#169 Finding the Line: How a Linear Structure Brought a Memoir Into Focus with Heather Sweeney

Some lives resist easy summary, and Heather Sweeney's was one of them. After two decades inside a military marriage, marked by relocations, solo parenting, and a gradual loss of personal direction, she knew she had a story, but not yet a shape.

Estelle Erasmus talks with Heather about how she translated that long, complicated stretch of living into her memoir, Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. They discuss the early drafting that felt scattered, the challenge of seeing her own experience clearly, and why a straightforward linear structure ultimately gave the narrative its definition. Heather shares how moving chronologically helped her understand what moments carried weight, what could be left out, and how structure can reveal meaning that isn't visible in real time.

In this episode:

• How Heather determined that a linear structure best served her story [1:33]

• How she found the true "start" of her memoir [3:00]

• How she used a three part structure built around beginnings and endings [5:18]

• How reader responses to her early essay revealed a gap in stories about military divorce [7:02]

• Why the book needed forward motion instead of fragmentation [11:31]

• How she balanced writing about real people with protecting privacy [12:00]

• Turning years of journals into a clean storyline [13:21]

• How she considered weaving in military history or prescriptive elements, and why she chose to keep the memoir focused and personal [15:03]

• What she's excited about next in her writing life [28:44]

• Why readers from all backgrounds connect with her story [30:06]

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GlBYpm9Ac2Y

About Heather Sweeney:

Heather Sweeney is the author of the memoir Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. She writes about divorce, life as a military spouse, parenting, and women's health, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, HuffPost, Business Insider, TODAY.com, Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Healthline, Reader's Digest and Military.com, among many others. She lives in Virginia with her boyfriend and two college-aged kids.

Connect with Heather:

Order Camouflage on Estelle's Bookshop https://bookshop.org/a/98827/9798895653081

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writersweeney

Substack: https://heathersweeney.substack.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-sweeney-5a15115b/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/WriterSweeney

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About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.

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