Memoirs of the Soul: Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ (Author) "External facts about a life can be researched generations later, but the inner life is irrevocably lost unless written during one's lifetime..." (more)
Key Phrases: Memoirs of the Soul, New York, William Zinsser (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Most of us have at some point mused about what it would be like to "look back into the souls of our ancestors." In her latest book, Phifer (Writing Your Life), who teaches creative writing in Eugene, OR, shows readers how to create a glimpse of their soul for future generations by writing of "the great sweep of feelings" that shape their characters rather than aiming for what is commercially successful. Highlighting the differences between autobiographical writing and memoir writing, Phifer urges amateur writers to write of the "inner life," or times of "joy or crisis or profound contentment." She offers a structured, well-organized process for writers to follow, which includes specific exercises, inspiring quotations, and examples of student work from her memoir-writing workshops. Although academic collections may prefer a more businesslike approach, such as Jane McDonnell's Living To Tell the Tale: A Guide to Writing Memoir, this how-to is highly recommended for all public libraries. Angela Weiler, SUNY at Morrisville Lib.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Whether or not you are writing a memoir or fiction, the exercises in Memoirs of the Soul will challenge you to write with more depth, more sense of place, more feeling and will give your writing an emotional impact that it lacked before. --Sue Bronson Writers NW, Winter Vol. 16, No. 4

Her carefully phrased prompts, instructions, and examples ask writers to begin at the surface of their existence and to burrow deeper and deeper into their hearts and minds. With each chapter, she challenges would-be memoirists to take another step inward, to inch closer to their own souls. In many ways, Phifers book is like a deep-sea diving expeditionor an archeological digwhere the depth of the self is revealed layer by layer, league by league, chapter by chapter. --Professor W. Keith Duffy,Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning,Volume 10

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Walking Stick Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582970807
• ISBN-13: 978-1582970806
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #247,302 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Resource For Memoir Writers, January 21, 2002

By	Anne B. Jones (USA) - See all my reviews

I was impressed with this book because it doesn't just tell how to write a memoir. It helps its readers to explore themselves in such a way their writing gains more depth. It is full of exercises that can increase the vitality and impact of one's personal writing, and can help one's writing become more vivid and descriptive.
Anne Jones

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why this speaks to me, May 2, 2008

By	Ann Downing "Sumi-e artist" (Half Moon Bay, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Memoirs, by definition tend to be rote and rife with nothing but facts and places. This publication helps one get to the core of what forces were at work within one's self when the past situation was developing. It helps you put a perspective on your life you may not have known existed. This book also provides the tools (should you care to use them) to begin writing your own memoir from a more "whole" place.