Save my life...? Through Writing?!

Please don't be thrown off WRITING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE: HOW TO HONOR YOUR STORY THROUGH JOURNALING by Michele Weldon by the fact that I only give it 3 stars. Michele's book is definitely worth the read; I truly am very glad that I read it. I gave it only 3 stars, though, because there were parts of the book where I felt that she could have used a lot fewer words (examples) to make her point. Interestingly enough, I have exactly the same issue! I know my own students often wish that I would just state my point, maybe 1 example--if that many--and move on, but like Michele, I tend to go around my arm to get to my elbow! Isn't it often what we see in ourselves that we criticize in others?! Regardless, WRITING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE is well worth the read. 

I am still working on some of the exercises in the book. Some of them are ones that need some real ruminating and time while others are quick and easy to get through. 

One of my favorite passages comes in the last chapter "Enjoy the Music in You": "'To love what you do and feel that it matters, how can anything be more fun?' Katherine Graham, the author and businesswoman who steered the helm of the WASHINGTON POST for decades, said it and lived by it. It is joyful to write when you believe what you are writing matters" (227).