I’ve been getting into reading more biographies, and for the most part, it’s been great, but there’s always a lingering thought in my head asking: how much of this is real? I remember large phases of my life, and I get that a biographer would interview people around them/take countless hours trying to remember the past, but how can you remember so many things in such great detail?
I think it would be difficult to recount your whole life chronologically right off the bat. But I think that the writers and the subjects of the books engage in long and many conversations over a period of time - memories and context are bound to add up as you converse and dig deeper. Also, I’d presume that interviews are done with other people who were either involved in specific events, time periods, or knew the subject of the biography well, further adding context and richness with details and perspectives. But these are all guesses, I don’t really know
Plus, it’s probably expected for biographers to be VERY good interviewers and know the best questions to ask, and know when to direct the conversation in the right direction