Honesty in writing is something that must be learned and practiced. old friend from afar he teaches that honesty as he gives advice and shows ways to look at oneself and one’s memories.

Author Natalie Goldberg says the book’s title comes from the Analects of Confucius and refers to an old friend coming to visit just like memories. What impresses the reader, however, is more than the instruction to write a memoir; it is learning to look deeply into one’s subconscious life and, through that process, getting in touch with all of creation.

In the introduction, Goldberg says that memoirs were what older people used to write, but that looking at a life can start as early as possible, in your teens, in your twenties, or any time you can, because you always , “You’ve got something to say.” He then urges the reader in “Note to Reader” as: “Too often we take notes on writing, we think we’re writing but never do. I want you to walk into the heart of the storm, written words drip from hair, eyelids, hanging from the hands”. When one reads chapter after chapter, message after message, one cannot imagine any writer who could resist his request.

This book is full of prompts; although, it cannot be classified as just a slogan book. After an explanation of a topic or subject, with Goldberg’s passionate insistence, ten-minute prompts are offered. Some prompts can be as short as a sentence or two, while others are explained in just a few pages of beautiful prose. The book is divided into ten sections, and a three minute written exercise test is provided at the beginning of each section. At the end of the book are two and a half pages of “Guidelines and Tips for Writing a Memoir” and a list of “Some Great Memoirs to Read.”

Following Goldberg through the writing, one feels that this type of writing can become a therapy for sharing, letting go, and feeling alive. Even more than that, the writer may discover that his writing has gained voice and lost its constraints, quieting and placating the critic within himself.

old friend from afar It has 336 pages and a hard cover with ISBN-10: 1416535020, ISBN-13: 978-1416535027.

Natalie Goldberg is the author of ten books, including Writing Down the Bones, Wild Mind, Banana Rose, The Great Failure: My Unexpected Path to Truth, Long Quiet Highway, Living Color, Chicken & in Love, The Essential Writer’s Notebook, and Top of Mis Lungs: Poems and Paintings, and the essay “How Poetry Saved My Life.” She has completed a film, Tangled Up in Bob: Searching for Bob Dylan, with filmmaker Mary Feidt, exploring the effect of Iron Range, Dylan’s childhood home. Natalie Goldberg lives and teaches in Santa Fe, NM.

With this book, after starting to do the exercises on the fly, I couldn’t help but put my writing aside; then I read the book from cover to cover, because the expression of the writer was very sincere and passionate. As I did with Goldberg’s previous books, I’m sure I’ll end up owning not just one, but multiple copies of this book. I firmly believe old friend from afar It is an invaluable addition to any writer’s bookshelf and life.