Twenty years ago Natalie Goldberg's classic, Writing Down the Bones, broke new ground in its approach to writing
as a practice. Now, Old Friend from Far Away � her first book since Writing Down the Bones to focus solely on writing
� reaffirms Goldberg's status as a foremost teacher of writing, and completely transforms the practice of writing
memoir.
To write memoir, we must first know how to remember. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, Old
Friend from Far Away guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors
of memory. At once a beautifully written celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical
teachings, and a deeply affecting meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, Old Friend welcomes aspiring
writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories.
Goldberg's enormously popular workshops have given countless students the ability to heed the call to write. Old
Friend from Far Away recreates her trademark workshop style with its terse, demanding writing "sprints"
that train the hand and mind to quicken their pace and give up conscious control. These exercises divert the eye
from the obvious and redirect it to the tactile details we miss, the embarrassments we pass over, and the complications
we overlook in the blur of everyday living. Goldberg writes, "No one says it, but writing induces the state
of love." Old Friend from Far Away guides us into that state of love, where heightened attention and a rhythm
of focus allow the patterns and details of the past to emerge on thepage.
Millions of Americans want to write about their lives. With Old Friend 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. An absolute joy to read, it is a profound affirmation of
the capacity of the written word to remember the past, free us from it, and forever transform theway we think about
ourselves and our lives. Like Writing Down the Bones, it will become an old friend to which readers return again
and again.