The Magic of Memoir: Inspiration for the Writing Journey

by Linda Joy Myers PhD (Editor), Brooke Warner (Editor)

Overview

The Magic of Memoir is a memoirist’s companion for when the going gets tough. Editors Linda Joy Myers and Brooke Warner have taught and coached hundreds of memoirists to the completion of their memoirs, and they know that the journey is fraught with belittling messages from both the inner critic and naysayers, voices that make it hard to stay on course with the writing and completion of a book.
In The Magic of Memoir, 38 writers share their hard-won wisdom, stories, and writing tips. Included are Myers's and Warner's interviews with best-selling and widely renown memoirists Mary Karr, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dr. Azar Nafisi, Dani Shapiro, Margo Jefferson, Raquel Cepeda, Jessica Valenti, Daisy Hernández, Mark Matousek, and Sue William Silverman.
This collection has something for anyone who's on the journey or about to embark on it. If you're looking for inspiration, The Magic of Memoir will be a valuable companion.
Contributors include: Jill Kandel, Eanlai Cronin, Peter Gibb, Lynette Charity, Lynette Charity, Roseann M. Bozzone, Carol E. Anderson, Bella Mahaya Carter, Krishan Bedi, Sarah Conover, Leza Lowitz, Nadine Kenney Johnstone, Lynette Benton, Kelly Kittel, Robert W. Finertie, Rita M. Gardner, Robert Hammond, Marina Aris, LaDonna Harrison, Jill Smolowe, Alison Dale, Vanya Erickson, Sonvy Sammons, Laurie Prim, Ashley Espinoza, Jing Li, Nancy Chadwick-Burke, Dhana Musil, Crystal-Lee Quibell, Apryl Schwab, Irene Sardanis, Jude Walsh, Fran Simone, Rosalyn Kaplus, Rosie Sorenson, Rosie Sorenson, Jerry Waxler, and Ruthie Stender.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631521478
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	559,395
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Linda Joy Myers, PhD, is president and founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers. Her memoir Don't Call Me Mother—A Daughter's Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness was a finalist in the ForeWord Book of the Year Award, a finalist in the IndieExcellence Awards, and received Honorable Mention in the New York Book Awards. She's the author of three books on memoir writing: The Power of Memoir—How to Write Your Healing Story, Journey of Memoir, and Becoming Whole. She writes for the Huffington Post, and co-teaches the program Write Your Memoir in Six Months with Brooke Warner. Together, Myers and Warner co-authored Breaking Ground on Your Memoir. A therapist for thirty-six years, Myers speaks about memoir, healing, and the power of writing the truth.

Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press, president of Warner Coaching Inc., author of What's Your Book?, Green-Light Your Book, and How to Sell Your Memoir, and the co-author with Myers of Breaking Ground on Your Memoir. Warner’s expertise is in traditional and new publishing. She is the former executive editor of Seal Press and currently sits on the boards of the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Bay Area Book Festival, and the National Association of Memoir Writers. She co-teaches the program Write Your Memoir in Six Months with Linda Joy Myers. Together, she and Myers co-authored Breaking Ground on Your Memoir. Warner blogs actively on Huffington Post Books and SheWrites.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Therein Lies the Magic ix

Writing the Silence Away Jill Kandel 1

My Own Story Eanlai Cronin 11

The Shower and the Fish Peter Gibb 22

From the Projects to Prosperity Lynette Charity 28

Interview with Mary Karr, author of The Liars' Club 37

I Told Her to Shut Up Donna Barnes 42

Of Kids and Rabbits Roseaun M. Bozzone 52

What Is It About Memoir? Carol E. Anderson 57

Writing Naked Bella Mahaya Carter 66

Interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love 75

Takeaway: The Heart of Memoir Linda joy Myers Brooke Warner 81

The Journey of the Two-Hundred-Thousand-Word Memoir Krishan Bedi 86

The Taste of Her Milk Sarah Conover 91

Interview with Margo Jefferson, author of Negroland 97

The Empty Space Leza Lowitz 101

I'm Running Circles Around You Nadine Kenney Johnstone 110

No More Secrets and Silence Lynette Benton 114

Interview with Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion 122

Be Brave and Say Their Names Kelly Kittel 126

Dialoguing with the inner Critic Robert W. Finertie 134

From Fear to Freedom Rita M. Gardner 137

Interview with Hope Edelman, author of Motherless Daughters, Motherless Mothers 146

I Still Have a Story to Tell Robert Hammond 151

My Twenty-Three-Year Project Marina Aris 156

Where's the Juice? LaDonna Harrison 166

Interview with Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran 174

Why I Don't Find Writing Memoir Cathartic Jill Smolowe 179

The Gift of Loss Alison Dale 183

The Power of Words Vanya Erickson 192

Interview with Daisy Hernandez, author of A Cup of Water Under My Bed 195

Journey to a Memoir Sonvy Sammons 199

It Would Never Happen to Us Laurie Prim 209

We Are All Writers Ashley Espinoza 217

Interview with Mark Matousek, author of The Boy He Left Behind 224

From China's Red Stone Bridge to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge Jing Li 229

I Called You a Memoir Nancy Chadwick-Burke 239

As If Your Parents Are Dead Dhana Musil 243

Interview with Sue William Silverman, author of Love Sick 247

The Aftermath of Memoir Crystal-Lee Quibell 252

Life Inverted Apryl Schwab 259

Writing Without an Agenda Irene Sardanis 264

Interview with Raquel Cepeda, author of Bird of Paradise 269

The Unfolding Story Jude Walsh 275

Trust the Process and Find the Thread Fran Simone 281

On Becoming a Memoirist Rosalyn Kaplus 290

Interview with Jessica Valenti, author of Sex Object 300

Doing It Wrong Till You Get It Right (Eventually) Rosie Sorenson 305

The Mythic Journey of Memoir Paula Wagner 313

Life into Stories Jerry Waxier 319

By the Grace of God, I Write Memoir Ruthie Stender 326

About the Editors 333

Gratitude 336