Inner Workbook Writing From Life [Mass Market Paperback]

Writing from Life is from the Tarcher/Putnam series of Inner Work Books, which also spawned The Artist's Way. Written specifically for women, Writing from Life offers a framework (and a generous amount of encouragement and kindling) for writing, chapter by chapter, about the various aspects of your life. Start with your own birth, Susan Wittig Albert recommends: ask anyone who might remember it to recount it for you; go to the library and find out what kind of world you were born into. By book's end you will have delved into your shiniest glories, your darkest days, your deepest secrets, and your most mundane moments. You will have written about (and thus discovered how you feel about) your family and soul mates, journeys you have taken, places you have called home, and causes that motivate you. Inspiring quotes, mostly by women, are strewn throughout, and each chapter concludes with a meditation and suggestions for celebrating its completion.

Believing that all women have stories to tell and that they can grow spiritually as they learn to put those stories into words, Susan Witting Albert provides a guided writing program that is practical and inspiring. Her step-by-step instructions and exercises derive from her 30 years experience as a teacher of writing. She encourages women to discover their own voices through exploration of eight thematic clusters: beginnings and birthings; achievements, gifts and glories; female bodies; loves, lovers, lovings; journeys and journeying; homes and homings; visits to the Valley of Shadows; and, experiences of community. In an appendix, Albert shows writers how to create what she calls a "Story Circle," a community of women who can gain, through sharing their writing, a sense of belonging and an appreciation of "transformative magic of writing." Albert's book brings charm and elegance to the view of writing as a process of self-discovery.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Albert, a teacher, writer, and author of the "China Bayles" mystery series, offers women this guide to putting their life stories on paper. Hers is a writing program that, if followed chapter by chapter, promises to give the writer an eight-chapter book of her life. Albert includes writing exercises, meditations, celebrations, and examples of other women's writings. She maintains an upbeat and positive tone that will appeal to anyone who wants to begin a journal or start a writing habit. Her work is reminiscent of Natalie Goldberg's works on writing (e.g., Wild Mind, LJ 10/1/90) and will attract the same readers. One nice inclusion is a list of suggestions for women interested in starting a "story circle" to share their stories and work through writing problems in a group setting. Recommended for writing and women's studies collections.
Lisa J. Cihlar, Winfield P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Encourages women to discover their natural storytelling talents, find authentic voices, and record their experiences by providing exercises, meditations, and writing examples for inspiration. Original.