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Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer
 
 
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Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer [Hardcover]

Lisa Garrigues (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 10, 2007 0743297377 978-0743297370
Have you always wanted to chronicle your experience of motherhood, but never knew how to begin? Are you looking for an outlet for self-expression, but can't imagine how you could juggle one more thing? In Writing Motherhood, longtime writing teacher Lisa Garrigues dispels the myth that motherhood is an impediment to creativity. Drawing on her own efforts to balance the demands of motherhood with her dream of writing, she shows readers how everyday life can be a rich source of stories, and how writing can provide a means to both understand and document their experiences. Whether you are a new mother or a grandmother, someone who has long aspired to write or someone who has never written before, Writing Motherhood will help you find your voice and tap into your creative self.

Filled with insight, honesty, and humor, each chapter of Writing Motherhood weaves together stories from the author's life with wisdom from other writers and mothers. In daily writing Invitations, Lisa then encourages readers to tell their own stories. Along the way, she reveals how to:

  • Start and fill a Mother's Notebook -- in just fifteen minutes a day.
  • Silence the critical voices that stifle creativity.
  • Throw away the rules that bind the imagination.
  • Carve out the time and space for writing.
  • Find a community of other mothers who want to write.

Beautifully written and thought-provoking, this inviting and inspiring book will strike a chord with any mother looking to explore and reflect on her experience of motherhood. Here she will discover that mothering provides endless material for writing at the same time that writing brings clarity and wisdom to mothering. Writing Motherhood is an essential guide for mothers at every age and stage of life.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I wish Writing Motherhood had been around when I was a new mom. Women deserve to own and record their words. Writing Motherhood -- honest, practical, and inspiring -- helps us overcome our fears and unlock the thoughts and feelings we all have inside. Thank you, Lisa Garrigues!" -- Brooke Shields, author of Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression

"Lisa Garrigues is the real animal, a trailblazer and a muse. Her techniques are both grounded and inspirational. May she lead a revolution." -- Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

"During an afternoon absorbed in Writing Motherhood, I suddenly realized that Lisa Garrigues was describing what my head and my heart and my hands have been doing ever since I became a mother. Lisa's inspirations and invitations smooth the path to recording motherhood in real time, exactly how we wish our mothers and grandmothers for generations before us had done. My mother and I are now sneaking Lisa's book out of each other's homes, knowing that it will be missed within hours, and loving that it will be days before its return."

-- Melinda Roberts, author of The Mommy Blog and Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood

"Writing Motherhood reclaims the old-fashioned, spirit-lifting, life-grounding act of writing as an elemental part of our motherly lives. Grab your Mother's Notebook and a speck of time, throw away the rules, and start writing!" -- Miriam Peskowitz, author of The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars: Who Decides What Makes a Good Mother?

"I thought I'd read Lisa Garrigues's intimate, lively book in an afternoon -- but I kept putting it down to grab pen and paper instead, so inspired was I by her determination to to clear the hurdles, duck the obstacles, and write --no matter what. For any mother who longs to find more time for herself, for any writer who wonders if the demands of motherhood will compromise her craft, here is a welcome reminder that art and life are gloriously, messily, inextricably intertwined. At once creative writing manual and mothering memoir, Writing Motherhood inspires us to honor our own everyday lives as mothers by giving shape to them on the page."

-- Katrina Kenison, author of Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry

"Writing Motherhood is a fantastic resource for any woman who finds herself transformed by mothering and seeks to give a literary voice to her experience. With both practical and creative advice, Writing Motherhood guides the literary mother towards giving birth to herself as a writer."

-- Andrea Buchanan, author of Mother Shock and co-founder of LiteraryMama.com

"With both wit and wisdom, Lisa Garrigues depicts creative ways to capture and communicate the essence of motherhood. I will wholeheartedly recommend this book to any woman I coach who wants to explore and express her experiences as a mother and learn about her Self in the process."

-- Bria Simpson, MA, Life Coach and author of The Balanced Mom: Raising Your Kids Without Losing Your Self

"Motherhood was the catalyst for making my dream of writing a book a reality, and I believe there are many other mothers who also have a story or passion to share but they may not know how to begin. Writing Motherhood is a wonderful guide to help mothers channel the creativity that is at the core of mothering into art."

-- Cali Williams Yost, author of Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Lisa Garrigues is an award-winning writer and experienced educator. In addition to teaching Writing Motherhood, she leads a variety of courses and workshops in writing memoir. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and earned a master's degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with her husband and two children. Please visit www.writingmotherhood.com.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner (April 10, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743297377
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743297370
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,443,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Guide for the Journey to Being a Mom-Who-Writes, June 24, 2007
This review is from: Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer (Hardcover)
I walked through my local Barnes and Noble recently and, as always, headed for the Writing Books. It surprised me, although I don't really know why, to find a couple brand new books written specifically for Moms-who-are-writers as well as another title for "busy women."

Intriguing.

Of the books I read, Lisa Garrigues "Writing Motherhood" is the most in tune with what it means to "be" a writer, not someone who is obsessed with publishing or looking for a recipe book to achieve this or that in 7 hours or 14 days or instant-success, this is a book that is realistic, heartful and a powerful guide for mothers who want to write motherhood and so much more.

She gives specific tips and techniques as she shares stories of how these tips and techniques have worked for herself and others, including a section on "Mother's Helpers" and 7 Building Blocks for Success.

She also pays respect to the concept of having a Writer's Notebook that serves a dual purpose as a Mother's Notebook. I am a longtime fan of folks who write in notebooks like Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg, so this struck a significant cord for me as well. We Moms-who-write need to train ourselves to write in small, heartful chunks.

Garrigues is an able guide for us along this journey.

This is a book to have on your shelf, to pick up and use - to refer back to regularly.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one to buy......, May 11, 2007
This review is from: Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer (Hardcover)
I've read countless books on writing. I've attended various classes to educate myself on the writing process. I'm even married to a writer.

But nothing has inspired me more than Lisa Garrigues' Writing Motherhood.

What makes this book different is the author's innate understanding of the complex beauty of motherhood - with its constant rattle and hum, push and pull amid life's most mundane tasks. I remember thinking, "this woman really gets it," when reading about Garrigues' personal, often humorous, sometimes bittersweet experiences as a wife, mother, sister and friend.

But what's best about this book is how Garrigues inspires writers to tell their own stories through very creative writing "invitations," or exercises meant to jumpstart the writing and memory recollection process. These invitations have taught me ways to view my life experiences from a different angle, and then write what I see.

And I haven't stopped writing since.

Buy this book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a moment too soon..., April 9, 2007
This review is from: Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer (Hardcover)
I could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I'd had this book years ago. It's so comforting to read the thoughtful and (sometimes painfully) honest reflections of another mother. The parts about dealing with teenagers are a joy - thank goodness it's not just me and my daughter! The description of the teenage love-you/hate-you syndrome really tickled me. Now that my daughter is fourteen, I try hard to be calm and reflective (hah!), and I've used a couple of the invitations to write as an opportunity to direct my frustration elsewhere - very helpful. (I just won't be able to let her read them until she's much, much older. If ever.)
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
writing mother, writing start
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mother Pages, Mother's Notebook, Time Out, Mother's Day, Stephen King, Virginia Woolf, Anne Lamott, New York City, Ernest Hemingway, Fourth of July, Susan Cheever, Where's Dad, San Francisco, Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried, Ridgewood News, Teachers College, Mary Catherine Bateson, World Trade Center, Bad Mother, Annie Dillard
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