With its special cultural and historical approach to writing an autobiography, The Elements of the Autobiography and Life Narratives teaches students about the genre and helps them write their own life stories. Elements of the Autobiography and Life Narratives helps readers think about how their lives—as well as the texts that they write about them—are socially constructed. It presents the autobiography as a means of self-expression, personal and social growth, and development of insight, and shows how writing an autobiography occurs within social and cultural contexts and constraints.