Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg (Free Press; 2007, ISBN 978-1-4165-3503-4)
I picked up this “how to” manual regarding the writing of memoir at a recent fund raiser for the Lake Superior Writers, of which I once served on the board of directors. It was in the silent auction as part of a basket of “essentials” needed for writing a memoir. The book is really a text, to be used either in a classroom setting, a workshop, or by the reader individually to work on the structure and fiber of his or her life story. I read the thing on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean and wasn’t really in the mood for homework. However, that disclosure having been made (and with the added declaration that I didn’t do any of the exercises set out by the author in the book), there is enough here for even the casual reader to enjoy in terms of getting the juices flowing in anticipation of working on one’s life story.
I especially enjoyed Goldberg’s sense of humor, her use of anecdotes from her life and the lives of other writers, to add color and dimension to what is, in essence, a workshop manual of how to write your life. 3 stars out of 5.
