The Power of Memoir

A groundbreaking work for healing long-term emotional problems

The Power of Memoir is a pioneering how-to book that provides a new step-by-step program to use memoir writing as a therapeutic process. By going through these steps you'll learn how to choose the significant milestones and turning points that make up a coherent story leading to a life-changing epiphany.

• Help uncover the secret stories that are the keys to healing
• Explore the dynamics and roles of dysfunctional families
• Heal old wounds, creating a better present and brighter future

Using many examples from her students and clients, the author shows how creative, well-planned, and carefully researched memoir writing can offer a process for sorting out the truth from lies and family myths.

Foreword xi
by Kathleen Adams

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Part 1 Eight Steps to Writing a Healing Memoir 1

Step 1 Understanding Your Reasons for Writing 3

Step 2 Doing Your Research 16

Step 3 Planning Your Memoir 29

Step 4 The Psychology of Memoir Writing 48

Step 5 The Dark Stuff 65

Step 6 Organizing the Narrative Arc 79

Step 7 To Publish—or Not 98

Step 8 The Power of Writing to Heal 121

Part 2 Spirituality, Therapy, and Stories 145

Chapter 1 Spirituality, Meditation, and Inner Listening 147

Chapter 2 For Therapists Who Use the Healing Power of Memoir 156

Chapter 3 Stories from the Workshops 166

Epilogue 213

Resources 219

Recommended Reading 221

Reader’s Guide 227

Bibliography 231

About the Author 237

Index 239

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., is president of the National Association of Memoir Writers and a practicing psychotherapist. She is the author of Don't Call Me Mother: Breaking the Chain of Mother-Daughter Abandonment, which won the Gold Medal Award from the Bay Area Independent Publishing Association in 2007.

The Power of Memoir is a groundbreaking book that presents an innovative step-by-step program using memoir writing on the journey of emotional and physical healing. By drawing on the eight steps outlined in The Power of Memoir, you'll learn how to choose the significant milestones in your life and weave together your personal story. You'll discover how writing your truths and shaping your narrative propel you toward a life-changing transformation. The Power of Memoir offers the tools you need to heal the pain of the past and create a better present and a brighter future.

PRAISE FOR The Power of Memoir

"With a gentle spirit and a clear voice, Linda Joy Myers creates a safe place for writers. With her eight-step program, Myers guides writers through the dark places of the heart, to ultimately arrive at a place of power and grace." —Sue William Silverman, author, Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir and Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You

"Myers makes a compelling case for the power of words as a form of healing and growth." —James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D., professor of psychology, University of Texas at Austin, and author, Opening Up and Writing To Heal

"A powerful and unique writing guide—one that will lead any writer straight to the heart of their richest material, help them heal, and then teach them how to shape it into literature. Destined to become a classic!" —Jordan E. Rosenfeld, contributing editor, Writer's Digest magazine, and author, Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

"This material is found nowhere else." —Sharon Lippincott, M.A., author, The Heart and Craft of Story Writing