Today’s book recommendation is for the journalers, the aspirational journalers, and folks who just like to hear a good story. I am a journaler in my heart; that is, I have journaling aspirations. I have failed dozens of times over the years to form a journaling habit, though I do write a newsletter regularly, so it kind of depends on your definition of journaling. Personally, I do not count it as actual journaling for myself. I’ve tried free-writing, prompts, guided journals, morning pages, you name it. Like many folks, I’ve built up in my mind what I think journaling should be and today’s recommendation has opened me up to new journaling possibilities. I had a lot of reservations going into this read and I ended up enjoying it immensely.
The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika JaouadThere are a lot of big and often tough subjects discussed in this book, especially cancer given the primary author’s experiences. I say primary author because this is actually a collection of short essays with prompts along a theme. It is not a guided journal, and it is not merely a book of “writing prompts.” It lies somewhere in the blending of both, yet so much more. Each contributor shares something, usually something personal or that they are personally connected to, in a range of essay forms. Then each offers the reader a chance for reflection as related to that story in the form of a specific prompt that is born from the short personal essay, memory, imagining, etc. the contributor has shared. The idea is to think and journal creatively and not just recount your day or your week or your dreams, though if that is what you do and you enjoy it, then that’s cool too, of course. |
An example of an entry is one by food writer Jenny Rosenstrach where she writes about a time where she planned to cook something lovely for dinner. Unexpectedly, she and her husband received a call and had to hop in the car on a long drive to be present for a loved one in hospice. She writes about what she decided to do with the planned dinner (Make it? Save it for the future?) and how it affected the heavy road trip. The prompt is something like “Write about a time when food was more than just sustenance for you.” There are so many great contributors, and one of the things I loved about this book is that not every contributor is primarily a writer, like Jon Batiste, who is also the spouse of the author. Other contributors include Salman Rushdie, John Green, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ashley C. Ford, and many more.
That’s it for now, book-lovers!
Patricia
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Source : A Read for Journalers, Aspiring Journalers, or Anyone Who Likes a Good Story
