A memoir ( from the French word mÃ moire or the Latin memoria , meaning `` memory '' ) is a literary genre . It is a kind of autobiography . A memoir ( from the French : mÃ moire from the Latin memoria , meaning `` memory '' , or a reminiscence ) , is a literary genre , forming a subclass of autobiography â `` although the terms ` memoir ' and ` autobiography ' are almost interchangeable .