Memories are the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves.
Remembering the past is a creative endeavor as it involves mixing fact with feeling to create a construction that feels true. When we unite these constructions with others, this collaboration is called history.
Much of my thesis research explored literary interpretations of memory. So many books can teach us about the art of remembering, but it is maybe most important to read some of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. (It is very long, nobody expects you to read all of it.)