"Writing is the way I ground myself, and it's what keeps me sane. Writing is the way I try and make sense of my life, try to find meaning in accident, reasons why what happens happens--even though I know that why is a distraction, and meaning you just have to cobble together yourself." --Abigail Thomas
While I read it, I had the feeling that I'd already read Thinking About Memoir by Abigail Thomas. But I certainly didn't mind reading it again.
It's a slim book about writing memoir. Almost a memoir in itself, it includes dozens of original writing prompts to get any stuck writer started again. Though the writing prompts could stand alone, they are much richer when you read the surrounding stories. I recommend it for any writer.
I just got a different nonfiction book about memoirs from the library (I think it's more a history of the genre than a how-to), and I'm quite excited about it! I'm not a writer at all, so I tend to shy away from books aimed at them, but perhaps they'd be good for a reader too. See the other side of the process! :)
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