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gay man, the books he wrote were not only fabricated but plagiarized from other Native American authors. He won several awards from his work (Brownsworth C1).

Some defend these writers, saying that the truth does not matter compared to good art. But where is the art in crime? I say that if a writer is a good writer worthy of being read, he won't have to make up lies in order for his story to be a good one. I've read many beautifully written stories and essays about ordinary lives. It can be done. I may write my own memoir one day. I hope that if I do, I won't feel that my story is so drab, so unimportant, or that I am so weak a writer as to lie to tell a good story.

By excusing lying memoirist, we blur the line between truth and fiction. Jeannette Walls discusses the implications of this in her article, "Truth and Consequences: Why memoirist don't always have the last word". She wrote a memoir herself, and many people have a hard time believing it. As memoirist Augusten Burroughs once told her, "Some people who've lived very normal lives refuse to believe thos of us who haven't" (Walls 79).

How far is too far when fiction and non-fiction mix? As more and more authors are revealed to have fabricated stories published as truth, it is possible that readers will come to not trust any memoirist, whose fascinating stories will be left as just that, stories. Though some may be seen as inspirational, tales of overcoming drug addiction for example, without truth they lack hope. The reader is left with no evidence that such things are possible. It is truth that gives hope. It is a memoirist's responsibility to provide that truth and hope.

Works Cited

Brownsworth, Victoria A. "Their lives, their lies." The Sun 01 February 2006: C1.

"Fraud". Def. 1a. Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. 2006. 12 March 2006.

Walls, Jeannette. "Truth and Consequences." Publisher's Weekly September 19 2005: 74.

Learn more about this author, Amy Daughdrill.
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