Writing to Save Your Life: How to Honor Your Story Through Journaling [Paperback]

Michele Weldon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568387423 | ISBN-13: 978-1568387420 | Publication Date: August 27, 2001 | Edition: 1

Michele Weldon understands the healing power of words. Written words. Words that come from deep within ourselves. Unedited thoughts. Uprooted recollections. Unsettled feelings.

She introduces the process of "scribotherapy" as a method of using one's own words to honor life's difficulties and blessings. It is a regimen Weldon expertly practices and shares in this instructive and very entertaining book--offering essays, exercises, and encouragement to awaken the writer in you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clear and compassionate, practical and poetic, this is the only self-help book you'll ever need." -- Neil Chethik, author of

"Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, this book will show you how to express yourself honestly and authentically." -- Debbie Ford, author of

"Weldon is funny, talented and completely original." -- Laney Katz Becker, author of

"With her quick wit, wonderful anecdotes and great insight, Michele Weldon shows you how to find your narrative." -- Fern Schumer Chapman, author of

"Written with candor, practical application and plenty of heart, this is a book for veteran and rookie alike." -- Nancy Cobb, author of

From the Author

Unless you count my brief childhood delusion that I would grow up to be a prima ballerina floating across the stage in a pale pink tutu on the Ed Sullivan Show, I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.

Writing for me has always been a way out of the cave, an illumination to help keep me moving forward in my life. I have been interviewing and writing articles for newspapers and magazines since I was 13 years old writing teen features for the local weekly newspaper. But it wasn't until I began to write honestly about my own life that I saw the worth of my words as more than a means to a paycheck or a byline. My words have helped to heal me. Your words can help to heal you.

When you honestly put your thoughts down on paper, you validate your experiences and can begin to analyze and organize your thoughts in a way that is profoundly meaningful and therapeutic. Just writing for 20 to 30 minutes a day won't help. Writing in a pointed fashion with the goal of self-discovery will help you to unearth some feelings and to lay to rest the pebble in your shoe you have not been able to shake.

Writing can save your life not only as rescue but as preservation. We all lead lives worthy of preservation. Our stories need to be told, if to no one else, then only to ourselves. We need to place on paper what we know to be true. We need to honor our stories and use our words well.

Trust the process and begin to write.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden Publishing; 1 edition (August 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568387423
• ISBN-13: 978-1568387420
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Self-Help > Journal Writing

More About the Author

Michele Weldon was born June 5, 1958, the youngest of six in less than eight years. She inherited the "Juvenile Journal" from her older sister Madeleine, a publishing empire of monthly mimeographed newsletters sent to 50 relatives for 50 cents a year.

A journalist for newspapers and magazines since she was 13 years old, Weldon has written thousands of articles and columns. Her first book, "I Closed My Eyes" (Hazelden, 1999)has been translated into seven languages and prompts up to 20 letters per month from readers around the world. Her second book,"Writing to Save Your Life" (Hazelden, 2001) is a prescriptive book on the power of expressive, personal writing, that has been the source of Weldon's writing workshops for the last eight years.

"Everyman News" (University of Missouri,2008) examines the trends in modern journalism and recently won the nonfiction book first place award from the National Federation of Press Women. Weldon recently completed a fourth book, a nonfiction memoir about raising her three sons alone while struggling with cancer and working her up tenure track.She is an assistant professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, and writes for newspapers,magazines and websites.

She contributed an essay to the 2011 book, "This I Believe on Fatherhood," (Wiley & Sons) and read it on NPR and was interviewed on the topic by Bob Edwards. Other chapters she has written for anthologies include "21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook," (2009) and "Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates" (University of Missisippi Press,1989)and "Belly Laughs & Babies (Laughing Stork Press, 1997).

In her spare time, she watches her sons wrestle. Keep updated on it all at her multimedia site, www.wrestlingmom.net and post a comment if you feel inclined. You can see all of her writing, speaking engagements and other journalistic work at www.micheleweldon.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest and compelling, November 5, 2001

By 

Elizabeth Austin (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing to Save Your Life: How to Honor Your Story Through Journaling (Paperback)

I've read Michele Weldon's previous work, and I've heard her speak, so I ordered this book as soon as I heard about it, long before the actual publication date. When it came, I wasn't disappointed. Here's a book that speaks honestly about writing and what it can mean in our lives.

This book works on so many levels. Even the title is layered. When I first read that phrase, "Writing to Save Your Life," I thought it referred to Ms. Weldon's own heroic struggle to survive her abusive marriage. But as I read through the book, I realized that we all can write to save -- to preserve -- our lives. When I write in a journal, I'm creating a private historical document. I'm saving my life as I experienced it, even if no one ever reads it but me.

Ms. Weldon performs an incredible feat by making the act of writing seem so, well, do-able. She makes writing sound as natural as breathing -- and I suspect, for her at least, it is. Her own writing style is so clean and unfussy and fun, you can almost imagine her just talking her essays into a tape recorder as she drives her kids from soccer to piano lessons. But then, as you read and reread a piece like "A Cushioned Life," you start to see the quiet depths of meaning that she deftly weaves into her stories.

As a would-be novelist myself, I was inspired by Ms. Weldon's advice on the writing process. I've read a lot of other books on writing, and sometimes the advice seems rather condescending: "Here, little woman. Although you'll never be as gifted or witty or perceptive as I am, I will give you this opportunity to plunk down your (money) so that you can be awed by my astonishing cleverness." But when Ms. Weldon writes about writing, she makes it seem like a true craft -- a skill you can learn and improve and enjoy, especially when you're working under the patient and encouraging supervision of a master craftswoman.

Read this book if you want to write -- or if you just want to read. I found my own life captured in these pages, and I believe you will, too.

105 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Will Change Your Life, December 10, 2001

By 

Veronica (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing to Save Your Life: How to Honor Your Story Through Journaling (Paperback)

It's true.
Last year I took one of Ms. Weldon's "Writing To Save Your Life" workshops. Her workshop appeared in my life at a time when I knew I needed to give voice to my life experiences, but I didn't know how or where to start. And I was scared. As a writer of romance novels, I've always invented stories and been in control of a paper world. I knew it was time to write something for me, about me, but I was paralyzed with fear.

With Ms.Weldon's guidance, something broke inside of me and I started writing and writing, and during the journey I met someone I thought I had lost -- me.

Michele Weldon's workshop was a gift. I'm thrilled that her workshop is in book form to guide people everywhere! Her wit, honesty, and down-to-earth sensibilities come shining through in every chapter.

Ms. Weldon showed me that exploring and giving voice to my story, my emotional truths, was an act of power and courage. She is the guide-friend you've been waiting for.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration and Courage for Writers, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing to Save Your Life: How to Honor Your Story Through Journaling (Paperback)

A refreshingly honest and original book about writing as a healing act. Michele Weldon is the perfect guide for this journey. She's been there and back, and is generous in sharing her own personal stories. If you want inspiration and courage for your writing life, this is the place to look. I especially like the writing exercises, which strike me as fresh, authentic and thought-provoking.