Old Friend from Far Away

The Practice of Writing Memoir

Hardcover, 336 pages

English language

Published Feb. 12, 2008 by Free Press.

ISBN:
978-1-4165-3502-7
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4 stars (1 review)

Millions of Americans want to write about their lives. With this book as the road map for getting started and following through, writers and readers will gain a deeper understanding of their own minds, learn to connect with their senses in order to find the detail and truth that give their written words power and authenticity, and unfold the natural structure of the stories they carry within. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, writing teacher Goldberg guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors of memory. At once a celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical teachings, and a meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, this book welcomes aspiring writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories.--From publisher description.

3 editions

Review of 'Old Friend from Far Away' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I liked this book, but as I was reading it through, it was not easy to handle. The reason is that this is a book meant to be read, and for people to do the writing exercises. I constantly wanted to stop and do some writing, but since I was borrowing the book (from my library), I could not stop. I would definitely buy a copy of this book for myself at some point. I remarked in one of the updates that I still liked Writing Down the Bones better, and I can say that statement is still accurate. That other book seemed more primal; this one is good, but it seems a bit more refined, which is not necessarily a bad thing. For aspiring writers, and I think even for veteran writers, there are a lot of good writing exercises and ideas. The book's focus is on writing memoir, …

Subjects

  • Creative Writing
  • Language Arts & Disciplines
  • Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy
  • Language
  • Composition & Creative Writing - Nonfiction
  • Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing
  • Composition & Creative Writing - General
  • Personal Memoirs
  • Writing Skills
  • Authorship
  • Autobiography
  • English language
  • Problems, exercises, etc
  • Rhetoric
  • Study and teaching