A lot of people find, when they set out to write their life story, that they are likely to hurt someone—parents, friends, associates, old army buddies, and so forth. That's simply because the whole point of writing a book is to (finally) tell the truth. We go through life easing the feelings of people around us, trying to be a good friend, trying to be supportive, and so forth. We're mothers, father, daughters, sons, spouses, employees, bosses. We play so many roles in life that we sometimes forget who we really are and what we really believe. So yes, when you write an honest book about your life and the people in it, sometimes someone is liable to get their feelings hurt. I've seen clients struggle over the exact wording of certain sentences only to finally give up and say, "To hell with it! It's the truth and I'm saying it!" And in the end, readers respect your candor. When they take the whole book into perspective, they get to know you better and don't mind the odd sentence here or there that jogs them out of their comfortable illusions.

You writing a memoir or autobiography is a departure from playing the roles you've played all your life. It is a moment to stand apart from all that and be yourself. The writing of it makes you realize how far you've come in life, whether or not you have been true to your convictions, and what you have yet to give. Whether or not you want to actually publish the thing is up to you. Will it put you at risk? Will the truth (your truth) hurt too many people? Only you can say, but whether or not you publish has no bearing on the fact that writing that memoir is a life-altering experience. It is a summation of who you are, what you believe, what you have learned. It is the non-role-playing honesty that everyone deserves to experience at some point in life.