Nibsy reviewed Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen
Read it for the writing
5 stars
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while a book leaps out of nowhere, takes you by surprise, and changes you. Write For Your Life by Pulitzer Prize winning author Anna Quindlen is one such book. After reading it, I've come to realize that my favourite books are those about writing written masterfully by a literary artist; books like Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, or How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. There are many reasons to read this book. But read it for the writing. The eloquence alone is enough.
In many ways, this is an author's plea for everyday people to pick up their pens and write about their normal, ordinary lives; to preserve a snapshot of the writer in their particular time and place. The simple act of note-taking can offer a glimpse of history that would otherwise be lost …
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while a book leaps out of nowhere, takes you by surprise, and changes you. Write For Your Life by Pulitzer Prize winning author Anna Quindlen is one such book. After reading it, I've come to realize that my favourite books are those about writing written masterfully by a literary artist; books like Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, or How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. There are many reasons to read this book. But read it for the writing. The eloquence alone is enough.
In many ways, this is an author's plea for everyday people to pick up their pens and write about their normal, ordinary lives; to preserve a snapshot of the writer in their particular time and place. The simple act of note-taking can offer a glimpse of history that would otherwise be lost because of its ordinariness. But that ordinariness is the fabric of life, and it's up to us to preserve it for our future selves and everyone who follows.
Handwriting offers a direct connection between writer and reader. Imperfect handwritten lines betray the emotional state of the writer more faithfully than illuminated pixels on a computer screen. The weight of the pen stroke and the shape of the loops and swirls betrays the writer's mood. Frustration shows in a swift-flicked line struck through a misspelled word. Sweeping arrows and tight marginalia on a handwritten manuscript reveal the progression of an idea. No combination of electrons, copper, and silica can confirm the physical existence of a writer in any time or place like the handwritten word.
But writing is much more than a way to preserve the past. It is as much for the writer as it is for the reader. It offers an emotional outlet for doctors and nurses and anyone else who lives their life in a fast-paced, high-stress environment. It is an expression of creativity and innovation. It is both counselor and friend. Writing is thinking.
This book was a surprise for me because it stumbled into my possession before I knew anything about the author or even what this book was about (beyond writing, of course). I hadn't prepared to be so moved. There are some funny passages, and some deeply personal passages that left me soggy-eyed and reaching for a tissue. Just the visceral responses it induces speaks to the power of the writing. I rank this among one of the best books I've read this year. I would encourage everyone, writers and non-writers alike, to read this book. It is sure to change you, too.
