Throwing it all away
A writer lives twice, said Natalie Goldberg. She is the author of the first book I ever read that made me realise just how much I wanted to write. The book is called ‘Writing down the bones’. A dear friend lent it to me when I was about 19. I’d just finished high school and was working to save up to travel to Europe.
It is also the first book I can ever remember having read more than once - and its certainly more than twice. I think I have picked it up 3 times in the last ten years, each at a different stage.
The last time I remember clearly was about 18 months ago. I want to say that I was trying to find myself again but that sounds cliche and ‘not enough’. I think it is more true to say that I was trying to bring back parts of myself that I recognised and wanted to remember. Writing was a massive part. And Natalie did it/does it better than anyone for me.
The book is written for writers by a writer. At the time she wrote it, Natalie was a poet. And I think she used this book in writing workshops. It’s all about encouraging you to write, but gently. I realise now that she was a Buddhist when she wrote the book and reading a few pages back now I can’t really imagine how I missed that fact before. But that again is the magic of it, every time I read it I find something new.
