I just finished reading Writing Hard Stories by Melanie Brooks.

I had purchased it second hand and was surprised to find that this copy was signed by the author 😊

I liked this book but I was simultaneously bored by it. Writing Hard Stories is a collection of essays based off of interviews with memoirists who have done just that, written hard stories. Stories mostly of loss and grief.

It’s well written and the interviews are informative and inspiring but… While all of the authors have their own unique voices, the things that are said all amount to pretty much the same thing. The upside of this and the thing that makes me glad that I read it, despite the tedium, is that in speaking of their process. Not their writing process exactly but the way that these books came to be, well, books. Their struggles. Their confusion over what story it is that they are telling and how to best tell it. Their feelings throughout. These things are all reflected in my own journey.

In reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that everything that I’m stressing about while trying to bring my book to life, is the process. This is how books like mine come to exist. I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I am right on time. My journey is coming together perfectly.