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A braided memoir that interweaves the author''s personal journey through grief with a guide on how to write about it, this book is both Sam Meekings'' raw account of the death of his younger brother and a step-by-step breakdown of the memoir writing process. With a twin focus on how to heal and preserve precious memories whilst exploring the mechanics of writing about the self, Wonder and Loss uses personal story, writing theories, useful strategies and detailed prompts to invite the reader to write alongside Sam on a path that is both painful and profound. One of the most straightforward approaches to writing memoir put to page, Sam Meekings breaks down the craft of personal narrative into understandable steps and considerations, and provides a sequence of actions and suggestions that are both practical and motivating. Allowing readers to take control of their own stories, this book shares references to related works as well as new theories from the worlds of neuroscience, neurology, psychology and creative writing, translating them into processes writers can use to remember those lost and to rediscover themselves. Compellingly honest and an introspective look at the transformation through grief and loss as it''s written, readers will learn to both honour and record the memories of those they mourn, and to rediscover the person they are and can be.
List of contents
Introduction
Part I: Writing as DiscoveryChapter 1: Beginnings
Chapter 2: Writing into the Dark
Chapter 3: Setting Myself on Fire
Chapter 4: Home/Sickness
Chapter 5: Ten Ways of Thinking about the Body
Chapter 6: Palimpsest
Part II: Writing as TransformationChapter 7: Forgiveness
Chapter 8: Metaphor
Chapter 9: Embracing Failure
Chapter 10: Transformations
[Midpoint Self-assessment]
Part III: Writing as RenewalChapter 11: Fable and Myth
Chapter 12: Personal Ecology
Chapter 13: Writing the Unknown
Chapter 14: Returning to Childhood
Chapter 15: Dreams and the Unconscious
Part IV: Writing as MagicChapter 16: Talking with Ghosts
Chapter 17: Pleasures and Passions
Chapter 18: Poetic Tools
Chapter 19: Summoning
Chapter 20: Endings
Conclusion
Additional Resources
Annotated Bibliography
Index
About the author
Sam Meekings is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Northwestern University in Qatar. He is the author of Under Fishbone Clouds (2011, called ‘a poetic evocation of the country and its people’ by the New York Times), The Book of Crows (2012), and The Afterlives of Dr Gachet (2018). He has a PhD in creative writing from Lancaster University, UK, and has taught writing at NYU (Global Campus) and the University of Chichester, UK. He researches issues of identity in grief narratives, and the practices and processes of digital storytelling.
