The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir

Moore ends her memoir with a meditation on storytelling, particularly stories about war and trauma. She remembers her Ol’ Ma’s lesson that “[s]uffering is a part of everyone’s story,” which can universalize even the most horrific experiences (247). For Moore, recalling her family’s experience of the First Liberian Civil War becomes key to understanding who she is and to her navigating relationships and responding to loss.

The process of writing a memoir is one of reconstruction. One’s own memories, particularly of childhood, intermingle with the stories and recollections that we hear from others. Moore was only five when the civil war broke out in Liberia, so she’d depend on the recollections of family members and friends in addition to her own. However, relying on other narratives in forming her own does not diminish the integrity of her story. In this respect, Moore’s method of piecing together her story is not unlike that of the griots and djelis—traditional West African poets and storytellers who keep the histories of their respective tribes—who pass down stories to every Ol’ Ma, who then shares those stories with her family. The purpose of these stories is not only to explain who people are and where they come from but also to offer lessons that can provide guidance.