Consider this—Sips of Home, Bits of Memory

Photo: Moises Saman, NY Times

Yesterday’s New York Times Dining section features a lovely food memoir essay, “Sips of Home, Bits of Memory.” Writer and journalist, Alissa J. Rubin, rounds up her experiences seeking comfort in food when she lived as a war correspondent in Kabul.

The type of essay is sometimes called a "roundup," a composite of like experiences based in one locale, composed for effect to make a whole essay. Rubin evokes feelings readers recognize, thus making her distinctive experiences universal. 

Reading Rubin's essay recalls Amy Tan’s insight:  This is the paradox of writing and of life:  By capturing your own individuality, you often capture what is universally true.

The memoir writer's  goal is to write personal experiences as close to the truth as possible so they resonate universally. Ruben shows us how.