The Permission Slip Every Memoir Writer Needs to Sign

If you’ve been carrying the dream of writing your memoir for years, there’s a good chance something invisible has been holding you back.

Maybe you’ve been waiting for someone to tell you your story matters. Or for the perfect block of time to magically open up in your life. Or for some kind of official “go-ahead” that signals you’re finally allowed to write.

Here’s the truth: no one is coming to hand you that permission slip.

The good news? You can write your own.

Why Memoir Writers Get Stuck Waiting for Permission

Most memoirs never get written—not because the writer lacks talent or a powerful story, but because they’re quietly waiting for something outside themselves to give the green light.

You might think:

• “Who am I to write a book?”
  
• “Do I really have the right to tell my story?”
  
• “What if I get it wrong—or hurt someone in the process?”
  

These questions are normal. But they become dangerous when they turn into roadblocks.

When you spend years waiting for someone else to validate your story, you rob the world of your voice—and you rob yourself of the healing and freedom writing can bring.

The Moment Everything Changes

Here’s the shift that frees most memoir writers: you are the only one who can grant yourself permission to tell your story.

Not an agent. Not a publisher. Not a writing teacher. Not even your family.

It doesn’t matter if your memoir is messy or incomplete or just for you right now. You get to begin.

A Simple Exercise to Unlock Your Writing

Here’s a tiny but powerful action that will start to loosen the weight you’ve been carrying:

Grab a piece of paper and write this sentence:

“I give myself permission to write my story. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be mine.”

✅ Sign it.
✅ Date it.
✅ Stick it somewhere you’ll see it often—your desk, the inside of a notebook, your bathroom mirror.

It might feel small. It might even feel silly. But you’ve just made a quiet declaration to yourself:

➡️ I am allowed to write.

Permission Granted

Memoirs don’t begin with a title page or a perfect outline.

They begin the moment you decide you have the right to start.

So today, don’t wait for permission from anyone else. Write your own life.