Old Friend from Far Away
The Practice of Writing Memoir
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Memoir writers, buy this book, put it on your personal altar, or carry it with you as you traverse the deep ruts of your old road.” —Tom Spanbauer, author of The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon
Old Friend from Far Away teaches writers how to tap into their unique memories to tell their story.
Twenty years ago Natalie Goldberg’s classic, Writing Down the Bones, broke new ground in its approach to writing as a practice. Now, Old Friend from Far Away—her first book since Writing Down the Bones to focus solely on writing—reaffirms Goldberg’s status as a foremost teacher of writing, and completely transforms the practice of writing memoir.
To write memoir, we must first know how to remember. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, Old Friend from Far Away guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors of memory. At once a beautifully written celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical teachings, and a deeply affecting meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, Old Friend from Far Away welcomes aspiring writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories. Like Writing Down the Bones, it will become an old friend to which readers return again and again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Anyone who's aspired to write a memoir secretly or otherwise will find encouragement and inspiration in this superbly recorded, succinct recording by writing teacher Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones). Describing writing as "the chance to live your life twice," and memoir as a way of "letting go so when death comes you can meet it," Goldberg eases the listener into her audio writing workshop with a relaxed, improvisational tone, befitting her strong sense of humor. Simple yet creative exercises designed to get listeners started and help them discover their own "inner structure" and passions include learning exact names of things to eliminate strings of adjectives, list-making, "sketching" (a term coined by Kerouac), responding to one of Goldberg's thought-provoking questions and "sprinting" (doing timed half-page writings on one word). Punctuated with the author's own laughter and interjections of "Isn't that great?," readings of excerpts from Goldberg's favorite poets, authors and students illustrate various topics, which are separated by beautiful acoustic music. Applying lessons gained from her 25-year study of Zen Buddhism, Goldberg urges writers to continue under all circumstances.
