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This paper aims to argue for the curricular inclusion of youth-generated young adult literature (YAL) alongside canonical literature and adult-generated YAL. The authors support this argument with the results of a qualitative analysis of youth memoir published in The Best Teen Writing. They strive to inform the debate between educators who value memoir as part of the secondary curriculum and critics who question the ability of youth to write purposeful, meaningful narrative. Additionally, the authors also present memoir as a unique genre for youth to document and process adolescence, and for youth to speak to issues which they deem important.

Informed theoretically by the Youth Lens, which considers how texts reinforce and/or disrupt various figurations of adolescence and youth, this study uses a multistage qualitative analysis of 83 youth memoir published in nine volumes of the Best Teen Writing from 2010 to 2018. First, the authors conducted a Labovian plot analysis to consider what themes and topics were present as well as what this sample could teach us about youth. Next, they analyzed the sample for genre hallmarks specific to creative nonfiction and memoir to consider the question of quality of youth memoir.

The findings suggest that there is no typical adolescence and that youth are balancing complex, intersectional identities, which they write about skillfully through memoir. These findings directly contrast with critics of youth memoir. Rather than clichéd, the memoirs the authors analyzed show youth as intercultural, capable of thoughtful reflection, capturing the transitory state of their youth (knowing they are not children anymore and lightly speculating about their future), skillfully integrating memoir genre hallmarks, and recording important events and perspectives with appeal to a broader readership. Furthermore, these findings position youth memoir as worthy of curricular inclusion alongside adult-generated YAL.

If the critics of youth memoir are the loudest voices, youth memoir will be, at best, relegated as examples for writers rather than seen as valid additions to curricular canon. This work gives due credit to the quality of published youth memoir to showcase their potential for curricular and canonical addition. This study builds on smaller-scale case studies and personal accounts to make an argument for curricular inclusion of youth voices and youth memoir in the secondary canon.

This paper aims to explore, for the first time over a long period of time, the autobiographical memory of Israeli veterans of the 1948 War, pertaining to the 1948 Palestinian exodus that led to the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. Does this memory include the Zionist narrative (i.e. willing flight of the Palestinian refugees) or a critical narrative (i.e. willing flight and expulsion)? One of the primary sources to influence the collective memory of conflicts is the autobiographical memory. This memory is also one of the primary sources for research of the past. Thus, autobiographical memory is of importance.

Methodologically, this is done through an analysis of all 1948 veterans’ memoirs published between 1949 and 2004. Interviews were also conducted with various veterans, to understand the dynamics of their memoir publication.

Empirical findings suggest that during the first period (1949-1968), this memory was exclusively Zionist; during the second (1969-1978), it became slightly critical; and during the third (1979-2004), the critical tendency became more prevalent. Onward, the nine empirical causes for the presentation of exodus the way it was presented are discussed. Theoretical findings relate, inter alia, to the importance of micro factors in shaping the autobiographical memory, assembles seven such theoretical factors, suggests that these factors can influence in two ways (promoting collective memory change or inhibiting it), and that their impact can change over time.

Taken together, the paper contributes empirical and theoretical findings that are based on a solid and wide scope research.

This bibliographic essay examines the scope and variety of nonfiction works in comics form with the intent of expanding librarians’ awareness of the diversity of such materials and serving as a resource for librarians.

It provides some theoretical background for understanding what constitutes nonfiction in graphic form and an overview of works available in print.

The article provides a representative (but not comprehensive) survey of graphic nonfiction works in the genres of memoir, travel, journalism, history, biography, science, essays and educational materials.

The essay focuses on materials published in books in English; the library world would benefit from subsequent research exploring the richness of materials available in other formats and other languages.

The field of graphic nonfiction is expanding, and this article serves as a guide for libraries interested in building or expanding collections in this format.

This paper seeks to describe the advantages and limitations of using the mental illness memoir to teach future health care providers about mental illness.

A review of the challenges to reconstructing the mental illness experience is followed by “caveats and considerations” in employing the mental illness memoir to teach prospective health care providers about mental illness. The importance of examining the way the many factors that shape the mental illness narrative is emphasised.

While mental illness memoirs can be effective vehicles for educating students about mental illness, they may be even more valuable when accompanied by a careful examination of the factors that may have affected the construction of the narrative itself. An ecologically‐based conceptual model is proposed as a framework for systematic analysis of the mental illness memoir. A checklist of factors to employ in the analysis (inventory of influences on the mental illness narrative) is also included.

To use the mental illness memoir effectively as a pedagogical strategy in clinical education, one needs a strategy for organising and interpreting the characteristics of both clients and their contexts.

This model and the accompanying checklist incorporate a broad range of both individual and contextual factors that affect the stories individuals construct about their mental illness. The model can serve as a framework for analysis of an individual memoir and may also suggest specific avenues for further research across multiple accounts or the genre itself.

Using primary sources, such as memoirs, letters and diaries, rather than relying solely on secondary sources (i.e. the textbook) is a more effective way for students to appreciate the lived experiences of those who were present when the history was made. This article details how memoir was used in a college classroom in Connecticut as a supplement to required texts. It provides a lesson plan, a sequence of activities and a list of recommended primary sources that were used to explore selected topics. It proposes reasons for why this method of instruction has been so successful.

The study uses VARK approach: visual, auditory, reading, kinesthetic; sequential activities using text, video and primary sources; PowerPoint from group work; presentation via ZOOM; and required text used as lens through which to see student choice topics.

Accessing VARK learning behaviors and including the original voices of those who lived through history improves student engagement, increases understanding and empathy and promotes sense of agency to student progress.

Students focus on a particular aspect of history. Shared text covers all of it, through a thematic lens. Final exam and papers insure that students are responsible for all of the course material.

Young students might “role play” individuals in history, or particular situations, but this is not accepted, practical or as useful in higher grades. Using primary sources bridges that gap.

Teamwork, shared technical skills, product produced and shared, and sense of group experience lead to more unified classroom. Teacher role is more of director and editor rather than information giver.

The study is not a new idea, but one that is usually used only as a one-off and should be made part of standard curriculum.