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*****Writing About Your Life

A Journey into the Past

by William Zinsser

Reviewed February 5, 2005.
Marlowe & Company, New York, 2004.  228 pages.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#2, Writing)

Big thanks to my friend Shannon for recommending this book to me.

I shouldn’t be surprised that the author of On Writing Well could write such a great book.  This is a book about writing about your life, and in each chapter William Zinsser gives an example of a story from his own life.  If this book were only a collection of those essays, it would be a great book.  The stories are memorable, thought-provoking, and inspiring.

But William Zinsser doesn’t stop there.  He talks about why the essays are effective, and provides general principles for writing about your own life.  You can learn from the rules and from powerful examples how to tell your own story better.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to write from their own experiences.  You’ll learn things to keep in mind, and you’ll be a better writer.  I also recommend this book to people who simply want to read some good stories taken from the life of a wise man.

Review of another book by William Zinsser:
The Writer Who Stayed

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