I can’t comment extensively on the recent Fake Memoir controversies because I have not read the books.
However, as the author of a memoir, I feel inclined to say this: my book is factually accurate. Names and some identifying geographical details were changed, but other than that, I told the truth.
Also, and this is critical: I did not fabricate, exaggerate, or embellish. In fact, I elected to withhold vast amounts of information. I had a clearly defined narrative agenda, and the facts extraneous to the main story were cast aside.
Many of the people who appear in the pages of my book wonder why I didn’t examine all aspects of my history. The friends who have heard my lavish and bizarre tales ask why certain stories are not in the manuscript; they want to know if I’ll ever publish the most sensational bits. The answer is a qualified no.
There are many reasons, none of which are pertinent except my fundamental code of ethical behavior. I’m not interested in exploitation.
In writing the book I was not trying to win some kind of contest of victimization or debasement.
If I were playing that game, I could win. I choose not to.