Vignettes occupy a distinctly different space, sitting squarely between prose and essays. Vignettes are short snapshots of a life that are also intricately connected to one another. You could probably read one independent of the others, but to be fully understood, they must be read in order and in context of the greater narrative.

The first quarterly read for The Memoir Method Podcast is From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle. This memoir is about a First Nations young man whose first three decades are defined by abandonment, addiction, crime, homelessness, and hopelessness. We’ll spend time over the next three months diving deep into this memoir and identifying what elements make this memoir shine. Most of these podcast conversations will be happening with my friend and fellow reader and writer Ginny Walters.