“The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning and Purpose” is an exuberant potpourri of essays/lessons celebrating and extolling the ancient art of journaling. If, like me, you’re a longtime journal writer, you will be on the lookout for fresh approaches amongst the forty or so contributions. I took away fascinating insights into journaling with children, treating the journal as a legacy, using the journal as a book project springboard (which is in effect what Helen Garner’s magnificent published diaries amount to), specifically tackling life transitions, and the combining of writing with other materials.
If you are pondering introducing a diary/journal into your life … well, this tightly edited collection is packed with inspiration and advice. A few of the pieces struck me as overtly promoting contributors’ own books about their journaling “systems,” but even these held interest. The Great Book of Journaling is a timely, sprightly, inviting compilation put together in a manner to compel attention.