011:18) notes that ‘sometimes it [memoir] is used to refer to any account of the author’s life as if it is synonymous and interchangeable with autobiography’. Considering these similarities and distinctions, we define memoirs as accounts of events that occurred either in the writer’s life, or in the life of another person, based on the writer’s memory.

Over the past three decades, both South Africa and the global community have witnessed a proliferation of memoirs written by influential public figures, especially those involved in the anti-apartheid struggle, following the release of activists such as Nelson Mandela. Nearly every key political figure in South Africa (including Thabo Mbeki, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Andrew Mlangeni, Hugh Masekela, and Desmond Tutu) authored memoirs that reflected their traumatic experiences during the struggle against apartheid and colonialism. These works asserted their rights and identities as black South Africans. As Daymond (2006) puts it, memoirs play an important role in giving recognition to the previously marginalised and a space to document their own histories.

Self-assertion is a common theme in memoirs. In his life story, Mandela combined personal memory, historical context, and identity to illustrate how colonialism disrupted the cultures of black South African communities. Mandela began writing the autobiography in 1974 in prison, motivated by his realisation that most books on South African history excluded the perspectives of black South Africans (Xavier 2018). Although the autobiography was written from Mandela’s personal recollections, it provides an intimate account of the broader experiences of those who participated in the struggle against apartheid.

A key function of these memoirs is to help South Africans confront and process a painful past (Grzęda 2015). Maluleke (2019:188) conceives the idea of ‘memory as a weapon’, to underscore the psychological effects of recalling the past, and further asserts that, ‘If memory is a weapon, it is a multi-edged sword without a handle. Those who dare to use it will necessarily be wounded by it in the process.’ This metaphor illustrates that memory can either reopen wounds or bring comfort. Tutu and Mandela’s memoirs show that, regardless of the emotional cost, memories should not be avoided. As Maluleke argues, ‘In order for memory to be managed constructively through forgiveness, there is a need to face the truth unflinchingly.’ It can be deduced that life writing by political figures in post-apartheid South Africa plays an important role in the promotion of national reconciliation and healing from historical trauma. While much attention has been given to the lives of prominent political figures, there is an urgent need to encourage the writing and reading of memoirs and autobiographies by ordinary South African citizens so that they, too, can enjoy the benefits.

An increase in the publication of grief memoirs over the past three decades has provided individuals with an opportunity to reflect on traumatic experiences. Such memoirs constitute a safe space for authors to express emotions linked to trauma, interrogate personal thoughts, and seek closure (Roodt 2007). James Pennebaker and his colleagues introduced the concept of expressive writing as a tool to disclose traumatic experiences (Deveney & Lawson 2022). As Kalianivala (2019:1) explains, ‘… it was developed from the hypothesis that disclosing traumatic events may improve individuals’ health’. Writing is a powerful therapeutic tool because it not only acknowledges the problem; it also enables the writer to interrogate and communicate their thoughts to another person (Pennebaker & Beall 1986).

Ruini and Mortara (2022:23) use the term ‘writing therapy’ to describe the process of reflecting on trauma experiences though writing. When applied within the context of autobiographical and memoir writing, writing therapy can benefit the writer in reconstructing their self-identities (Ruini & Mortara 2022:23). Den Elzen (2021:219) explores how young widows represent their experiences of grief and work towards rebuilding their fractured identities in ‘widow memoirs’ following the loss of a spouse. Den Elzen (2021) argues that:

Grief or widow memoirs reflect emotional and psychological responses to loss that come because of events such as death, separation, divorce, accident, or sickness. According to Małecka and Bottomley (2022), these memoirs focus specifically on the traumatic period in an individual’s life and may be composed during mourning, shortly after the experience of loss, or at a later stage as reflection.

Małecka and Bottomley (2022) conducted a survey with 76 participants from diverse backgrounds to assess their familiarity with grief memoirs. The participants noted that memoir writing helps remove the stigma associated with grief by creating a safe space where they can express their emotions without fear of judgement. While writing a grief memoir, the writer often experiences a sense of connection, as they can share their personal narratives and engage in imagined dialogues with the deceased. Consistent with Snauwaert (2021), Małecka and Bottomley (2022) assert that grief memoirs serve as a tool for emotional healing.

We adopted a qualitative approach to collect and analyse data, as this method focuses on interpreting human behaviour within natural settings and understanding how individuals make sense of their worlds (Creswell & Poth 2018; Wa-Mbaleka & Rosario 2022). Erickson (2011:33) asserts that ‘qualitative inquiry seeks to discover and describe narratively what people do in their everyday lives and what their actions can mean to them’. In this study, the participants were five first-year students who participated in a Memoir Writing Project. They were registered for an English module at an ODeL university. Qualitative data collection methods were employed, which included written texts that were analysed hermeneutically, as well as observations that could not be quantified.

In addition, an exploratory case study approach was employed to investigate how first-year students expressed their grief through memoir writing. According to Creswell and Poth (2018:96), a case study is ‘a qualitative approach in which an investigator explores a real life, contemporary bounded system, or multiple bounded systems [cases] over time, through detailed, involving multiple sources of information’, such as observations and texts. A case may consist of any defined unit such as an individual student, a small group, an organisation, a partnership, or a single event (Creswell & Poth 2018; Denzin & Lincoln 2005). The case under investigation is the students’ memoir writing within the Memoir Writing Project.

The participants in this research were students at a leading ODeL university in South Africa with an enrolment of more than 400 000 students per annum, located across various regions worldwide. These students are geographically separated from the university, and access teaching and learning materials through digital platforms such as online blogs, livestreams, Microsoft Teams, Zoom meetings, and other social media platforms. These platforms enabled the students to interact with their e-tutors, lecturers, and one another to share knowledge. The students participated in a writing workshop called the Memoir Writing Project. Within this project, virtual workshops were conducted during which the students produced short memoirs based on their own topics.

The findings reveal that the students’ ability to express grief in their memoirs relied on the pedagogies of writing adopted in the Memoir Writing Project, which allowed them to choose topics for themselves. The findings indicate that the students’ expressive abilities relied on a sense of freedom and collaborations with peers. Freedom and collaboration, including peer feedback and engagement, enhanced students’ sense of ownership and authority in their writing. This finding confirms Allman’s (2020) argument that writing is shaped by interactions and collaborations among writers, who share ideas and provide each other peer feedback. They exercised autonomy in crafting their memoirs based on their unique personal experiences. Their narratives explore grief in different forms such as death, disappointment, and heartbreak. Although some students focused on grief because of death, others expressed grief caused by heartbreak and personal disillusionment.

The students peer-reviewed each other’s texts. The ability to take authority and collaborate in text-construction enhanced their growth as writers. Collaboration is one of the principles of the sociocultural theory of writing that perceive writing as a purposeful social activity that is anchored on sharing responsibilities and ideas (Slavkov 2015). These interactions were not limited to technical aspects but centred on meaning and emotional resonance. While students were encouraged to provide peer feedback, they did not seem familiar with the process, suggesting that their prior writing had been individual and did not nurture collaboration.

Our discussion of the students’ expression of grief in their memoirs has shown how such writing provided an opportunity to find closure on unresolved issues in their lives. In line with Ruini and Mortara’s (2022) concept of ‘writing therapy’, this finding accentuates those of Snauwaert (2021) and Małecka and Bottomley (2022) that memoir writing can serve as a tool for emotional healing and therapy. Memoir writing also helped them gain insight into why certain incidents happened and how they shaped them. These are aspects of memoir writing that have not previously been explored. The act of writing memoirs enabled the students to connect the past, the present, and the future. As shown by Den Elzen (2018), memoir writing helps authors rebuild their own sense of self, as they continue to engage in dialogues with themselves to gain a better understanding of their traumatic experiences. Furthermore, it served as a coping mechanism that provided space for students to deal with loss, and, ultimately, as a form of therapy and self-reflection.

This article illustrates how memoir writing can serve as a tool to prompt students to reflect on past traumatic experiences, express their grief and find closure on unresolved issues. Traumatic experiences are sensitive but reflecting on them can help students gain deeper insight into their personal experiences. Memoirs can provide students with the opportunity to understand past events as well as how such events have influenced their identities. In addition, collaborative writing approaches create a safe space for students to open up about their issues. When collaborating through sharing their writing, reading about each other’s experiences, and providing comments, students are encouraged to confront long-held emotional pain and begin to resolve grief. As the findings demonstrate, the development of voice in students’ memoirs stems from being afforded the freedom to choose their own topics. Allowing students an opportunity to write about their personal stories can give them the authority to construct their experiences in their own way, and they are able to assert their identities as writers.