MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (MLK) was one of the most famous civil rights activists in the history of the United States, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts to end racial inequality. His life was tragically cut short at age 39 by an assassin’s bullet, but his contributions to […]
There is no question about it — journaling changes your life for the better. If you already journal, regularly or irregularly, you know this. You’ve experienced it. You’ll be able to affirm many of the points I make here and perhaps find some additional reasons to continue writing. If you’re […]
I KIDNAPPED MY SWEETHEART this weekend for a birthday getaway to the California Coast — a sweet spot just north of Gualala, courtesy of AirBnB. We definitely needed some time away from the relentless household chores and everyday responsibilities, and we’ve gotten to the point in our lives where we […]
IN THESE DIVIDED AND STRESSFUL TIMES, we are experiencing a sort of collective trauma. Every day we read about or watch events unfold that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago: Nazis marching and chanting in the streets of the United States, cars plowing into crowds as a […]
SUMMER. When everything swelters, and the world seems as though it’s come to a halt in the heat. When you retreat indoors to your air conditioned space or, maybe, travel somewhere exotic just to get away, it’s a good time to journal about the season you’re in. I’ve created a […]
FREEDOM! In the U.S., we say we are “the land of the free.” The lyrics of our songs, extoll the virtues and necessity of freedom: Let freedom ring. Sing your freedom, because there’s nothing in the world like freedom, freedom of speech / freedom to say / freedom to think / […]
FATHERS ARE IMPORTANT. This fact has become increasingly apparent to me as I work on my next memoir and reflect deeply on my life. In my case, the loss of my father’s presence to divorce at an early age greatly influenced me: my beliefs about people, relationships with boys and […]
ARE YOU SELF-CRITICAL? Get down on yourself for making mistakes or not meeting your own standards? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Many of us run a constant inner dialogue that sounds something like this: I can’t do anything right! Who would want to read anything I write? What an […]
IN CHALLENGING TIMES, it is easy to get lost in the dark or negative aspects of what is going on around us and forget to look for the good—especially when newspapers and online media sensationalize the negative in order to take advantage of our natural, though morbid, sense of curiosity. […]
IN ADDITION TO WRITING AND TEACHING about journaling and memoir writing, I enjoy visiting other journaling and memoir writing sites for additional inspiration, new approaches, and different perspectives on writing about and through life. What I have discovered in doing so, is that there are really very few blogs out […]
What are the core values that shape your work? I pose this question today as a multi-purpose writing prompt that can help you more fully understand the underlying beliefs that sustain your worldview and drive your life’s work. Why “multi-purpose”? I’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s use […]
I LOVE THIS ARBITRARY DEMARCATION OF TIME — a line on the calendar dividing one year from the next — because it gives all of us excuse and opportunity to reflect on the past while creating intentions for our individual and collective futures. It provides us with a marker, a place […]
