Writing from Life

Believing that all women have stories to tell and that they can grow spiritually as they learn to put those stories into words, Susan Witting Albert provides a guided writing program that is practical and inspiring. Her step-by-step instructions and exercises derive from her 30 years experience as a teacher of writing. She encourages women to discover their own voices through exploration of eight thematic clusters: beginnings and birthings; achievements, gifts and glories; female bodies; loves, lovers, lovings; journeys and journeying; homes and homings; visits to the Valley of Shadows; and, experiences of community. In an appendix, Albert shows writers how to create what she calls a ""Story Circle,"" a community of women who can gain, through sharing their writing, a sense of belonging and an appreciation of ""transformative magic of writing."" Albert's book brings charm and elegance to the view of writing as a process of self-discovery. (Jan.)