In the memoirs A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, there are stories of how both authors persevere through some form of poverty during their childhood; in both cases, the authors have a story of escaping their problems, and ultimately both McCourt and Walls turn their stories into fame and success. Both memoirs are based on stories from the authors' past and remain the central focus of the entire memoir. Memoirs are a subgenre of the fiction and nonfiction genre (List of Literary Genres, California Department of Education). A memoir is a book or other writing based on the writer's personal knowledge of famous people, places, or events. The difference between a memoir and an autobiography is that autobiographies use physically recorded works, while memoirs are, almost to the letter of the definition, literary representations of memory. Therefore, like memories, there is a possibility that they may be inaccurate or intentionally distorted (Memoir (Genre), University of California Berkeley Information Services and Technology). The memoirs not only show how the authors' childhood experiences shape their lives, but also provide explanations for how they were able to take their situations and turn them into successful lives and careers. It is evident that there are numerous similarities between the lives and memoirs of Malachy McCourt's A Monk Swimming and The Glass Castle; those similarities and slight differences are discussed throughout the essay. Malachy McCourt grows up in Limerick, Munster, Ireland in a family full of hardship and family tragedy. While he was young, his four-year-old sister Margaret dies, and then his twin brothers Eugene and Oliver... center of card... man in any institution where he could. Works CitedCalifornia Department of Education. "List of literary genres". Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School. Np, January 31, 2012. Web. November 29, 2013. McCourt, Malachy. "Welcome to the Malachy website." Malachy McCourt. March 5, 2012. Web. December 3, 2013. .McCourt, Malachy. A Swimming Monk: Memoirs. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print.UC Berkeley. “Memoirs (genre).” UC Berkely Information and Technology Services. Np, July 8, 2013. Web. December 16, 2013. .Muri, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: Memoirs. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. "'A Swimming Monk': A tragedian's brother finds more comedy in life." Books of the Times. New York Times, September 4, 1998. Web. December 1. 2013