A companion to "A Field Guide for Getting Lost" explores the ways that people construct lives from stories and connect to each other through empathy, narrative, and imagination, sharing anecdotes about historical figures and members of the author's own family.

"A cleverly voiced psychological thriller about an unforgettable--and unsettling--friendship, with blood-chilling twists, crackling wit, and a thrumming pulse in its veins--from the nationally bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World and Survivor Song. What if the coolest girl you've ever met decided to be your friend? Art Barbara was so not cool. He was a seventeen-year-old high school loner in the late 1980s who listened to hair metal,...

Karr breaks down the key elements of great literary memoir, opening our concepts of memory and identity, and illuminating the cathartic power of reflecting on the past. Anybody with an inner life or complicated history, whether writer or reader, will relate.

Debbie Macomber has inspired readers with her stories for decades. Now she helps us understand that our lives are stories, part of a grand narrative that God is writing day by day. With chapters that cover the importance of characters, setting, backstory, and conflict, she uses the elements of a story to show us how to understand our own lives better. Sharing her love of story, Debbie helps showcase the big picture of the story God is writing through...

Someday, your life story is likely to be boiled down to a few lines. If you leave things to chance, your obituary is almost sure to be solemn, formulaic, and full of errors--an obligatory final chapter written in haste by others. James R. Hagerty, longtime obit writer for The Wall Street Journal, knows how to get the job done right: Do it yourself, starting now, while you still can. In this heartfelt and reassuring guide, Hagerty explains how to preserve...

"Through supportive coaching, stimulating questions, shared memories, and evocative photographs," the author provides inspiration and guidance for writing a life story.

Since the first edition came out in 1997, this book has been praised as "the best book on memoir out there." It is thought-provoking, explanatory, and practical: each chapter ends with writing exercises. It covers everything from questions of truth and ethics to questions of craft and the crucial retrospective voice. An appendix provides information on legal issues. Judith Barrington, an award-winning memoir writer and acclaimed writing teacher, is...

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...