
Old Friend From Far Away
The Practice of Writing Memoir
Atria Books · Print & ebook · March 10, 2009
“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.
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- Who it’s for
- A reflective guide to memoir writing, rooted in the work of remembering.
- Themes
- Memoir writing, Memory and self-discovery, Consciousness, love, life, and death
- Pacing
- Reflective
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“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.
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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.
Memory Into Memoir
A reflective guide to memoir writing, rooted in the work of remembering.
Come here for
- Timed, associative, and meditative writing exercises
- Practical guidance for finding your own voice
Expect
- An attentive approach to forgotten memories
- A blend of craft teaching and reflection on life
Where it sits
| Writing Nonfiction & Memoir | 83% |
|---|---|
| Writing as a Career | 26% |
| Personal Memoirs | 22% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Personal Memoirs
- Creative Writing
- Writing Nonfiction & Memoir
- Authors
- Natalie Goldberg
- Publisher
- Atria Books
- Published
- March 10, 2009
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Memoir writing · Memory and self-discovery · Consciousness, love, life, and death
- Reading lane
- Personal Memoirs