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?
A lot of things recorded in biographies are what are deemed as significant events and not usually the type of thing you would forget.
For example, when you were born, your family members, your upbringing, the birth of your children etc. are all things you are likely to easily remember.
Biographies often also include core memories. So while these events may not be significant to everyone these events were significant moments in this person’s life for whatever reason.
Personal struggles, something biographies also cover usually, are also often not forgotten. If you’ve ever struggled with addiction or lived in poverty, those are just not the types of things you or the people around you would forget.
I do think some minor details may be wrong just because people are likely to misremember minor details, but biographers usually account for that by doing a lot of research and stating when they cannot verify something or there are conflicting accounts.