Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives [Paperback]

Terri Hinte (Author), Elizabeth Fishel (Editor), California Women Writers' Workshop of Oakland (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2003

Wednesday Writers is a collection of first-person writing--essays, memoirs, opinion pieces-- by the Oakland Women Writers' Workshop produced to celebrate 10 years of writing together and to benefit research at the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center.

34 Bay Area writers of all ages and life stages have contributed their personal, perceptive, and provocative pieces about family and identity, love and loss, illness and recovery, and the daily pleasures and surprises of ordinary life.

Although most pieces are published here for the first time, a number of them have previously appeared in Bay Area and national publications, including Terri Hinte's prize-winning travel essay from Traveler's Tales Brazil, Elizabeth Fishel's personal essay from Child, timely opinion pieces by Rina Alcalay and Gina Waldman from The Jewish Bulletin and The Marin Independent Journal, Michelle Wells Grant's parenting memoir from Parents' Press, Ronnie Caplane's humor column from The Alameda Journal, and selections from a bimonthly Contra Costa Sun column, created and co-written by Kathleen Faraday, Robin Slovak,and Joan Stevenson.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The only way to make sense out of life is through art and community. Here, inspiringly, are both." -- Laurie Pepper, co-author of Straight Life in an advance quote for the book jacket

"The subject is how women in fact live. This diverse material is eye-opening, constantly experienced, and seldom honored." -- Advance praise from Clive Matson, author, Let the Crazy Child Write

"Wednesday Writers is a keenly intelligent and passionate tour de force of all things meaningful in life, large and small." -- Advance praise from Margret Elson, author, Passionate Practice

"Wednesday Writers is testimony to the power of writing to transform, document, celebrate, and heal women's lives." -- Laura Fraser, author of Italian Affair in an advance quote for the book jacket

"Wednesday Writers is testimony to the power of writing to transform, document, celebrate, and heal. Inspiration for writing groups everywhere." -- Advance praise from Laura Fraser, author, An Italian Affair

About the Author

Elizabeth Fishel, co-editor and leader of the Oakland Women Writers' Workshop, is also the author of 4 nonfiction books: Sisters, The Men In Our Lives, I Swore I'd Never Do That, and Reunion.

Terri Hinte, co-editor, is the Publicity Director at Fantasy Records in Berkeley, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Harwood Academic Publishers (March 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972811001
• ISBN-13: 978-0972811002
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,773,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great collection, April 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives (Paperback)

This collection of stories written by women who attended a weekly writing group on Wednesdays is, dare I say, on par with Tuesdays with Morrie. It is a collection of stories that weaves the tales of these women's lives. The stories are at times moving, funny, poignant, compassionate, and resonate of the fabric with which women's lives are woven. You can pick it up, open it to a page, and start reading any story, but once you start, it will be hard to put it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for a great gift? This book is your answer, February 5, 2006

By 

A book lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives (Paperback)

This book is FANTASTIC! It describes almost every stage possible in a woman's life, and humorously covers the gamut of emotions from everyday drudgery to all life's highs and lows. Get ready to laugh and cry and enjoy each of these essays. I have given Wednesday Writers as a birthday present to all my female friends/family members for the last year now, and even gave it to my mother for a mother's day gift two years ago. They all love it as much as I do!!!

What are you waiting for? Buy a copy for yourself and also buy a stack to give as gifts. You will be so glad you did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a rich, diverse buffet of women's voices, June 10, 2003

By 

oregano55 (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives (Paperback)

I confess, I bought this book because a) a friend's work appears in it b) all the proceeds go to a great cause -- the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the U of C's San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center. I kept the book on my bedside table for a while but once I picked it up, I was amazed by how very very good it was.The book is rich in diverse, authentic voices -- it's brimming with humor and insight, sorrow and healing. Topics cover all the milestones of women's lives, as seen from the vantage point of different life stages and several cultures. Yet there's a warm, honest connectedness at the core that ties all of this together, like multicolored beads strung on one thread. I can't image that any thinking, feeling woman of any age would regret reading or buying this book. Another thing that's nice is that short pieces are mixed in with longer works, and there's poetry and travel essays too. What a rich buffet, and what a great experience it must have been being part of this writing group!