Customer Reviews

Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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Most people starting a journal find after a relatively short period that the entries become a chore rather than a joy. LEAVING A TRACE provides individuals with tips as to how make the personal scroll more exciting, entertaining, and user friendly to the customer: the author of the tome.

Professor Alexandra Johnson provides practical advice including changing tone, length, schedule, and case, etc. to liven up the entries and keep the writer fresh. Thus, anyone thinking of starting a journal or already maintaining one will find this book quite useful. The book is well written and surprisingly interesting, but the reader need beware that it also tempts the audience into wanting to start a journal. My spouse had cardiac arrest when I suggested I do just that - not because of dark secrets, but because he insists my "journal" is already splashed all over the Net. This guidebook truly assists the person desiring a self-record and anyone buying a journal as a present for a loved one should include this as a companion piece.

Harriet Klausner

There are a lot of books out there on keeping journals, and all of them contain very similar, and sound, basic advice: use whatever format helps, just ignore the censorious voice, there are no rules, etc. This book covers those points adequately, to be sure.

Where this book excels, however, is in guiding the reader who is beyond the basics--the reader who has accumulated a pile of journals and is ready to take them as raw material and do something more with them, be it more journaling at a deeper level or extracting and preparing a work for publication. Professor Johnson presents a number of ideas along this line that I have not seen elsewhere.

This book lost a star in my view because, in addition to the lack of bibliography noted by other reviewers, the material about mining the journals is not presented in a well-organized fashion. For example: Johnson identifies ten categories of life patterns that one can perceive in journals past: longing; fear; mastery;(intentional) silences; key influences; hidden lessons; secret gifts; challenges; unfinished business; untapped potential. I found this to be a very helpful analysis, yet it is casually mentioned in the text in a way that is easy to miss and hard to locate again for reference.

This book must be mined for insights in just the same way that one mines a journal. It's not a fatal flaw, but I think I expected more in a published work. Nonetheless, it is worth the effort for long-time journal-keepers.

Do you keep a journal? Have you kept one in the past? Do you wish something would inspire you to keep a journal? Have you tried and failed, and wished there were some way you could try again and succeed? Or have you never kept a journal, never plan to, and wonder why other people do? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you will find Leaving A Trace by Alexandra Johnson an informative and inspiring book to read.

I was, at first, suspicious of Johnson's book. There is plenty of tripe out there on the subject of journaling and Leaving A Trace sounded like some pap trash writing; the type that would list ten ways to complete happiness in journal writing in twenty-four easy steps. With eight years of journal writing behind me, journal writing is something I do, like, and have opinions about. I am ever on the lookout for intelligent writing with which I can interact. I was suspicious, but when I cracked the book open I found it was not what I thought, and I was intrigued enough to read on.

The most striking feature of Leaving A Trace is Johnson's ability to weave together the stories of both famous and unknown journal writers with her own observations and experiences. She writes with the clean and sure prose of someone who knows her subject well. The book is crafted in a relaxed and familiar manner that makes for easy and enjoyable reading. The book is not a voluminous tome of intimidation, but a concise handbook that does not neglect any aspects of journaling.

As an experienced journal writer I found myself enjoying Johnson's skill in describing why we write journals, and what journals mean, both to the writer and others at a later time. It wasn't that Johnson said anything I didn't already know, but she wrote in a way that clearly said my own thoughts, freeing them from that distant place in the back of my mind so they could be looked upon openly. Johnson's writing provoked me to examine and consider my own journal writing. Time and again I would come across a passage that would make me think "Yes, I agree with that. And the reason why is . . ." Many times I had to restrain myself from underlining passages and scribbling notes in the margins. When I finished the book the reasons why I keep a journal were refreshed in my mind, encouraging me to continue and perhaps even experiment with new and different methods.

I found Leaving A Trace helpful in my writing experience, but the book is good for people of all levels of experience. Beginners as well as advanced writers can see their own goals in Johnson's writing and be spurred on. Especially helpful are the passages where Johnson touches on the many different varieties of journals a person can keep, including non-traditional forms. People who think they could never write a journal might find that they are actually keeping one through means they never would have guessed. Other writers who are struggling with one type of journaling might discover a different type that works better for them. And for those beginning writers looking for something to get them started Johnson has exercises listed at the end of each chapter.

Leaving A Trace is a well written book on journaling, but there were two flaws with it. One was a minor defect--the lack of bibliography. While most casual readers will not notice the absence, those interested in reading the published journals that Johnson references will miss the convenient listing. The second problem is Johnson's focus on good journal writing. There are several places where Johnson makes allusions to the great journals of famous writers. With journaling as the focus of her career it is not surprising that Johnson would have opinions as to what good journaling is and to have a desire to see others excel in those ways. But it is unfortunate this comes out so strongly in a book aimed to encourage the beginning journaler. She gives much advice on how to conquer the inner Censor, only to turn around and talk about how the good journal writers move beyond weepy writing. How many people have not written a journal because they were sure it would be nothing but a list of complaints? There are journals that are better than others, but critiqueing should be saved for a book written to the veteran journaler who will not be easily discouraged. Aspirations of becoming like Virginia Wolfe will only extinguish many a beginner's flame.

Though there are some contradictory messages in Leaving A Trace, they do not outweigh the good done in this coherent perusal of journaling. For those with many years of journaling already under their belt it will remind them again why they are writing. For those who have tried and failed, or who wish to start a journal, Leaving A Trace will inspire them to begin the journey. And for those people who don't understand the desire to journal, Johnson does an excellent job of explaining the love for, need for, and worth of, that act.

Leaving a Trace is a wonderful compendium of stories, inspiration, journal trivia (the secret Hunan language, for example), delicious quotes, and good writing. This book goes beyond simple encouragement to show the reader the delight and freedom of journal-keeping, and its value to both the keeper and the reader.

I faulted it one star because the book needs both a bibliography and an index; perhaps Professor Johnson was afraid these would make the book seem too academic. With so much content, and using such intriguing sources, it would be helpful have this information.

BTW - Little, Brown should be ashamed of the sub-par paper and weak binding they used on a truly exquisite book design.....

"Leaving a Trace"
Alexandra Johnson
ISBN 0-316-12156-8

For those of us who have used our journal entries as the basis for writing, this book is apropos. Alexandra Johnson and others teach courses about journal and diary writing as the basis of creative activity. It was news to me that there are such courses. One of the keys to productive journal writing, according to the author, is to realize that journal entries need not only be about interesting places or unusual events. The everyday can be the source of material as well. As the author writes, "Life is in the details." It is interesting that many older people wish to achieve an understanding of their lives by writing about them in journals or diaries.

I suppose the most helpful thing that one learns from this book is to approach journal writing less formally. One does not have to be constrained to write everything in a commercially produced diary or to try to write only profound things. It took Frank McCourt, the author of "Angela's Ashes", years to realize that writing about the poverty of his early life could be literature.

Unconsciously, I had made some of the observations Alexandra Johnson makes, but I had not come to understand them as she does. For example, my father had written a diary when he was about twenty-one years old. Even though, he lived to be fifty-six, I had always regarded this diary as his best legacy. When an uncle of mine died, I asked for any journal that he might have kept. Eventually I came into possession of a number of letters that he had written to his parents when he was a soldier in WWII from Germany, France, Panama, and the Philippine Islands. So in a way, these letters formed the basis of a non-traditional kind of journal.

All in all, "Leaving a Trace" is interesting reading. I looked forward to picking it up each evening before falling asleep, my favorite reading. I was even inspired to write in the journal that I had not touched in over a year.

Johnson's primary message would seem to be that recording our lives does matter. Doing so is a way of coming to terms with them and a leaving of something of oneself behind. The key is to simply write about one's life, interests, and observations. Recently, I have had the opportunity to help my mother-in-law record the details of her terrible ordeal of being a refugee in World War II. It has been surprising to me how excited this project has made her. After almost sixty years, she had perhaps never entirely comprehended or understood these events. Somehow having someone help her write about them seemed to help facilitate this.

For those who have thought about getting started with a journal or writing one better, this book would be a good place to begin.

I am an avid journaler, and this book was a delight to read. It wouldn't be a book for a beginner, however. Only the first few chapters really talk about how to journal. The rest of the book is more about how to "harvest" your journals and what to do with them to turn them into other creative writing, seeing patterns and writing about those, etc.

The book has some excellent quotes. Here's a good one: "To keep a journal is to know the present is still under consideration, merely a first draft of your experience." So there's some food for thought - and pen!

My favorite books on journaling are "Journal Keeping" by Luann Budd and "How to Keep a Spiritual Journal" by Ron Klug.

I first heard about this book while listening to NPR when Alexandra Johnson did a segment on the Diane Rehm Show about journaling. The show was intriguing enough that I decided to find the book at the library. To my delight, the book was more intriguing than the radio interview.

Alexandria Johnson takes us on a journey of diaries and journaling through the words and examples of other people who commit their words to paper...or drawings...or anything they wish. That was the beauty of this book...it showed you that there isn't a right way or a wrong way to start a journal. More importantly, Ms. Johnson showed us through the examples of other journal writers, that journals can take all different forms from words, to drawings, to collages, old grocery receipts, photographs, video, anything. She also shows us that there aren't any rules to journaling. She states in her book that many people wish to start a journal, but don't because of the perceived "rules" of journaling, that one must write in their journal every day, that one must write in a "proper" journal, that one must write profoundly in every entry. This book shows us that there are no rules to journaling and the only thing that's important is that one must start. And the only real crime of journaling, is never starting one.

The other strength of this book is that the author not only breaks these myths of journaling, but she also shows us the many different uses for journaling. In this book you get ideas for not only starting personal journals, but also nature journals, travel journals, gratitude journals, commonplace journals, dream journals, and even family chronicles. Each chapter also ends with useful journal prompts and exercises to get the reader started on their own journals. I do have one gripe with the book, and that is that I wish that there was a bibilography listing some of the books the author quoted in the book. All in all, this was a great book. A word of warning, buy a journal when you start reading this book, because you will want to start one right away after reading just the first few chapters.

I nearly missed this book. From the title I thought it would be focussed on genealogical issues or at least just "family" memories. How wrong I was! I found it at the library and spent the weekend reading it and now am back to purchase it as I anticipate I will use it frequently over the next couple years.

This book teaches one how to actually USE the journals you've compiled - a piece usually missing. I've found many journal books for beginners, but this is one of the few that takes one beyond the beginning. The instructions and examples given are of great value in that they actually explicate the point - most helpful. I also understand for the first time, how to get past the self-reflective type journal I've kept for years. I've been dissatisfied with that for several years now but have not known just how to get past it. The exercises and instructions in this book are perfect. Thank you, Ms. Johnson! I am most grateful. It's definitely the right book at the right time.

There are lots of books about how to keep a journal and why to keep a journal but this is the only one I've seen that not only covers those two issues but suggests what to do with the material you've already journaled.

Since I'm not one who relies much on indexes -- I tend to highlight as I read -- and make notes in the margins, I didn't miss that as other reviewers here have indicated. I didn't expect it, either, because this isn't a textbook. It's just a beautifully written, new concept on journaling.

"Keeping a journal is one of the few ways to remind oneself of life's unnoticed gifts," she writes, and gives exercises to stretch the writer into finding those gifts. In the chapter "Finding the Through Line in Life: Memoir and Fiction," she says the journalist unconsciously tries to find the meaning of life and shows how to detect it in your own writing.

I do recommend it to both the new diarist and the experienced one. I'm sure you'll find new ideas and new material here.

If you want a delightful read as well as rare glimpses into others' journal keeping style then read this terrific book; you will not be disappointed!