I am fascinated by memoirs and biographies. When reading novels, we understand the need to suspend disbelief, but true stories are often stranger than fiction. Take the life of Adolphe Sax who invented the Saxophone. If an author had made him the protagonist of a novel, we would think they were prone to exaggeration.
Born in 1814 in Belgium, Sax was accident prone. It strikes me as implausible that the man could have lived to the ripe old age of 80. He was hit on the head by a cobble stone which sent him careering into a river, yet he didn’t drown. He somehow survived poisoning several times over after drinking acidic water which looked like milk. He came close to dying several times, sleeping in rooms where furniture varnish was left to dry. He fell onto a hot frying pan, burned himself again in an explosion, swallowed a pin and fell from the height of three storeys onto his head. Yet he survived them all, invented the saxophone, and for his troubles lived out his life in penury. Voltaire may have pulled off such a ridiculous plot but not many others could.
This is what I love about people’s lives. The twists and turns, sliding door moments, disasters and moments of divine intervention that are both implausible and believable at the same time. We trust in them because we have experienced something similar in our own lives. We run into an old friend thousands of kilometres from home, we meet a stranger who is destined to be the love of our life or conversely, an accident turns our life upside down. Our experiences are joyous, humbling, exhilarating, painful and unfair, but they all allow us to learn and grow.
Reading a memoir gives me a window into someone else’s struggle and the lessons they have learnt. Writing my own memoir allows me to reflect on my own experiences and try to make sense of them. We are meaning making creatures and we need our personal narrative to make sense.
From Quill to Quote 
Wrestling and MMA interests me, so when I actually went and got the biographies of the people involved in this business, imagine my surprise. People are not born with strength, they have to become strong. True, Genes play a role, but you can hardly be strong like an MMA fighter, if you don’t learn how to fight or workout?
It opened me to their experiences beyond the limelight. And ever since, I’m deeply interested in biographies. Maybe I’ll write my own one day, biography of a normal man who is not a billionaire or a world champion fighter.
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That sounds like a worthwhile exercise. I think we have moved beyond only reading about the rich and famous. Every life is important and deserves to be celebrated!
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Adolphe Sax took me straight back to Bruxelles!
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I have found writing pieces of memoir so very liberating. So glad that I have put in a lot of effort over the past few years so that I can leave the past in the past, at least leave a lot of the negative stuff, and have a greater awareness and appreciation for the positive stuff. I think a lot of good memoir goes unpublished as it is not commercial enough for mainstream publishers. I wonder if some of us memoir enthusiasts could set up something to share out memoirs amongst ourselves when they are ready to be shared. Mine isn’t yet but it will be one day.
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I love that idea, Seana!
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Adolphe Sax sounds like a Charlie Chaplin movie or the first Mr Bean ! he was lucky …thanks for the anecdote !
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Love the idea of a Mr Bean precursor!
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I love this info abut Sax! Can’t wait to read your memoir!
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I’ve finished the first draft so it is coming!
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What a lovely, refreshing piece. Thank you.
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I thought of you and your saxophone!
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I am looking forward to your memoir Viki!
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