Writing Your Life: A Journey of Discovery

Patti Miller's Writing Your Life, created from workshops Miller has taught in Australia, is a lovely guide to autobiographical writing. This edition, though still geared primarily toward beginners interested in life writing, also gives the nod to more formal types of personal writing, such as memoir and creative nonfiction. Miller touches on the rewards and difficulties of writing about one's life, the selective nature of memory, and the emotions that arise from personal storytelling. Her chapters provide advice on remembering, finding one's voice, choosing details, creating drama, and imposing structure. Each includes examples from such authors as Jill Ker Conway, Sally Morgan, and Drusilla Modjeska. A full third of the book is given over to an anthology of "stories of what it is like to be in the world," written by people in Miller's classes. They are testament to the fact that powerful writing can come from all quarters. --Jane Steinberg