They used words, typewriters, and paper. Not that every teenager likes memoir. The magic of memoir tends to be a triumph of voice, and some teens, especially less adept readers, are bored by voices others find elegant and enticing. Beloved or not, memoir is an important way for some teens to begin their initiation into the adult world. She also notes that our culture gives us an inner script by which to live.
Memoirs are also survival stories.
Few of the books I have mentioned contain pretty pictures. Many teenagers live in families similar to Bragg's and Wolff's. They need to know they can survive. I loved striding the halls between classes, chin out, shoulders back, my athlete's muscles pumping. But when she crossed the wrong person in the school's weight room, things changed.