Writing on Empty: A Guide to Finding Your Voice

by Natalie Goldberg

"From the first moments of Natalie Goldberg's recording of Writing Down the Bones , her classic work on writing and life, listeners know they are hearing something wonderful"—AudioFile on Writing Down the Bones

This program is read by the author.

Bestselling author and teacher Natalie Goldberg shares her inspiring personal journey out of a devastating period of writer’s block and back into a life of growth, creativity, and healing.

Natalie Goldberg has been writing for the past fifty years. But at the beginning of the pandemic, she suddenly wasn’t able to write anymore. Her imaginative wellspring had dried up, and she was forced to ask what do I do when what has always worked for me doesn’t work anymore?

In this beautifully written, inspiring personal account, Natalie shares her harrowing journey out of creative paralysis and back onto the page. When all of her tried and true methods–meditation, sitting still, writing practice–stopped working, she had to take drastic action. She got into her car and left New Mexico in search of a new inventive source. In her journey through the western states, she visited famous literary sites, searching for the spark that would reignite her ability to write.

And, next to Hemingway’s grave, she found it. “Get going,” he seemed to say to her, and she did. Now, Natalie shares her story of traveling through literary and personal memory to clarify her way forward, struggling to make sense of her difficult relationships with parents and teachers, and digging into her long-held grief. Ultimately, she discovers how to write through the emptiness in order to fill up the world with compassion, healing, and renewed liveliness.

For anyone struggling to reconnect with their own creative source, Writing on Empty is a gentle and instructive guide to remembering what truly matters.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press Essentials.

Genres: Writing, Memoir, Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Zen, Reference

Audible Audio

Published July 9, 2024

About the author

Natalie Goldberg lived in Brooklyn until she was six, when her family moved out to Farmingdale, Long Island, where her father owned the bar the Aero Tavern. From a young age, Goldberg was mad for books and reading, and especially loved Carson McCullers's The Ballad of the Sad Cafe , which she read in ninth grade. She thinks that single book led her eventually to put pen to paper when she was twenty-four years old. She received a BA in English literature from George Washington University and an MA in humanities from St. John's University.

Goldberg has painted for as long as she has written, and her paintings can be seen in Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World and Top of My Lungs: Poems and Paintings. They can also be viewed at the Ernesto Mayans Gallery on Canyon Road in Sante Fe.

A dedicated teacher, Goldberg has taught writing and literature for the last thirty-five years. She also leads national workshops and retreats, and her schedule can be accessed via her website: nataliegoldberg.com

In 2006, she completed with the filmmaker Mary Feidt a one-hour documentary, Tangled Up in Bob, about Bob Dylan's childhood on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. The film can be obtained on Amazon or the website tangledupinbob.com.

Goldberg has been a serious Zen practitioner since 1974 and studied with Katagiri Roshi from 1978 to 1984.

Reviews

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Goldberg is a teacher of the practice of writing (not the craft). I feel this may be her best accomplishment. You have to be patient with her Stream-of-Consciousness ramble but it is worth it when she breaks free into Insights. On aging, on death, on dying, on Life, our connection to nature, of writing pen-to-paper & reading a book you can hold in your hand. She has a lot to say about the internet and feelings and fears about this technological age we are entering. While she addresses the paralysis felt during Covid, these insights still apply to anyone experiencing a block.

This meditation (as I am calling it) rambles quite a bit but it is what she does best. As she writes this book she is doing the very work she is asking of us. "Just write-let go of control."

(& most importantly, "do not edit.")



No matter what, we have to contend with the mind.

[Hannah Torres · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah! This one sounded so promising. I kept checking to make sure I was reading the right book. Nothing about it is instructional or helpful for “finding your voice.” It’s really a memoir about Goldberg’s writer’s block during COVID and then just pages and pages of her railing against the internet (in general, but also as a means of research for writing or finding books to read). It should be called something like “Exploring Your Own Story and Leaving the Internet Age Behind.” The very end contains some hyper-specific writing prompts that I didn’t find compelling at all. So bummed!

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Essentials and the author for the advance copy.

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Natalie's dive into her live and personal aspects. I also loved how she did this while showing her writing process when she felt "stuck" and how to get out of it. It was interesting to see her method to overcome a bit of writer's block, especially during the pandemic. I know that time was hard for writers as many have a routine when writing, like going to their favorite coffee shop to write, yet they were all closed. I found her life aspects and personal details interesting! So it was a nice bonus!

I received this ARC from St. Martin's Essentials to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beloved writer develops a crippling case of writer's block, and takes us on her journey to healing as she travels across the West. Highly recommended for every writer!

[Katie Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm one of the students she's annoyed with during the Madeline Island retreat. What an honor. Also oops.

[Briar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Essentials and Natalie Goldberg for providing with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this book is misleading as it is not, in fact, about how to find your voice when suffering from writer's block. It is Goldberg's stream of consciousness memoir that jumps back and forth between her youth, the paralyzing years of Covid, and the lingering reality of death.

I found the first few chapters interesting, even laughing at a few jokes. However, it takes a sharp turn and suddenly becomes a massive critique of the internet, modern technology, and the way people communicate on devices. It essentially boils down to "things were better in the good old days" providing no captivating reason for her argument other than "people say they're addicted."

There's also a great deal of unchecked privilege throughout this book. Goldberg talks of purchasing houses, traveling to Paris, Japan, and other foreign countries, and purchasing book after book (because heaven forbid someone read a digital copy). She's able to take weeks of time to herself, locking herself away in a cabin for a month to reconnect with her writing. Not everyone can do that.

Many people cannot afford houses, many people will never get to visit a foreign country, many people do not have time to sit and "be zen." I don't think I'd have as much of an issue with her experiences if they weren't juxtaposed with the rants about the age of the internet and how it's ruining everything. Some people rely on the internet to learn about different countries and cultures. Some people use the internet to research or read because they don't have access to libraries.

There is a brief section where Goldberg points out what a copyright page is and where to find it in a book - emphasizing that she's not being condescending. Frankly, it is condescending to a writer who picked up this book looking for writing advice - and I would imagine a majority of the audience will also be writers given the title.

If you're looking for a memoir about Covid and the "issues with the younger generations," then this is a book you would love.

[Jacquelyn Dohoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing Down the Bones was my first introduction to Natalie Goldberg. I read it for one of my MFA classes. It had a delightful structure, one I was unused to in craft books. One of the things I love about her writing is that it doesn’t seem like a lesson. It’s a conversation. A free write morphed into a lesson. On the face of it, this book may seem like a person’s mind wandering and not about writing through writer’s block. On the contrary, it teaches you that very thing. By her free writing her essays through her block, she learned how to write again. That is a strategy I’ve gotten comfortable with over the years. When I can’t write, I just write. It may not be in one of her spiral notebooks, and I can’t write in a cafe to save my life (too noise sensitive). But free writing anything is the only way I can break myself from a block. She teaches that in order to write, you have to experience life. And while I’m sick to death of talking about COVID, she has an absolutely valid point. COVID got most of us writers used to solitude. So the only way for her to break that block was to experience life on life’s terms and write about anything that came to mind. This book is a great reminder of that. If you don’t experience life, you have nothing to write about.

Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

[Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rewritten 10/3/24

Natalie Goldberg has written books for years about writing and her daily practice of writing. She was quite depressed in this book. It was Covid days and she wasn’t able to write because all the local places she would normally go to write were closed. She had created a way to write that was comfortable for her - a sense of place that supported her. And over night it disappeared. She came down with a severe case of writers block. And this is her story. She was suffering and it ungrounded her.

A second personal loss was that water from her home state of New Mexico was now going to Texas. This did not sit well with her. There are no more lakes up her way to swim in the hot weather. (It’s really hot in New Mexico in summer.)
The politics of water is exasperating, especially, when it hits home. And she was losing another important part of her life. She had swam in the ocean or lakes throughout her life. It was something that brought her much joy.

My favorite part of the book was when she took a side tour to where Hemingway was buried. He had influenced her in her early ears of reading and writing This was an offering of gratitude to one who helped light her way to want to write. Here some of her spirit was coming forth again.

As always Natalie writes about things as they are as only she can do. And all she teaches about writing and her Zen practice are incorporated because they are her refuge.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I saw the title of this book, I thought it would be a writing guide, with tips and pointers and writing exercises. There is a small bit of that at the end of the book, but most of this book is a memoir/rant by the author complaining about how during Covid, she lost her passion for writing.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3 to be nice.

Natalie Goldberg’s Writing on Empty is a book that doesn’t know what it wants to be. The cover’s subtitle claims it’s “a guide to finding your voice,” but this isn’t the case—the book is much closer to a memoir than a guide, and even as a memoir, it’s focus is unclear.

The problem: Writing guru Goldberg has lost the will to write during the pandemic. The solution? Well, that’s what she wants to find out. As a writer who also struggled to write (read: wrote nothing) during this time, I think this is an excellent premise for a memoir, made even more interesting due to Goldberg’s 50-year career and, as she’s well aware, her advancing age. I found the opening section the strongest, in which Goldberg ponders whether there is still a place for her in literature as a septuagenarian; should she move out of the way for newer, younger writers? I don’t think so, but it’s a fair question made urgent by the fact of her writer’s block.

From there, the narrative slipped and dissolved into something less than coherent. Goldberg frequently recalls memories of her past—understandable given the circumstances—but then intersperses these memories with diatribes against the internet, racism, and her own frustration. Her authorial tone for much of the book struck me as odd: She makes little attempt to understand technology or the people who use it (Zen living appears to be the only acceptable way of living to Goldberg, which doesn’t sound very Zen), and then attempts to appear “hip” and “woke” with mentions of protests and poverty. It’s not than any of these tangents are inherently unworthy ideas—I too dislike social media and racism—but what purpose they served in Goldberg’s quest to regain her writing practice was unclear.

That said, I applaud Goldberg for attempting to put words to wordlessness, as well as for writing about the pandemic as sensitively as one can, more or less. I wish I could have gotten more out of her story, but my interest was lost around halfway through, and by the end it was a struggle to finish reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Essentials for the advanced copy!

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve done two writing workshops with Natalie Goldberg and I have a lot of respect for her, her practice, her dedication to her students, and her novel Zen approach to writing practice. I’ve also read all her books and was excited for this one. It’s tough when your heroes don’t live up to their previous work. It’s also tough when we can’t grant them their humanity. But this book is a stark failure and—I don’t want to trash my teacher, but I do want to warn others.

1) It took me less than an hour to read this. The font is larger than normal and the hardbound copy was $28. I felt ripped off.

2) This is not a guide. There are some half-hearted Goldbergesque writing topics added at the end. I don’t understand why this is marketed as a guide. I wouldn’t even call it memoir. It reads like some stories and some notes and some rants.

3) Natalie’s thoughts don’t hold together. I usually enjoy meandering through her mind, but this is disjointed and shallow in several parts. The stories about her mom have depth.

4) I don’t understand why her editors allowed this to be published. Seriously.

5) Other reviews go into her anti-internet stance so I can skip that, but this reverts to almost a list of things she wants to remember to talk about in her (next?) book. Or is it this the anti-internet book?

6) I don’t know what happened, but this is abysmal. It’s so bad, I can’t believe it was released. Did she owe somebody a book? How did her friends let her do this?

I will always be grateful to Natalie for unlocking writing practice. I hope she finds her way back to real writing.

[Clover · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5
Thank God public libraries saved me money.

What is this? "A Guide to Finding Your Voice". No. No, it's really not. It's 10 chapters of memoir and rants. COVID really upset her and seemed to fuel her utter distaste of the internet even more. Are people seriously nostalgic about giving directions before GPS? Seriously?

This one wasn't for me. It was not a guide in any sense. It wasn't Zen or uplifting or inspiring. I really liked her other books but this one is going to sit in the "bad books written during Covid" pile. I'm really sick of Covid books, I am dying for some that I actually enjoy. I think Stephen King is the only author to write a book during Covid that I didn't think was terrible.

The book is quite short, but packed with rants and condescending chapters. Her chapter on coming out didn't even feel uplifting, the books tone was that unbearable for me that the positive notes were poisoned. It's not enjoyable. Thankfully, I checked this out from the library and I didn't spend any money on it. I will think twice before picking up another of her books.

[Kayla Hollatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the title and subtitle of the book, I thought it would be similar to books like On Writing Well and Bird by Bird. It was less of a how-to guide or inspirational book on finding your writing voice and more of a specific account of all the conversations and excerpts that led the author back to her own voice during the pandemic. It was a fine book, just not what I had expected. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my review.

[Miriam Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of being a book on writing, it’s not her strongest book, but still pretty good. In terms of memoir, excellent, though not quite up to Thundering Home. The sections on her mom were amazing, and her descriptions of immigration and intergénérationnel trauma are potent.

And the internet bits? I wish they’d been edited down a bit. There’s real knowing in there - she’s been with peoples minds for decades! - but it gets crowded out by judgment/unnecessary conclusions.

[Cedricsmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there any aspiring writer who hasn’t at least heard of Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg’s most well known book? it is assigned reading in creative writing classes across America. It was published in 1986, but in 2020 even Natalie Goldberg’s writing was laid low by CoVid. Fortunately she didn’t contract the virus; however, her will to write was not as fortunate. For the first time in her life, Miss Natalie found her usual writing spots closed and off limits because of the virus, pre-vaccine days. Her desire to write? Gone. Workshops, classes, speaking and writing commitments? None on the horizon. How did she handle it and how did the loss of her lifelong calling effect her? Writing on Empty is the story of what Natalie did during the pandemic to get back her writing groove.

She tells her story by relating sessions with a fellow friend and writer who met under the shade of big trees in a New Mexico park. I had to return this book before I finished it; dozens of folks had it n hold at the library. But I must say I didn’t come across any instructions on finding my voice. The book was about how Goldberg relocated her voice during the pandemic. I got halfway through it. An engaging read.

[Brenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to be sitting and digesting on this one for a while. It is a memoir of how she lost her writing focus and regained it during the pandemic. I've never read any of her books before, but I might try another book or two, just because of her teaching style. She says she teaches writing PRACTICE. As in you have to do it to learn it. And what a large part of the book boils down to: even if you're blocked or on empty, write it anyways.

She's not a fan of the modern world. I agree in part. Too fast, too chaotic, too demanding. Being about to disconnect from tech and reconnect with your environment is always a good thing. Social media and the 'attention economy' do warp our thinking.

But I disagree in part too. I found this book while wandering a library with a friend I had made online 30 years ago. I never would have found this book without my friend wanting to get out of the house and find something new to read that weekend. I have as many 20-30 year old friendships with online beginnings as I do friendships I had started in person. As with all things, learning to moderate for yourself is the best skill to learn.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been many years since I read Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life. I remember loving those books and finding them very inspiring, so I was excited to see this book - especially because for the past couple of years I've felt like I've been "writing on empty." I attributed this more to burnout than Covid, but Goldberg makes a strong case for how Covid has affected many writers through this memoir. First, in the early days, she tries to meet up with a friend in a park to write. Then she spends a month at an isolated cabin. The personal stories look more at her life than anything specific about writing. Given that the title mentions this as a "guide," I was expected more instruction, which is limited to a brief appendix with some writing exercises related to the personal stories she shared. While this book alone wouldn't have lifted me out of my writing slump, the writing itself was lovely.

[Alisha Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a bit sacrilegious for me to finish this book so quickly.

I understand why it got so many low reviews. This is not a book for everyone, especially those still moving fast and looking for clear answers that are right on the surface. (Which there is nothing wrong with. Prioritize what matters to you.)

But Natalie’s writing reminded me at this core level, this level that no one has been able to pierce into for a few years - since the pandemic - that life is ten trillion times more enjoyable when you can sink into it. When you can experience it fully, slowly. And see it clearly. And know your silly little preferences. Locations. Pieces of your environment. None of this does it justice so I will simply say, she brought back some magic for me. Scared as hell that I will lose it again - look at me posting on Goodreads rather than letting the book continue to sink in - but I trust that I am on a good path.

I don’t know what to say Natalie, except thank you. You validated something deep and hidden in me.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like a journal, in a very "showing not telling" guide in which Natalie Goldberg experiences writer's block (but what she calls writing on empty) and how she got through that dry spell. The end gives writing exercises.

This is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to understand - how do you find joy and time to be creative when the world is a scary place to exist in. Goldberg's emptiness seems like it came from the covid19 pandemic and facing her own mortality with all the bonus bullshit politics (Oh Natalie, you didn't even know what hell 2025 would bring!) and the latter is definitely a bummer. But regardless, writers, keep writing.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The great writing teacher, Natalie Goldberg, can't write. It's the pandemic, and Goldberg is, like the rest of us, stuck at home. The ideas won't come. This has never happened to her before, and she must assign herself tasks to help her get back into the writing mindset.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been interested in writing since my first short story attempt written in loopy penciled cursive in the third grade. I have notebooks filled with daily reflections. I have even recently used Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones Deck of writing prompts. I was very interested in reading about how she would handle a dry time during the pandemic.

The part of this book I liked the best was her time in Port Townsend. I live on an island just a ferry ride away and appreciate the opportunities the PNW offers for reflective writing with its views of ocean and mountains. I appreciate Goldberg breaking through her silence by writing about memories and her daily events, such as the books she read, the walks she took, and the people she talked to, while adding interesting additional information. I like her comments about the internet too.

This is a good book for people who would like to read an example of reflective writing. It is also good for those who have come to a point of wondering the reason for their writing. You find good encouragement and a road map to continue to put pen to paper.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title: Writing on Empty
Author: Natalie Goldberg
Genre: Nonfiction
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

If you’re looking for something to inspire you to write, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for something about fear, whining, and lots of self-absorption, you’re in luck. There were no tips to get you past a creative block, just…yeah, whining. Sorry, this was beyond a disappointing read to me.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

[Kelly Simmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this woman! I’ve taken several workshops with her. The last was in Taos, which I love. Go Natalie! Please stay alive! We Need you! National treasure.
Now that I have THAT out of my system...
Writing on Empty is a heartfelt exploration of the ebbs and flows of the creative process, offering solace to writers who find themselves in periods of stagnation. While it may not serve as a traditional guide with explicit instructions, Goldberg's authentic personal narrative provides a reflective space for readers to contemplate their own creative journeys and find encouragement in the shared experience of overcoming creative obstacles.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie/Nat, this is how most of my journal entries start now. I love writing "to" Natalie, she's great inspiration. I enjoyed this lil book. I'd say it's more memoir of how difficult writing was for her during COVID than "A Guide to Finding Your Voice" and it's very different than her other books, but I still loved it and will read anything she writes.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was trying to find my writer’s voice, way back when I was in my 20s, I found Natalie Goldberg. In the decades since, I have gone back to her Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind over and over. She is an inspiring and grounded writing teacher, and I was looking forward to getting into her new book. When I saw that she read the audio book herself, I knew that was how I wanted to experience this book. And I’m so glad I did.

While I love Goldberg’s instructional books, filled with beautiful prose and mindful compassion, this book is especially personal, and hearing it read by the author took it to a new level. Writing on Empty isn’t really what the subtitle says (A Guide to Finding Your Voice), but it is about Goldberg’s journey through a dry spell and how she found her voice again. After twenty-some books that flowed from her easily, she hit a wall (she refuses to use the term “writer’s block”) and wasn’t sure what to write next. Or if she was going to write again. Clearly, she got past that, as we’re able to read this book, but it was not an easy journey for her.

Writing on Empty starts with the pandemic, when Goldberg was alone and stuck at home. She had no classes to teach, no students to leave. She was just home, day after day, going stir crazy. And eventually she realized that this was how her mother felt. As a child, Goldberg didn’t have a great relationship with her mother, and the more she was stuck at home with nothing to do and nowhere to go, the more she could understand her mother, who found herself stuck at home as a young woman expected to take care of her husband, children, and home.

Finally, the pandemic was less dangerous, vaccines were available, and places started to open up again. Goldberg found herself traveling, meeting strangers, and visiting graves. After wanting to go for 30 years, she finds herself in Idaho, the place where Ernest Hemingway is buried. She found his gravestone, between two pine trees, and poured her heart out to him. She thought about her history with his books and how they moved her. She feels like he gives her some advice after it all, “Get going.” And she does.

She struggles to write her new book about the problems that technology may be causing us, but she rediscovers her love of reading by reading Bill Buford’s book about cooking in France. She takes a trip to her favorite lake to find it drained and sets out to find out why. She meets up with a writer friend and works on memory puzzles. She remembers her high school English teacher and what he would think of her current writing. And she thinks back to when she first decided she wanted to be with women instead of men.

While walking back through her life and keeping her hands moving on the page, Goldberg was able to write again. Writing on Empty is the result. Part memoir, part love letter to words, it’s a compelling reminder of how writing—and life—require you to keep showing up. It’s a guide to finding your voice only by example, as Goldberg’s curiosity and insights that lead her back to her writing can serve as a vague roadmap to others who are struggling to find their voice. But it’s not specifically instructional as a traditional writing book, and I think that the publisher let her down and let us down by adding that subtitle to the work.

I loved listening to Goldberg herself narrate this book, especially the stories about her mother, which I think were more poignant told by the author herself. Since this book had so many personal stories, hearing it in Goldberg’s voice brought an intimacy to the book that I wasn’t expecting. But it was moving and smart and heartbreaking and honest, much like the rest of Goldberg’s books, and it will take up space in my head for some weeks to come.

A copy of the audio book for Writing on Empty was provided by Macmillan Audio, and egalleys were provided by St. Martin’s Press, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

[Tammy Hornbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing On Empty from Goodreads. I don’t often win writing books, but as I entered the giveaway I whispered a prayer, “Please God, let me win this book.” I really needed it. My heart raced when I opened the thick brown cardboard envelope and pulled it out. For a second, I cradled it like a baby. This book was an answered prayer. I needed something to get me unstuck in my own writing. And it did.
I had started my first middle grade novel at the end of the last school year; where I had the brilliant idea to teach Special Education Pre-K. It was a nightmare year. A superintendent in a job interview suggested that I incorporate my writing into my English/ Reading lessons by letting my class help me write a book. That suggestion took hold and amid the craziness of ending a school year and job hunting, I did just that–just not with my class. I started a middle grade novel with my granddaughters in mind, specifically my eldest granddaughter Zoey whom I had a special bond with and who happened to be in the sixth grade.
At first, I wrote fast and furious every spare minute I had on the weekends when my spouse slept in. And when I started to get stuck, I would text my granddaughter questions. When that didn’t work anymore, I started an outline not unlike the ones I was taught to write in high school English class in the eighties. I don’t think they teach outlining anymore. Then, I got stuck again and distracted myself by having my book cover designer design the book cover to give me a visual to encourage the words to come forth. It worked for me once before.
Then the inevitable dry spell brought on my everyday life arrived. It had been two months since I had written and five years since I had published my last book. I needed this book! My soul longed and ached to create something. So, I began reading Writing On Empty – because I felt empty. I snatched quiet reading time at every opportunity–times I used to write. With all of life’s distractions I still finished this book in three days. That’s good for me.
Now for the review. I have to give this book four stars and not five for one reason. I say this tentatively because of the cultural climate we live in right now. But I will say it anyway. I would be deeply into a chapter and then it was like I would get slapped in the face! Shock startled me and took me out of the story. Three or four sentences later I was lulled back into the story. What happened? A chapter or two later and Slap! It happened again, but this time I knew what had happened. Randomly, right in the middle of the text on how to rejuvenate your writing spirit a paragraph about the author’s homosexuality would plop itself down on the paper. I read the paragraph a second time. I read the paragraphs before and after to discern the relevance. I searched intently for the purpose, but found none.
My need to feed my intellectual side spurred me on to the end resisting the urge to put it down. Ultimately, I was glad I kept reading. It did what it was supposed to do. It got me writing again. Without those random paragraphs – I would have given this book five stars. Because of them, I gave it four and this unusually long book review. Read the book. Judge for yourself. No two readers get the same thing out of the same book. That’s the magic of a book!

Tammy Varner Hornbeck
Author of Breaking The Silence

[June Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many readers, if they think about it, would probably say writing is a solitary process. For some, that may be true. Locking themselves away and growling at those who'd dare distract them from the muse. For others, however, they need people. They flock to the nearest coffee shop, quaint little cafe, or even the library. They simply need people and the hum of life about them. That was Natalie Goldberg. She needed the energy, spark, sheer inspiration of not being isolated. Then covid happened. This is her story of dealing with writer's block during the forced isolation of the pandemic and ultimately reclaiming her muse..

Although marketed as a guide for writers, this is a partly memoir, partly a deep dive into herself and relationships, and, yes, a guide for writers. The guideline doesn't really appear in plain words until the end and then it pretty obviously wasn't written by Goldberg, hence my 4.5 rounded to a 5 star. It does, however, tie all the many, many threads together in my mind. I'm not going to detail them aside from saying personal experiences and structure are vital. In the process of getting to the guidelines/suggestions, you'll get to know Goldberg well, including her family and friends, not to mention idol Hemingway. Oh, he's dead you say? No reason you can't sit at his graveside and chat with him anyway, right? Goldberg is open and intense and her writing shines. I felt taken in by it immediately and as if she were talking to me, not writing words in a spiral notebook (more on that in the book). She shares those uncertain, uneasy early days of the pandemic when we all thought it would be brief,as well as real life outside, taking those of us who shared those same events back with her. It isn't always a comfortable journey by any means, but it's real and personal. We also get to see how her own past and sense of isolation as a child, in particular, helped form the Natalie Goldberg that is.

Bottom line, being more introverted than not, I realize now that my relatively easy sailing through the pandemic wasn't the norm. Yes, many of us arranged strategic, supposedly safe meetings in parks and such with friends, but in the process, Goldberg segues from topic to topic, sharing with friends and in her own head. It's all fascinating and a bit confusing at time but never dull. As noted, I felt pulled in from the first page. The epilogue, which is where the author instructions/suggestions finally appear, manages to maintain something of that air of intimacy while offering connections and possible writing prompts. This is a book that will draw you back from time to time, I'm thinking, too. Her personal saga and insights are worth the return visits. Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #StMartin'sEssentials for sharing this wonderful bit of memoir and inspiration with me. Writers or simply readers who wonder what might go on inside the writer's head while producing books, this book should be a must on your tbr list.

[Diane Dachota · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Natalie Goldberg books for over 30 years. She is a teacher, poet, fiction writer, memoir writer, painter and Zen Buddhist. Natalie's way of teaching is unique and soulful. Her books are one part writing advice and two parts memoir. In the midst of her writing about hiking in the mountains, swimming in a cold river, or visiting the grave of a dead writer, we learn how to express our own voices. In this book Natalie writes about her struggles during COVID and how the lack of being able to go to her usual places to write and her inability to travel and see her friends led her to a writing drought.

Many of us felt the same way during the pandemic and Natalie talks about how she got herself out of the rut she was in and promises us we can do it to if we simply start writing. Natalie always comes back to telling us to write about what we see, we feel, we dream. If you can't get out of your house write about your dreams and memories. This is also a novel about getting older. The author is in her 70's now and is a cancer surviver. She contemplates moving into a senior community and all the things she will miss when she dies. At the end of the book is a roadmap where she gives the readers some concrete writing advice and writing prompts. I felt strongly tied to Natalie in this book although I have never met her nor have had a life traveling the world and becoming friends with famous authors and other artists. Yet she hits on some universal truths in life and writing and I was glad to share this journey with her. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this AR for review.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have yet to read a really good COVID book, except for Louise Erdrich's The Sentence , and I have heard that criticized for centering the Native American experience of George Floyd's murder, rather than expressing unadulterated outrage (though the characters are outraged). That seemed reasonable to me, and what I thought the politically correct current thinking was, but that's a different story.

This is not a particularly good book about COVID, or about writer's block (which Goldberg does not believe in; sort of like the people who didn't believe in the virus and died of it, but that's my analogy,not Goldberg's). It's an interesting story up to a point,and I was fine with having read it, but didn't find it helpful and insightful as Writing Down the Bones was

I failed to understand the odd bit at the end with writing prompts -- was it written by a different person? was it intended to be like book group questions? It was confusing and not helpful, which is not how I found her earlier books.

Interesting, a few ideas, not a great work.

[Isobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at around 40%. Goldberg can write, but her writing was annoying me. I liked the idea of visiting significant places associated with famous writers she admired - like an American, she took her interest (literary) and turned it into a road trip. But she tends to make overarching comments, full of a hopeful naïveté and optimism that stemmed from people being housebound during COVID and pretending that being horrified about racial injustice was enough. Things aren’t better. Many have gone back to ignoring both racial inequality, as well as the ramifications of the nation’s political instability and getting mad at other people’s personal choices such as wearing a mask. I’m not saying things can’t get better, just that we can’t pretend the hard work is done. It’s getting it’s wings, but currently may still be too fragile to fly out of the nest. This book may be more meaningful to people who want to bury their heads in the sand, moaning over how bad things used to be, ranting about how much the internet sucks, & feeling smug that COVID brought humanity together. I’m just not one of those people. (Feel free to course correct in the comments if Goldberg gets around to this later; as I finished reading early, this review is based on my conception of the work and what it seemed likely to remain, and if it corrects later, cool (though I’d still argue it takes too long then to do it).)