A written account of one's own life. Neutral, standard term.
He published his autobiography.
Reading an autobiography gives you a good understanding of that person's life.
He wrote his autobiography after retiring.
The actress plans to publish her autobiography next month.
自伝 covers the whole of one's life in narrative form, while 手記 usually focuses on a specific experience, period, or event.
自伝 is an account of one's own life written by oneself, while 伝記 is a biography of someone written by another person.
autobiography; autobiographical literature
Compound of 自 (self) and 伝 (account, biography). The reading じでん is the standard on'yomi for these kanji.