Writing from Life (Inner Work Book)

By Susan Wittig Albert

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

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874778484
• ISBN13: 9780874778489
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 0.7" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

This Book Deserves A Shelf of Its Own

I'm sitting here at the computer with two books spread in front of me. They have the same title, but look nothing alike. I don't mean that they merely have different cover art (both feature roses). One is dog-eared, underlined and annotated, and it flaunts four different colors of sticky notes. I bought it new. However, it is a used book--a well-used book. The other is newer with only a little underlining. I wanted to keep it pristine, but I can't discipline my hand; she keeps grabbing a pen and marking the good parts. When Writing from Life came out in 1996, Susan Wittig Albert was a pioneer. She recognized the need for women to tell--and to share--their stories. All women--not only movie stars, Arctic explorers or famous women. For women who agreed with Susan but didn't know where to begin, this book served (and still serves) as a starting point. Over a decade later, other books on memoir writing and related activities burden my bookshop shelves. But Writing from Life, for me, deserves a shelf of its own. I am delighted and grateful that the book came out again, this time with a new foreword and a revised, updated bibliography. Fortunately, the text of the book itself is unchanged. Susan also founded Story Circle Network (SCN). Like many of its members, I cannot remember if this book led me into the organization or if SCN brought me to the book. It doesn't matter. Both have strengthened and enriched my writing life, no--my entire life. Susan's new foreword recalls origins of the book and of SCN. She reiterates the reasons that women's life writing is critical, almost essential. Why should women tell and share their stories? It gives perspective and understanding to one's own life. It is healing, even to physical ills. It strengthens families and communities, and it leaves a legacy. Any one of these is reason enough to begin writing. That's what the reader of Writing from Life will immediately want to do--grab a pencil, warm up the computer. The book lives up to the promise on the cover of both editions; it sets the reader off on "A journey of self-discovery." Early on, it encourages the writer/reader not only to tell her story, but also to create a book of her story. Seems daunting? Susan suggests writing out the words, "I am writing my life. I am telling my true story," and then taping them over a mirror or desk. She encourages, "Nobody every writes a book all at once. As I write this, I'm writing a sentence, a word at a time. I collect sentences--three or four or seven or eight of them--into paragraphs, and two or three of those are enough to fill a page. A dozen or two dozen pages make a chapter. A covey of chapters is a book. "But right now, I'm not worried about writing a book. Right now, I simply have faith in this true word, and this one, and the next. I have faith in this honest sentence, this paragraph, this page. That's all I need. Faith. Word by word, sentence by sentence. If I care enough about telling the truth, my tru

A USEFUL, INSPIRATIONAL READ

We have been using this book in my writer's group and we've learned so much --- some of us are published writers, others are not. It doesn't seem to matter where you are in your writing journey, professional or not, this book is well-done and an inspiration. Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D., Author, The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond

Invigorating!

If you don't know how to start your life story or need to be recharged, this is the book to help you with an excellent approach.

This is a splendid book ...

for women interested in mapping out the journey of their lives.Includes meditations, excerpts from other women's writings, and pragmatic exercises that wil help you put into words the losses and the celebrations of your life.