• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Memoir liability

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Mykikki

New member
Writing a memoir about my childhood memories of abuse.,neglect mental health etc Can I be sued or held liable if I publicly say it’s about my mother directly and do not do not change anything to protect her and other family member identities and the location?

Can I be sued If I have not given any warning nor interviewed her or gotten permission from her and other person I will be talking about in my book Iam self publishing . I have ave allowed others to read it except for her.

I am also writing about her personal life of things she will not want others to know about. Do I need to have documentation for any and all things I write about in this book? Because it’s based on my personal memories and accounts of what happen.
 


quincy

Senior Member
Writing a memoir about my childhood memories of abuse.,neglect mental health etc Can I be sued or held liable if I publicly say it’s about my mother directly and do not do not change anything to protect her and other family member identities and the location?

Can I be sued If I have not given any warning nor interviewed her or gotten permission from her and other person I will be talking about in my book Iam self publishing . I have ave allowed others to read it except for her.

I am also writing about her personal life of things she will not want others to know about. Do I need to have documentation for any and all things I write about in this book? Because it’s based on my personal memories and accounts of what happen.
What is the name of your state?

Yes, you can be sued over the contents of your book.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you for providing your state name.

Whenever you write about identified or identifiable individuals, you run the risk of being sued. You need to handle people's reputations with great care and you need to be careful when disclosing personal and private information about others.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Sure, you can be sued. And there's always a possibility that you can lose. If you don't lose it will still cost you tens of thousands of dollars for a lawyer to defend you.

Unless you are a celebrity (think Mommie Dearest) it's unlikely that anybody will pay to read it. If you want to write it as a catharsis, go ahead, and then burn it.

But if you want to publish, have it read first by a defamation attorney.
 

quincy

Senior Member
It is always wise and advised to have a publishing law professional personally review your manuscript prior to its publication and to also carry enough insurance to cover the costs of a lawsuit should your best efforts to avoid a lawsuit fail.

A legal professional can recognize problematic areas in your text and help you edit your content to reduce the risk of a lawsuit arising from your book's publication but the risk cannot be eliminated entirely.

There have been several threads posted to this forum in the past by writers who have had concerns similar to yours. You might find reading some of these threads helpful so I have linked a couple below.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/prevent.410827/
https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/writing-a-book.651336/
 
Last edited:

Mykikki

New member
Thank you because actually it is not me writing this but a sibling of my. Family . Which she has now gone public and started a fund raising to self publish it. She has already set up as a gift for those donating to this to give out a pdf file for them to read. If they donate 100 or more they will be able to come to her home and spend time with her immediate family etc.


I’m just trying to see what my options are and others that she may have included in this. I was not aware she had written this nor had she interviewed me her mother etc to make sure her facts are correct or got my and others consent to talk about our personal life. Until last week when she made a public announcement and video to kick start her campaign we had to learn about it from a relatives FB page.

She has publicly has stated it’s about our mother and has even given the location and years. She has not tried to protect anyone including her grandmother and other family members that were not around and giving out personal information about their lives from our understanding from what she has already publicly posted.

She has even notified family members of ours to help her get it published. She has stated she is publishing it on amazon herself. Recently she even started on Pinterest

We have asked for a copy of the transcript before anyone sees it and has been refused. My mother assumed they had a good relationship . This has taken us all off guard.

Any suggestions on what we can do or not do?
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you because actually it is not me writing this but a sibling of my. Family . Which she has now gone public and started a fund raising to self publish it. She has already set up as a gift for those donating to this to give out a pdf file for them to read. If they donate 100 or more they will be able to come to her home and spend time with her immediate family etc.


I’m just trying to see what my options are and others that she may have included in this. I was not aware she had written this nor had she interviewed me her mother etc to make sure her facts are correct or got my and others consent to talk about our personal life. Until last week when she made a public announcement and video to kick start her campaign we had to learn about it from a relatives FB page.

She has publicly has stated it’s about our mother and has even given the location and years. She has not tried to protect anyone including her grandmother and other family members that were not around and giving out personal information about their lives from our understanding from what she has already publicly posted.

She has even notified family members of ours to help her get it published. She has stated she is publishing it on amazon herself. Recently she even started on Pinterest

We have asked for a copy of the transcript before anyone sees it and has been refused. My mother assumed they had a good relationship . This has taken us all off guard.

Any suggestions on what we can do or not do?
You can wait for the book to be published and see then what sort of reactions the book generates.

If the content of the book causes demonstrable harm to anyone identified or identifiable in it, those individuals potentially could sue.

You cannot prevent the publication, however. You can only hope that harmful lies are not told and sensitive secrets are not revealed.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:

quincy

Senior Member
It could help in the future to have a copy of the book, though, should Mykikki (or her mother) decide to sue for libel.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Thank you because actually it is not me writing this but a sibling of my. Family . Which she has now gone public and started a fund raising to self publish it. She has already set up as a gift for those donating to this to give out a pdf file for them to read. If they donate 100 or more they will be able to come to her home and spend time with her immediate family etc.


I’m just trying to see what my options are and others that she may have included in this. I was not aware she had written this nor had she interviewed me her mother etc to make sure her facts are correct or got my and others consent to talk about our personal life. Until last week when she made a public announcement and video to kick start her campaign we had to learn about it from a relatives FB page.

She has publicly has stated it’s about our mother and has even given the location and years. She has not tried to protect anyone including her grandmother and other family members that were not around and giving out personal information about their lives from our understanding from what she has already publicly posted.

She has even notified family members of ours to help her get it published. She has stated she is publishing it on amazon herself. Recently she even started on Pinterest

We have asked for a copy of the transcript before anyone sees it and has been refused. My mother assumed they had a good relationship . This has taken us all off guard.

Any suggestions on what we can do or not do?
So you are a liar. Pathetic. Quit lying. You have no credibility.
 

quincy

Senior Member
So you are a liar. Pathetic. Quit lying. You have no credibility.
The change in story certainly changed the direction of the thread from what I expected. BUT, if the sister/author ever posts, I will have information for her all set to go. Haha. :)
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top