Sign-In
Cart
Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma
Paperback
General ReferenceWriting Instruction
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
ISBN10: 0807078816
ISBN13: 9780807078815
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: Feb 7 2017
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.66
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.40 Depth: 8.40
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780807078815
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: Feb 7 2017
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.66
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.40 Depth: 8.40
Language: English
Some of the country's most admired authors--including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori--describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience.
What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought guidance from the memoirists who most moved her to answer these questions. Called an essential book for creative writers by Poets & Writers, Writing Hard Stories is a unique compilation of authentic stories about the death of a partner, parent, or child; about violence and shunning; and about the process of writing. It will serve as a tool for teachers of writing and give readers an intimate look into the lives of the authors they love. Authors profiled in Writing Hard Stories Andre Dubus III, Sue William Silverman, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Joan Wickersham, Kyoko Mori, Richard Hoffman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Abigail Thomas, Monica Wood, Mark Doty, Edwidge Dantict, Marianne Leone, Jerald Walker, Kate Bornstein, Jessica Handler, Richard Blanco, Alysia Abbott, and Kim Stafford Insights from Writing Hard Stories Why we endeavor collectively to write a book or paint a canvas or write a symphony...is to understand who we are as human beings, and it's that shared knowledge that somehow helps us to survive.--Richard Blanco Here's what you need to understand: your brothers [or family or friends] are going to have their own stories to tell. You don't have to tell the family story. You have to tell your story of being in that family.--Andre Dubus III We all need a way to express or make something out of experiences that otherwise have no meaning. If what you want is clarity and meaning, you have to break the secrets over your knee and make something of those ingredients.--Abigail Thomas What we remember and how we remember it really tells us how we became who we became.--Michael Patrick MacDonald The reason I write memoir is to be able to see the experience itself...I hardly know what I think until I write...Writing is a way to organize your life, give it a frame, give it a structure, so that you can really see what it was that happened.--Sue William Silverman After a while in the process, you have some distance and you start thinking of it as a story, not as your story...It was a personal grief, but no longer personal...[It's] something that has not just happened to me and my family, but something that's happened in the world.--Edwidge Danticat Tibetan Buddhists believe that eloquence is the telling of a truth in such a way that it eases suffering...The more suffering that is eased by your telling of the truth, the more eloquent you are. That's all you can really hope for--being eloquent in that fashion. All you have to do is respond to your story honestly, and that's the ideal.--Kate Bornstein You can never entirely redeem the experience. You can't make it not hurt anymore. But you can make it beautiful enough so that there's something to balance it in the other scale. And if you understand that word beautiful as not necessarily pretty, then you're getting close to recognizing the integrative power of restoring the balance, which is restoring the truth.--Richard Hoffman
Also in
Writing Instruction
1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round
Attenberg, Jami
Hardcover
$11.99
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
From $14.99
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
$15.29
The Well-Spoken Thesaurus: The Most Powerful Ways to Say Everyday Words and Phrases
Heehler, Tom
Paperback
$18.99
Blasting Through Blocks: An Artist's Way Guide to Unleashing Your Inner Creativity
Cameron, Julia
Paperback
$18.05
Paying for College, 2027: Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College
Martz, Geoffrey
The Princeton Review
Chany, Kalman
Paperback
$24.69
The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
$17.09
Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper
Wright, Alex
Hardcover
$30.60
Libro de caligrafía para adultos: Explorando la belleza de las letras - Mi primer cuaderno de caligrafía creativa
Style, Life Daily
Paperback
$13.74
The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents: From Rejection to Representation in 8 Steps
McDonald, Patrick
Matesic, Alyssa
Paperback
$19.95
Write a Novel in 100 Days: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing Your Book Fast
Purcell, Kim
Paperback
$16.20
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition)
Puglisi, Becca
Ackerman, Angela
Paperback
$23.99
Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing (Large Print Edition)
Coben, Harlan
Paperback
$32.78
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
$19.00
Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less
Dávila, April
Paperback
$18.05
Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing
Kaufman, Sarah L.
Hardcover
$25.20
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
$69.59
Page One to Done: Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
$18.99
Take It from Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch
Habib, Alia Hanna
Hardcover
$25.20
The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects
Sedita, Joan
Paperback
$59.33
Seberson Method: New Sat(r) Vocabulary Workbook: Over 700 High-Frequency Words to Master
Seberson, Katya
Paperback
$18.99
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
Ahrens, Sönke
Paperback
$21.24
Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge from the American Library Association
American Library Association (ALA)
Paperback
From $6.99
AP English Language and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
$28.49
Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less (Revised and Updated)
Vandehei, Jim
Allen, Mike
Schwartz, Roy
Hardcover
From $12.99
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Hardcover
$85.54
Princeton Review AP English Language & Composition Premium Prep, 21st Edition: 8 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
$26.59
AP English Literature and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
$23.74
Handwriting Practice Book for Kids Ages 6-8: Printing workbook for Grades 1, 2 & 3, Learn to Trace Alphabet Letters and Numbers 1-100, Sight Words, 10
Lalgudi, Sujatha
Hippidoo
Paperback
$11.99
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers
Turabian, Kate L.
Paperback
$20.90
The Vocabulary Builder Workbook: Simple Lessons and Activities to Teach Yourself Over 1,400 Must-Know Words
Lele, Chris
Magoosh
Paperback
$12.34
Korean Stories for Language Learners: Traditional Folktales in Korean and English (Free Online Audio)
You, Eunsun
Damron, Julie
Paperback
$17.09
Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Burroway, Janet
Stuckey-French, Elizabeth
Stuckey-French, Ned
Paperback
$36.40
Scriptnotes: A Book about Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters
August, John
Mazin, Craig
Hardcover
$30.40
The Vocabulary Workbook for 7th Grade: Weekly Activities to Boost Your Word Power
McLellan, Kelly Anne
Paperback
$13.29
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
King, Dave
Browne, Renni
Paperback
$18.04
Princeton Review AP English Literature & Composition Premium Prep, 27th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
$26.59
Learn Russian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Russian to English
Van Den End, Kees
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
Gettys, Serafima
Paperback
$17.99
Lonely Planet French Phrasebook & Dictionary: Learn Essential Phrases & Vocabulary 3,500 Word Two-Way Dictionary Pull-Out Fast Phrases Card Travel wit
Masclef, Jean-Pierre
Janes, Michael
Carillet, Jean-Bernard
Paperback
$11.39
Print and Cursive Handwriting Workbook: 35 Lessons to Improve Your Penmanship
Sanders, Sally
Paperback
$13.29
Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary
Lewis, Norman
Paperback
From $4.99
Thinking Through Writing: A Guide to Becoming a Better Writer and Thinker
Kaag, John
Van Belle, Jonathan
Paperback
$31.19
The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide: Prompts and Activities to Create Compelling Antiheroes, Enemies, and Bad Guys
D'Amato, James
Apelyan, Dillin
Paperback
$15.20
Fact & Fiction: How to Write a Novel Inspired by Family and History
Matsumoto, Constance Hays
Paperback
$24.69
Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation
Bhanot, Kavita
Tiang, Jeremy
Paperback
$17.09
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry
Laux, Dorianne
Addonizio, Kim
Paperback
$17.05
The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need, Updated Edition: Your One-Stop Source for Mastering English Grammar
Thurman, Susan
Paperback
$13.29
1100 Words You Need to Know + Online Practice: Build Your Vocabulary in Just 15 Minutes a Day!
Bromberg, Murray
Gordon, Melvin
Carriero, Rich
Paperback
$18.04
Chinese Writing Practice Book with Pinyin: Tian Zi Ge Notebook: Tian Zi Ge Notebook with Pinyin: Tian Zi Ge
Comtebarcelona
Paperback
$8.54