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A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery
by Sheila Bender
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Walking Stick Press (2000-04)
ISBN: 0898799716
EAN: 9780898799712
Dewy Decimal #: 808.02
Paperback: 224 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 07090276
Condition: Like New As issued n
Comments: Paperback. Like new condition with no markings and no creases to spine or cover. Very slight wear to cover. Near fine copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.com
It's a pity this book is presented solely as a tool for greater self-knowledge. Don't get us wrong: there's nothing wrong with introspection, and A Year in the Life helps train your gaze to far greater reaches than your navel. But there are so many fine writing exercises here, taking their cues from so many wonderful sources, that it would be a pity for the subtitle ("Journaling for Self-Discovery") to scare off any writer in search of a good workout. Author Shelia Bender's premise is that "journaling can help you emotionally, spiritually, and physically, as well as with your writing." Bender offers 52 journaling exercises, one for each week of the year. Each exercise is accompanied with a series of six "extensions," for those writers ambitious enough to take their pens for a daily jog. (At the back of the book are a generous handful of exercises geared toward specific holidays and life events.) One week, we are asked to write about the secrets we are keeping. Another has us consider a question we were asked that hurt or offended us. In still another, we are invited to recall a game from childhood. Some of the most enticing exercises are those inspired by the writings of others. Frank O'Hara wrote a poem in which the sun conversed with him--you can, too. Gary Snyder wrote a poem called "Things to Do Around a Lookout"; you can pick your own place to write about in similar fashion. And try writing, as Frances Mayes does in Under the Tuscan Sun, about a time when you were "a guest at a table of people you didn't know." --Jane Steinberg
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Customer Reviews
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A Day In the Life
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-05-04
3 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
I like A Day in the Life because the book is written in such a conversational voice. A reader may at times feel as if he is hearing the voice of a close friend. The writing flows with ease and is inviting.
Another appeal is it is such a contrast to many journaling books. There is real meat and substance, exercises and commentary.I think most people who journal or are considering journaling will find this book rewarding.
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A bit too fluffy
Rating  (1)
Date: 2001-07-12
8 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
I would consider this a book less about journaling and more about writing exercises in general. I've been journaling consistently for the past 7 years and sporadically for the last 15 years. I was looking for a book to suggest different techniques for composing a journal (perhaps some real-life examples), unique ways of formatting, and perhaps varying perspectives for reflecting on the days experiences and larger life events. This book is more reminiscent of an entry level composition course, describing how to draw a cluster diagram, and suggesting writing topics. Some of the exercises just seemed dull and not related to really keeping a chronology of one's experiences. If you're just getting started journaling or looking for general writing exercises then this may be your book. On the other hand, if you're looking ways of extending what you already do or looking for examples of what others have done, don't bother with this.
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Develop your creativity muscles
Rating  (4)
Date: 2001-03-28
11 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
Sheila Bender leads you through a year of journaling with this well organized,thoughtful collection of prompts that will stimulate your creativity. First, through clustering and other steps she takes you through the process of starting your journal.These exercises trained me to show and not tell by developing my five senses. I believe that's one of the author's goals. If you want to develop creative muscle from the daily discipline of writing, then I urge you to add this book to your writing library.
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Very pleasant surprise
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-08-22
15 out of 16 customers found this reveiw helpful
I know the author. While killing time in Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, I started thumbing through A YEAR IN THE LIFE, and soon realized this is her *best* book yet (I have all of them)! This book is both deep and wide, meaning it is satisfying to read, plus providing outstanding exercises for writers and thinkers. My favorite content is the many "extensions" of the exercises, each of which can keep the reader occupied for hours (or months). Sheila refers to many outstanding books, which I hope to make time to read soon. At this price, buy a copy for yourself and a whole bunch more to give to friends. They will thank you over and over. Thank YOU, Sheila Bender.
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A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-08-22
22 out of 22 customers found this reveiw helpful
Shelia Bender's new book is wonderfully creative and inspiring. Her book provides writing exercises for each week of the year. I suspect that by the time I've done a year of journaling with Shelia Bender, I will have gone way beyond my ordinary writing. I've been journaling for years as a way to capture and think about what's going on in my life while it is fresh. Little nuggets from my journal become essays. The exercies in Bender's book have a way of pulling out of me thoughts, images, and experiences long forgotten, as well as new discoveries. I used her special exercise on death to write about a friend who died recently. I imagined looking up at the sky with my friend, and wrote about what she saw in the clouds, about where she was when she looked at the clouds. I was amazed to write about a time when we actually did just that together. Once I started writing I couldn't put my pen down. The end result was an essay I was proud to give my friend's son. If you are serious about writing, and you are willing to put some effort into using Bender's exercises, you will mine information about yourself that will be astonishing. And you'll have a lot of fun along the way.
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