Magical Memoir Moments

How Laughter Can Heal–A Mennonite Actor's Journey after a Tragic Suicide

I love when comedy arises out of tragedy. So I loved Ted Swartz’s memoir. Here’s how he starts the book: My review of  Laughter Is Sacred Space: The Not-so-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor appeared in the October 15 issue of Mennonite World Review. Read it by going directly to the link or by continuing below….

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Pilgrim's Progress: Walking Backward from England to Childhood, Part III

Blessed by several experiences of pilgrimage this summer, I’m now in the final stage of the journey: the return, where the main focus is on reflection. Because I am also finishing the first draft of my memoir about a Mennonite childhood, the return takes me back not only in space but in time also. Like the characters…

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Mark Nepo's Thoughts on Memoir and Voice: Seven Thousand Ways to Listen

Oprah Winfrey has said that Mark Nepo’s writing takes her breath away. His The Book of Awakening has sold steadily since its publication in 2000 and then climbed up the bestseller lists in 2011 after Oprah picked it as one of her “favorite things.” Now Mark is ready to launch a new book called Seven…

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The Yearning: How a Pilgrim Journey is Like a Memoir, Part II

 Yearning. Everything starts with yearning. But that doesn’t mean the nature of the yearning is clear to the yearner. Sometimes we go on pilgrimage to find out what we yearn for. Sometimes a book, especially a memoir, grabs us by the hand and takes us on the same journey. In my case, I went on…

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How Writing a Memoir Is Like a Pilgrimage: Part I, Overview

Even though the time clock is ticking on my memoir deadlines, I took time out this summer to travel. In July my husband and I traveled to Turkey and Greece, an amazing experience for both of us which I described in a previous post. After returning from that trip and hosting our whole family for…

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Thriving in Leadership: One of the Best Ways Ever to Write a Book

Since leadership is not the subject of this blog, I haven’t told you yet about a great leadership book writing project I’ve been part of. Now, however, the book is being published, so I want to focus on a part of the experience that is relevant to this blog — the writing process. Like all…

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Cheryl Strayed's Wild Reviewed by Her Mentor Paulette Bates Alden

Have you ever been named in the acknowledgment section of a book? If so, you know how thrilled and tender you can feel. How about being named in the hottest memoir of the season? That’s what happened to my guest today, Paulette Bates Alden, who was lucky enough to have Cheryl Strayed as a student…

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A Graduate-Level Spiritual Memoir Course Syllabus

Last week I met a dynamic professor from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary who told me she visited this blog several times while she was teaching a course on spiritual memoir. I was delighted to meet her and to know that she used the blog as a resource.  You know what I did, of course. I…

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Ubuntu: A Philosophy of Memoir Writing

Welcome to the new look for 100memoirs.com! The old site still exists and has migrated to the new location, shirleyshowalter.com. I have now met the original goal of reading 100 memoirs! I discovered over the last three years and 315 posts that readers love lists of top memoirs for their own reading selection. So you…

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Thomas Merton, Sainthood, and Writing About One's Own Life

I find Thomas Merton’s journals both inspiring and intimidating. They inspire me by opening all my senses to the world in front of me, and especially to the natural world. They intimidate me because they make me feel like a shallow, half-hearted Christian. I do not have the focus nor the courage of Thomas Merton….

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