The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language - Hardcover

"Goldberg's observations - and guidance on how to conduct a sit, walk, write workshop on your own (with as few as two people) - are inspiring. Readers will be eager to find a cafe or a quiet room and get down to the business of knowing their writing, and by doing so knowing themselves more deeply." * Santa Fe New Mexican * "A fresh practice for writing... rooted in the Zen tradition." -- Shambhala Sun -- --- "A uniquely delivered Eastern Zen approach to writing....A pleasantly meditative intuitive writing guide." * Kirkus Reviews * "Beautifully written, informative, intriguing, and passionate, The True Secret of Writing is a book to be appreciated, read, and reread by the beginning writer as well as the published professional. Natalie captures the pulse and spirit of the writing life with pristine clarity." -- Lee Gutkind, Editor, Creative Nonfiction, Author of You Can't Make This Stuff Up "Natalie Goldberg has done the unthinkable, she has shared the secret teaching. The buddhas of time immemorial are rejoicing and the literary bodhisattvas are smiling in silent approval. Read this book, then write a revolutionary manifesto!" -- Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx "Heartfelt, funny, wise, pleading, calm, and ferocious, Natalie just makes you want to write!" -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart "Many years ago my older brother gave me Writing Down the Bones with the inscription, `So write already!' It was for me and for many readers a novel and fresh way to approach writing. I have delighted in Natalie's books ever since and in her method, having had the chance to see her at work in Taos. The True Secret of Writing is a rich voyage, a priceless distillation of her accumulated wisdom and experience as a writer, coach, and instructor on mindfulness. This lovely volume will have a permanent place on my writing shelf." -- Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone

Sit. Walk. Write. These are the barest bones of Natalie Goldberg's revolutionary writing and life practice, which she details in The True Secret of Writing, her first book on the silent intensives she has taught for over a decade in small groups in Taos, New Mexico. This is a whole new slant on writing since her perennial bestseller, Writing Down the Bones-and it's now available to everyone. With luminous reflections on the rich life of the mind and heart that writing awakens, Goldberg guides readers through their own personal or group retreat, illuminating the steps of sitting in silent open mind, walking anchored to the earth, and writing without criticism. Just as Goldberg cuts through her students' resistance with her no-nonsense instructions-"Shut up and write"-The True Secret of Writing cuts to the core of self-understanding and connecting with the world. The capstone to four decades of teaching, The True Secret of Writing is Goldberg's Zen boot camp, her legacy teaching. Its stories of her own students' breakthroughs and insights give moving testament to how brilliantly her unique, tough-love method works.