​​What’s the Difference Between a Memoir, a Biography, and an Autobiography?

The three primary formats used to tell a life story are a biography, an autobiography, and a memoir.

Simply put, a biography is the life history of an individual, written by someone else. An autobiography is the story of a person’s life, written by that person. And a memoir is a collection of memories written by the person themselves.

A biography, also called a bio, is a non-fiction piece of work giving an objective account of a person’s life. The main difference between a biography and an autobiography is that the author of a biography is not the subject.

Biographies include details of key events that shaped the subject’s life, and information about their birthplace, education, work, and relationships.

An autobiography is the story of a person’s life written by that person. Because the author is also the main character of the story, autobiographies are written in the first person.

The purpose of an autobiography is to portray the life experiences and achievements of the author. Therefore, most autobiographies are written later in the subject’s life.

Memoir comes from the French word mémoire, meaning memory or reminiscence. Similar to an autobiography, a memoir is the story of a person’s life written by that person.

The difference between a memoir and autobiography is that a memoir focuses on reflection and establishing an emotional connection, rather than simply presenting the facts around their life. The author uses their personal knowledge to tell an intimate and emotional story about the private or public happenings in their life.