Prompt 7

Controversies surrounding books are nothing new. We have seen books challenged and banned because of what some have deemed as inappropriate such as J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Most challenged and banned books are typically banned from a public arena such as public schools because of sexual content or inappropriate language.  Another controversy surrounding books is those associated with fake memoirs.

A memoir is supposed to be a true account of someone's life or a period of time during the author's life. A fake memoir is a fabrication of part or all of the events and life written in an autobiography, memoir or diary. I am amazed at the stories that people can come up with to have fame and fortune. I wonder why the authors do not just write their story as fiction instead of proclaiming that the events really happened. These stories could be just as riveting as fiction books. I think that some stories could be considered as great historical fiction stories, especially those surrounding the Holocaust where the author adds nonfactual items to the story. Take for instance, Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love that Survived by Herman Rosenblat. He wrote about his time at the Buchenwald concentration camp. He then embellished the story about how he met his wife and made it out to be factual. His story should have been published as historical fiction instead of a non-fiction memoir (along with changing the title of the story and removing the word true). If a story is not real and the writer wants to tell a good story, then it should be published as fiction. The public would know that the author was being authentic and truthful.

It is very disappointing that people could falsify information without any fact checking by publishers. Viking Publishers Vice-President Carol Coleburn states, "We rely on our authors to tell the truth and fact-check" (Fake memoirs, 2017). This statement was made concerning the book Odd man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit by Matt McCarthy. This book was an account of McCarthy's time playing in minor league surrounded by teammates who took steroids. Then portions of the book were found to have been fabricated. Publishers may need to start patrolling the truthfulness of non-fiction works to keep from embarrassment. While it would be wonderful to fully believe authors, I think stories should be investigated before books are published.

Fake memoirs take credibility away from people who actually write true accounts. As a reader, I will begin to question if what I am reading is true or fabricated. Librarians may be more skeptical when purchasing memoirs or autobiographies for the collection.

As librarians, I am afraid we might be held accountable by our patrons for fake memoirs that are on the shelves. Even though we did not write the story or publish it, we may still be connected to the book and cause a certain level of wariness from our patrons and place a level of distrust based on a book that we have on our shelves that is ultimately fake. Non-fiction is meant to tell the truth; that is, what readers not only want, but expect. Standards of truth and integrity should be expected in all non-fiction material.

Works Cited
Fake memoirs. (2017, February 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fake_memoirs&oldid=765743013