Are you allowed to use real names in your true stories?

I write an online seires of true, short stories. I think I'm getting to the point where I would like to publish it into a book, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to use real names. The stories are mostly about my family, but I was planning to tell stories about weird teachers I had growing up, and even my doctor's, who have fabulous names (Dr. Lorch %26amp; Dr. Eck. No kidding!)





Part of the series is about my estranged father, who according to my family, is a professional con man. He's been married 5 times, gotten arrested a bunch, and told me some horrible stuff oven the phone when I was a kid, and I just want to write it verbatim. For now, I have changed his name, but obviously, if someone *really* wanted to figure out who he was, they would just look up who my biological father is.





To make a long story short, I just want to avoid getting sued for something that is supposed to be cute %26amp; funny - more like ';My Big Fat Greek Wedding'; than anything cruel or slanderous. Tips? Here it is, in case you need to see it to understand what I mean: www.americangoulash.orgAre you allowed to use real names in your true stories?
As long as you tell the truth there shouldn't be a problem. However, in some cases you might want to use pseudonyms, in case you get some of it wrong. Besides, would you want all of your mistakes to be published in a book for all to read? Sometimes it's better to protect people from embarrassment. We all make mistakes. Some might consider your writing about them to be an invasion of their privacy also.