Jim Naremore's new novel, American Still Life is about trauma and memorializing our loses - a perfect read for the many thousands of people going through those experiences as a result of the recent Los Angeles fires. Hopefully all affected will have time to read this important book, once they are on the road to recovery. Jim has also written a guest post for us about the importance of being a member of a writing group. I'm in two, so I know how helpful they are. Here's Jim: Why I Like Writing Groups by Jim Naremore I’m a writer’s group junkie. I have been formally writing for close to (over?) twenty years now and I’m sure I’ve been involved in over a dozen such groups. I’m currently in one now and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s a harsh generalization that maybe strays into cliché that most writers are introverts or are maybe socially maladroit. I fall on some point of that spectrum for sure, and my writer’s groups were a big part of my ability to have and maintain … [Read more...]
Writing to heal in times of grief
Wendy Brown-Baez and I are soul mates. We're both advocates and beneficiaries of writing to heal and survivors of a loved one's suicide. Please welcome Wendy today as she stops by Choices on her WOW! Women on Writing book tour. Her literary fiction book, Catch a Dream, is described below. Here are her words about experiencing loss and grief and the benefits of writing to heal that experience. Writing for Healing by Wendy Brown-Baez, author of Catch a Dream My healing story begins not with my own healing but with seeking solutions for my companion’s depression. Sometimes Michael was unable to get out of bed for days at a time. Other times, he was energetic, gregarious, spending money wildly, followed by aggression. With a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder, the puzzle pieces fell into place. I was involved in two writing groups at the time, a writing support group called Write Action and a women’s poetry group. Michael became more and more mentally unstable and finally killed … [Read more...]
