Method to Memoir

Uncovering Life’s Smallest Moments Through Personal Essays

Exploring Michael Jamin’s Paper Orchestra and the power of honest storytelling.

Cindy Heath
The Memoirist
Published in
7 min readSep 15, 2024

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The book cover of ‘A Paper Orchestra’ by Michael Jamin along with the author’s photos of herself as a child, with her family, her brother washing the dog, the author with goats and a dog, and the author skiing.
Author’s photos

The epigraph at the beginning of Michael Jamin’s new essay collection grabbed my attention. After all, isn’t this the question all good memoirs hope to answer?

What if the smallest, almost forgotten moments were the ones that shaped us most? —A Paper Orchestra by Michael Jamin

Lately, I have spent most of my reading time on essays — memoir, personal, journalistic, and hybrid. Writing essays is my current obsession, and reading what I hope to write is essential. When a workshop teacher recommended A Paper Orchestra, I was eager to dive into it, especially given my current obsession with personal essay writing.

Michael Jamin is a television writer with 27 years of experience. His many credits include: King of the Hill, Just Shoot Me, Beavis & Butthead, Rules of Engagement, among others. He’s currently the writer and co-executive producer of Tacoma FD.

Jamin explained that his work as a screenwriter is collaborative, getting input from studio executives, producers, directors, actors, and other writers. Since he was home during the pandemic, he wanted to use the…

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Cindy Heath
The Memoirist

I’ve been a farmer, entrepreneur, writer, and more. I'm passionate about nutrition, health, nature, and the rewards of personal writing.