Your life is a story in progress with many chapters lived and to be lived.

In this online workshop, you’ll reflect on the chapters you’ve lived up to present day and then imagine the chapters still left to live. You will write a memoir title for your current life and a second title for the dream life you hope to be living 20 years in the future.

This four-step activity will explore how stuttering fits into your life story. You’ll leave with insight, inspiration, and a clearer sense of the life story you will write next.

Have a pen, some paper, and an open mind as you start The Memoir Method online workshop.

STEP ONE

Moments that Mattered

Moments that Mattered are experiences that have shaped your life, influenced your perspective, and helped define your character. They are milestones in your personal life. Significant events. Turning point experiences. Achievements. Disappointments. These are lasting memories that have shaped you.

Write down five Moments that Mattered from the following life stages:

1. Childhood
2. Teeange
3. Young Adult
4. Older Adult
5. Now/Today

Next, think about each moment you listed and reflect on the role your stutter played when that moment happened.

Write down thoughts and feelings about how your stutter is connected to each life stage moment that mattered.

WHAT IS A MEMOIR?

A memoir focuses on emotional truths and deep reflection connected to a life-changing experience in an author’s life. (Psst… you are the author of your life.)

 A memoir is not an autobiography. Autobiographies cover one’s entire life and provide a factual record of dates, places, and events the author has experienced.  

Memoirs have a TITLE and SUB-TITLE. Titles are concise and attention-grabbing. Sub-titles give more information and add more context.

Title = Intrigue
Subtitle = Explanation

Memoir Title Examples:

WHAT IN THE WORLD?! 
A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings

SORRY I’M LATE, I DIDN’T WANT TO COME
One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes

FORMED THROUGH FIRE
A Memoir of One Man’s Finding Purpose Amidst Remarkable Challenges

STEP TWO

Memoir Title Today

Write the memoir TITLE and SUB-TITLE for the life you have lived up to now.

Don’t over-think it. Refer to your Moments that Mattered exercise to help you.

 (HINT: The theme of “stuttering” may influence your thinking.)

STEP THREE

Moments that Will Matter

Pretend its 2046 and you’ve lived more of your life. Think about your hopes, your dreams, and your aspirations for the life you will live. 

Write down three Moments that Will Matter from your future life.

Moment #1
Moment #2
Moment #3

Next, think about each moment you listed and reflect on what needs to change in order to achieve your desired life.

STEP FOUR

Memoir Title Tomorrow

Still pretend its 2046. Write the TITLE and SUB-TITLE for your second memoir. (This is about some aspect of the life you have lived since the first memoir title you wrote.)

Now, spend time comparing your future memoir title to the first memoir title.

 (You may learn something about yourself comparing the two titles.) 

My Memoir Tiltles

I’m John Moore. I lead a stuttering support group in Greenville, SC. I’ve done The Memoir Method activity with my local group and the results sparked amazing conversation. This workshop activity was recently done at the 2026 National Stuttering Association in Charlotte, NC. (And yes… the workshop conversation sparked amazing conversation.)

Below are my Memoir Titles from today and tomorrow.

This memoir title from today reflects the daily fight I still have with my stutter. I fight everyday with my stutter. I block with silence. I repeat sounds. I prolongate words. I have secondary facial expressions. People experience it and I can feel their discomfort. It’s my daily fight.

This memoir title from tomorrow reflects how the relationship with my stutter has evolved. I still stutter in the future, but I no longer feel guilt, shame, nor embarrassment from it. Instead, I’ve learned to love my stutter. My stutter has given me greater empathy, stronger trying muscles, and a resilience fight within me that makes me a better me.

John Moore is a marketing strategist, business book author, and keynote speaker. He volunteers his time as a board member for Adaptive Pickleball and leads the National Stuttering Association Adult Chapter in Greenville, South Carolina.