When Lies Aren't Really Lies or; The Limits of Oral History

It what can only be called a profound misunderstanding of the meaning of "fabrication," Megan McArdle muses on people lying about their pasts that

[t]his isn't necessarily fabrication; it's just that we pick and choose what we recall, and those who are happy will selectively recall the best parts, while those who are unhappy will accentuate the negative.

It is necessarily fabrication when you pick and choose this and that to create a false picture of the past. This why oral history is limited use.