Customer Reviews

Surviving a Writer's Life

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I don't know why this wonderful book is not better known. Splendidly written with in-depth autobiographical material interwoven with meditations on writing. Moving yet unsentimental, and the writing aspect comes at you sideways, through her own stories rather than "advice." Stirring, at times harrowing, ultimately affirming.

No, "Surviving a Writer's Life" is not about how to write. It's about a writer's life. And the author does a great job at giving potential or even established writers a glimpse into her world -- and I honestly would love to read more about her. Her life is interesting in itself, and her literary life is even more interesting.

This book is inspiring on many levels to me -- I get to see a person's world as a worker in the publishing world and as a writer, and how one person deals with life as it's happening as well as the past. I really enjoyed reading about Lipsett's college and after college years. She's experience quite a lot and has been through several if not many tragedies, yet she seems to keep a pointed focus in telling her tale that the reader never feels sorry for her. In fact, I really don't think she wants you to. She's almost too subtle in some areas, so much so, that I had to go back and re-read in order to understand what happened to her.

All in all, this was a great little find. I love her sense of humor and her honesty, and I'm also interested in her work (author, editor, ghost writer, etc.) so that's just an added bonus. If you're a writer or an aspiring one, and you're just plain interested in interesting people, then you should read this book.

Overcoming adversity is something everyone has to face at one point in his or her lives. How one handles these struggles determines the way an individual goes about their daily lives. Suzanne Lipsett writes of her own personal struggles in her novel, Surviving a Writer's Life. Through the trails and tribulations of her life Lipsett is continually trying to find herself as a writer. Trying to find the time and energy to write is Lipsett's biggest problem. She is married and a mother of two young boys, which take up a large portion of her time. She works as an editor of manuscripts to make ends meet while she pursues her writing career on the side. Waking up at 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. to write for a few hours before the rest of the family gets up is what she had to do to keep her writing career going. The first half of this novel Lipsett writes about how she became interested in writing and some of the struggles she encounters along the way. I enjoyed how she described her troubled relationship with her father. A relationship in which he would never release the secrets of her mothers death in order to protect her from the pain. Lipsett also reaches deep inside her to write on the painful memories of two cases of rape, which she was, the victim off. Cancer was the third major obstacle Lipsett was to overcome on her way to becoming a successful writer. The first half to three-quarters of this novel really kept me interested in the story and her a person. In the end she trails off and starts talking about all these women's groups and how they helped her through everything. All in all I enjoyed the novel and would suggest this piece to anyone.

In Surviving a Writer's Life, Suzanne Lipsett tells the story of her life and evolution as a writer. This book is not a how-to about writing, it is one writer's story about life.
From a brief try at creative writing in high school, to an eye opening trip to Africa, to a life long love of books, to a career as an experienced editor, it was not until the age of 39 that Lipsett decided to write her first novel. Lipsett's book explores the themes of loss, struggle, and an eventual cycle of healing that begins with love and writing. Her depictions of places and situations have a quality of clarity that is enhanced by her use of detail. The reader is able to feel a connection to her writing, to understand her emotions. One of the weaker points of clarity in Lipsett's writing comes from her use of long sentences. Some of her sentences last for entire paragraphs and consist of fifty-word ideas interspersed with frequent commas and dashes. This book is not for readers seeking advice on how to improve their writing skills, but it is a book that gives hope for writers who feel that they have some sort of disadvantage in their field. Lipsett felt discouraged by her gender, her age, and her tendency to draw material straight from life. Her story is one that serves to inspire discouraged writers, to assure them that with time and effort they too can find their voice.