Readers will discover how to construct a well-crafted spiritual memoir--one that honors the author's interior, sacred story and is at the same time accessible to others. Provides practical advice on how to overcome writing obstacles and work through drafts
N/A
Price:
$16.00
|
Introduction
The Spiritual Memoir
Why We Write
The Attributes of Spiritual Memoir
Getting Started
Inevitable Resistance
Developing the Writing Habit
The Dilemma of Memory
Organizing Your Memories
Your Spiritual Life as Subject Matter
Describing the Indescribable
The Power of Epiphany
Symbols and Metaphors
The Vividness of Childhood
Being in the Body
Honoring Teachers
Journeys
The Significance of Setting
Sharing Suffering
The Numinous
The Craft of Writing
The Power of Showing, The Power of Telling
Finding a Structure for Your Story
Revision as Seeing Anew
Learning to Read as a Writer
Putting It Out There
Writing Practice, Spiritual Practice
"What, exactly, is spiritual memoir? I was halfway through writing my own before I knew. A mentor began handing me books—wild rides through the Christian faith by Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Margery Kempe, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, and Henri Nouwen. Later my reading widened to include Sufic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, and New Age memoirs, memoirs by authors of eclectic faiths and authors with no faith tradition at all. I read books by authors who were young, old, famous, unknown, spiritual leaders and ordinary folk, queer and straight, alive and dead. What all these authors had in common was a passionate striving to link their seemingly small lives to some broader truth, some vaster mystery. Although each author’s experience of the spiritual was unique, the way each one’s experiences emerged in writing was strikingly similar. Familiar themes, structures, and styles appeared across history and culture. Since then, in my work with hundreds of beginning writers, I’ve come to recognize that the process of writing our sacred stories is filled with common pitfalls and pleasures. Spiritual memoir is a form unto itself."
Introduction
The Spiritual Memoir
Why We Write
The Attributes of Spiritual Memoir
Getting Started
Inevitable Resistance
Developing the Writing Habit
The Dilemma of Memory
Organizing Your Memories
Your Spiritual Life as Subject Matter
Describing the Indescribable
The Power of Epiphany
Symbols and Metaphors
The Vividness of Childhood
Being in the Body
Honoring Teachers
Journeys
The Significance of Setting
Sharing Suffering
The Numinous
The Craft of Writing
The Power of Showing, The Power of Telling
Finding a Structure for Your Story
Revision as Seeing Anew
Learning to Read as a Writer
Putting It Out There
Writing Practice, Spiritual Practice
"What, exactly, is spiritual memoir? I was halfway through writing my own before I knew. A mentor began handing me books—wild rides through the Christian faith by Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Margery Kempe, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, and Henri Nouwen. Later my reading widened to include Sufic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, and New Age memoirs, memoirs by authors of eclectic faiths and authors with no faith tradition at all. I read books by authors who were young, old, famous, unknown, spiritual leaders and ordinary folk, queer and straight, alive and dead. What all these authors had in common was a passionate striving to link their seemingly small lives to some broader truth, some vaster mystery. Although each author’s experience of the spiritual was unique, the way each one’s experiences emerged in writing was strikingly similar. Familiar themes, structures, and styles appeared across history and culture. Since then, in my work with hundreds of beginning writers, I’ve come to recognize that the process of writing our sacred stories is filled with common pitfalls and pleasures. Spiritual memoir is a form unto itself."
You might also be interested in: