Burn After Writing

by Sharon Jones

The national bestseller.

Write. Burn. Repeat. Now with new covers to match whatever mood you're in.

This book has made me laugh and cry, filled me with joy, and inspired me.
-TikTok user camrynbanks

Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, VSCO, YouTube...the world has not only become one giant feed, but also one giant confessional. Burn After Writing allows you to spend less time scrolling and more time self-reflecting. Through incisive questions and thought experiments, this journal helps you learn new things while letting others go. Imagine instead of publicly declaring your feelings for others, you privately declared your feelings for yourself?

Help your heart by turning off the comments and muting the accounts that drive you into jealousy for a few moments a night. Whether you are going through the ups and downs of growing up, or know a few young people who are, you will flourish by finding free expression--even if through a few tears!

Push your limits, reflect on your past, present, and future, and create a secret book that's about you, and just for you. This is not a diary, and there is no posting required. And when you're finished, toss it, hide it, or Burn After Writing.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Writing, Journal, Mental Health, Journaling, Psychology

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2015

Reviews

[e · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m horrible at journaling. I hate it, but I was struggling for a long time, and every single person in my life (even strangers on the internet) highly recommended it. I forced myself for many years to make an effort but I just never could. Along comes this book, with PROMPTS: and my sense of self efficacy exponentially increased. The prompts made it easier for me to know what to write.

What I wasn’t expecting was that in a very indirect way, this is a self help book, too. I’ve started reading some of those but never finished one. So the fact that I wasn’t expecting a self help factor consequently got me to finally finish one.

I really had to dig deep for this one. Alone in my room, I still found myself looking behind my shoulders to make sure no one could see what I was writing. You were instructed to be brutally honest, and after skipping multiple pages that I didn’t want to answer, I eventually went back and let it all out.

It took my longer than expected to finish this book. I thought it would serve for me like a time capsule; I’d finish it in a day and then later on I could see even the deepest crevices of my mind when I eventually dug it up somewhere and reread what I wrote. I hid the book as soon as I was finished; unsure if it was because I was scared someone would find it or because of the shock and slight shame of the honesty in my answers.

It’s 3 months later. I’ve thought about the book often since I finished it. I couldn’t remember exactly everything I wrote, but the prompts stuck with me. They made me a better version of myself subconsciously which I was not expecting at all from a $7 Amazon journal. I just skimmed all my answers over again and now I really do understand the title. I’d love to burn this thing to ashes. That person is not me anymore. I am not embarrassed by her, but I’m ready to leave her behind.

[Ria Chia · Rating 1 out of 5]

'Burn After Writing' is essentially a template journal of sorts to pen one's deep thoughts.

Despite the effort to categorise the book into 'Past,' 'Present' and 'Future' to encourage reflection, it feels like more of a superficial chat you'd have with oneself or someone else than a riveting conversation. While I did enjoy the questions and trivia, I didn't feel like I poured my soul enough to 'burn it'. The questions are a touch-and-go rather than a 'let's take this question and really dig in' kind of journal.

Also, the author tries to preface certain chapters with poetic prose that does not come through; it feels rather forced in order to prep you for that journaling mode.

This is a good book for ultra beginners, pre-teens or teenagers, and not necessarily those who are familiar with journaling or have already done a bit of it before.

[Helena (helenareadsxx) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I liked the self reflection element with the prompted questions etc.

[Avani ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burn After Writing by Sharon Jones, a journal which is as person and close to you as your own soul. It has some very intriguing questions and prompts to answer and reflect on your own thoughts and actions.

The entire idea of this journal is to be very honest with what you right and then either hide it away, or burn it. This activity altogether helps you lessen your baggage and also note down your thoughts and wishes.

I am still completing this book, it takes time to reflect on these thing and trust me it is therapeutic. It focuses on sharing everything with yourself and not others which would help you in your personal growth.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

There seem to be two types of self-help/reflection books that are making huge impacts on the book selling industry these days. You have the artsy “adult coloring books,” of which I’ve bought plenty for relatives and recommend to friends. And you have the ones more suited to those that love words and wordplay like How to Be Happy (Or at Least Less Sad) and Burn After Writing.

These books/journals/art projects ask you to take time out of your everyday life and either forget about it (coloring) or look at the things that have the potential to make you happy or sad and dissect them. They use activities like drawing, list-making, word associations and many other activities to get you to think about things differently than you do on a regular basis.

Click here to continue reading on my blog The Oddness of Moving Things.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questions are very thought provoking but to read the way the author write reminds me of how i answer things when half a sleep. It feels like its going somewhere and drops off to something basic and untrue. Like, it feels very contrived.

ie "its impossible to tell the truth, especially when writing about yourself" , "write something beautiful with your hand and you can be sure it will last for an eternity" " you cant look at something without changing it; you cant look at yourself without changing"

Idk about the rest of you but every example makes me say "what. That isnt even true." ..i swear i say that stuff every night. Lol.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did, in fact, read the whole thing cover to cover.
The "write 'I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE CULT OF BAW' in your own hand" thing almost had me writing "Fuck off. You're a Target book."
This was more like a "grandma's memories" book, than something that's going to fix my brokenness with capitalism--er I mean, make me honest with myself. I didn't actually answer the questions, because, uh guess what! I already know these things!
And the, asking it to put yourself in a box: gay or straight, Mac or PC, loud or shy. Yes! All of those. I just am!
The tone it's written in seems kind of condenseding and wanna be edgy. It's weird how many times it's asked if you "faked it". Faked what? An orgasm?
This is for people with that Tumblr lifestyle, but I wouldn't waste your money, fam.

[Amy Senter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book randomly at a Five Below store. It was a great book for journaling. It helped me learn about myself and what my passions and future goals are to focus on. The book covered real, thought-provoking and funny questions to things from your past, present and future. Great easy journaling book to learn about yourself.

[ميرنا المهدي · Rating 5 out of 5]

أحداث الماضي مهما كانت قاسية مش هنقدر نغيرها، لكن كل ما بننضج نظرتنا ورؤيتنا لها بتتغير ونبدأ نشوفها ونحللها من زوايا مختلفة بغرض واحد .. التعافي!
الكتاب ده رائع للتعافي من ذكريات الماضي، مش من خلال شوية نصايح تنمية بشرية ولا حتى شرح نظريات سيكولوجية، لكن من خلال أنه بيديك مساحة للفضفضة مع نفسك بدون ما تقلق من حكم الناس عليك أو حتى نظرة أقرب المقربين إليك.
Burn After Reading
هو كتاب فيه مجموعة من الأسئلة عن نفسك، عن ماضيك، ذكريات طفولتك، أحلام البراءة، طموحات المراهقة...إلخ وتحت كل سؤال مساحة عشان أنت بنفسك تكتب الإجابة جوة الكتاب وتفرغ مشاعرك السلبية.
يقال أن مسكة القلم والكتابة على الورق بيسهلوا عليك التعبير عن ذاتك بحرية وده اللي حسيته فعلًا، بقيت كل يوم الصبح أفتح صفحة في الكتاب، أقرأ السؤال ثم أجاوب بمنتهى الحرية، منها يكون تدريب يومي على الكتابة والتعبير، ومنها طريقة للتعرف على نفسي ونظرتي للماضي بتاعي بشفافية.

أرشح الكتاب لكل الأعمار وأنصحكم تخبوه عشان ماحدش يقرأ فضفضتكم مع نفسكم 😉

#ليستة_ميرنا 📖

[Lia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for self help and self care, know that this book should be read/write on in a safe environment and/or room. There is past, present and future chapters, past will be hard for those that have childhood trauma (I know I had trouble). I do like that you have a lot of prompts to fill out and that you can always come back to the book. It gives a bit of hope and you are able to write down your goals and you think it will happen.

-LITTLE SPOILER-
The only thing I have a tiny bit of problem is on the last pages in the future of chapters where it talks about your “ideal partner”. I personally don’t like having an ideal partner or having a set picture because people are complex and that should be accepted

[Jessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book to try to challenge myself to dig deeper. I was hoping it would be some good writing prompts. The questions were pretty surface level, considering the book said over and over that it was all about asking the hard questions. Also there were multiple questions that were repeated over and over in the book. It was repetitive and needed more editing.

[Jewell de Lis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of it, but many of the prompts are repeated multiple times.

[Siqahiqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burn After Writing is a self-reflection journal that was first published in 2015. It has gained popularity since then. The journal is divided into three parts; the past, the present, and the future. The past section starts with a quote; You can't look at something without changing it; you can't look at yourself without changing.
 
This book is ideal for when you need to let it all out. If you stick to the prompts and write honestly, you'll discover a lot about yourself, and it is suitable for reflecting on yourself. Many questions, some are basic, such as your top 5 songs, and some are deep, such as what you think is the single biggest waste of energy in your life right now. The questions provoke thought and encourage you to be truthful in either case.

The one question that I easily answer is the only thing I don't mind spending a lot of money on. You also already know the answer 😂 BOOKS! 😉

Overall, I think this journal is a good book for all only I highly recommend this journal for the young generation and those unfamiliar with journaling. This is just a nice book and fun to write through. It is not a diary, but it's personal only to yourself. After you're finished writing, you can toss it, hide it, or Burn After Writing!

Thank you, Times Reads, for this special book ✨

instagram.com/siriusiqa

[Rachel Zilkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very neat prompts!

[Tobias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Burn after writing has a combination of funny easygoing questions and more deeper insightful and thought-provoking questions about yourself. The book makes you reflect on yourself and start writing down about it.

Ome of my biggest annoyance is that the book is highly repetitive. I've had questions repeated multiple times. sometimes phrased just differently to provoke a different answer, but I've also seen duplicate questions to the letter. it just seems like filler sometimes.

Even though the book is about burning it after you're done. In the end it just asks you to keep it, so you can do through the questions again later. THEN WHY CALL THE BOOK "BURN AFTER WRITING"?! this annoyed me so much. I'm still gonna burn it, out of protest.

[Nilo0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
یه کتاب تعاملی و نوشتنی. نود درصدش رو خودمون باید پر کنیم
به 3 فصل گذشته، حال و آینده تقسیم شده و متناسب با اون ازمون می‌خواد سوالاتی رو درباره خودمون، زندگیمون و احساساتمون جواب بدیم.
این یه کتابه که خودمون باید بنویسیمش و با فکر کردن به زندگیمون، اهداف آینده‌مون رو مشخص کنیم.
کتاب جالب و متفاوتی بود.

[jenkamichiko Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

#recensionsex Jag har #läst och #skrivit klart i denna #skrivbok “Skriv och bränn” av @sharonjones , här utgiven på svenska av @bazarforlag .

Den här boken har jag skrivit av mig i under hela hösten. Den har utgjort en #rutin där jag under korta skrivstunder slagit upp slumpvis sida och skrivit enligt de #instruktioner som står just där. Det finns en god variation av ämnen att #reflektera kring och de handlar om allt mellan himmel och jord. Dessvärre FÅR jag inte ge exempel på innehåll då jag har svurit trohet mot den gemenskap som boken utlovar. Intressant, va?

Den är speciell då den är bara menad för mina ögon och att den ska brännas sedan - med andra ord, #skriva och #drömma utan att #döma . Jag har skrivit #sanningen , inget annat än sanningen. “Pennan är mäktigare än tangentbordet” står det i inledningen. Vissa sanningar är smärtsamma men de flesta är bekräftande eller ögonöppnande. Många aha-upplevelser har jag haft. Jag som har skrivit morgondagbok eller tankebok under ett par år uppskattar Jones bok då den leder mig in på ämnen som jag inte annars skulle komma på själv att skriva om.

Jag rekommenderar denna till er som vill nå nästa nivå i er skrivprocess och personlig utveckling. Har du inte tid att jobba med en livscoach just nu så är den här boken en intressant mellanlandning. En perfekt present är detta dessutom till andra och något att unna sig själv.

Betyg: 4/5

Tack för detta #recensionsex . Jag ser nu fram emot att #bränna den enligt #instruktioner . 😅✍️🔥 Jag skulle aldrig bränna en bok i vanliga fall…

Är du också ett fan av att skriva av dig, att få ner dina #tankar på pränt?

[Mona Saad · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب رشَّحتهُ صديقةٌ لي ،
هو عبـارة عن كَمٍّ كبيـرٍ من الأسئلة التي تجعلُگ لا إراديًّا تتغلغلُ في ذكرياتِگ ، ويمكنُ لسؤالٍ واحدٍ أن يجعلَگ تستعيد فترةً زمنية ظننتَ أنگ لم تمرّ بها من فرطِ نسيانِگ ،
الكتابُ سيتطرّقُ لمواقفَ شتى ؛ بين فرحةٍ ودمعةٍ ،
بين ارتفاعٍ وهبـوطٍ ، بين ولادةٍ ومماتٍ ، ...
لا أدري هل يوجد منه نسخةٌ مترجمة أم لـا ،
لكن هنـاگ ( دليل مع نفسي ) لـ د. عبدالرحمن ذاكر ،
أرشِّحه بشدةٍ لمَن يرغبُ في تجربةٍ مماثلةٍ بل يزيدُ على ذاگ
في تنظيمهِ للفتراتِ العمريَّةِ المختلفةِ وبالتدريجِ 💹

أحببتُ أن أنوِّهَ لشيءٍ ؛
أحيانًا نحتاجُ لرفيقٍ في رحلةِ الخوضِ في الذكرياتِ ،
حتى لو تطلبت الحاجةُ لأن يكونَ هذا الرفيقُ معالجًا نفسيًّا ،
فقد خضتُّ التجربةَ كاملةً وحدي مع ( دليل مع نفسي ) ،
ولا أنسى أبدًا دور الكآبةِ الذي أَلَمَّ بي لِمدةٍ لا أذكرها ،
وفي تجربتي الحالية ، دخلتها على سبيل التسليةِ وأشركتُ معي صديقتاي وكان لهما دورٌ كبيـرٌ في استذكاري لبعض المواقفِ 💚


الكتاب جيدٌ بشكلٍ عامٍ ،
ولكني لن أحرقَهُ ؛ لأني لم أتمكَّن من الإجابةِ على كثيرٍ من الأسئلةِ ؛ وهذا ربما يكون دليلًا على كوني لم أعرف نفسي بشكلٍ مقبولٍ بعدُ !

[Sisi Belle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grabbed this because it looked cute and thought it would be a fun exploration of the hard questions...

Instead it was SUPER repetitive (even one of the word associations had a word written twice in the same exercise). There was only so many times I could write the same things over and over or be asked the same question before I had to put it down...

No wonder they suggested randomly opening to a page, it's so you would be less likely to realize you've been asked the same thing already four times... funny thing, first time I did that as suggested, I opened to one of the directions pages with no prompts, maybe that was my hint not to bother...

Disappointed.

[Filipa Maia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like (and therefore, do not read) self help books. But this book came to me and I decided to give it a try.

Because is interactive (the entire book encourage us to write in it) is way more entertaining. I also enjoyed the way the book makes us think about some topics in our day-to-day lives. I kept a diary when I was a kid and this helped me to do it as an adult (OBVIOUSLY, I didn't wrote directly in the book... am I a monster?). Did I regain the passion for keeping a diary? No, but it was fun anyway.

[Morgan Lovgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always journaled or kept a diary throughout my life, I have even had a few prompted journals but none as thought-provoking and detailed as this one. I really like it and am proud to say I completely filled it out. I plan to read it though once more with all my responses before my parents have a bonfire this fall and I actually burn it. I am proud of myself for being able to be so vulnerable.. now it’s time to replace that vulnerability with growth! Highly recommend trying it and doing it over time, it really helped me grow as a person :)

[Brittnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great intro to journaling if it’s not something that comes easily. Some of the prompts were repetitive though and I felt like I was repeating myself. I feel like more self-exploration and “what if” scenarios could have been developed to get my brain out of ruts that were perpetuated by some of the repeat questions/prompts.

Overall, I’d say it was a good read/write and worth the time if you’re trying to start a new habit of journaling. If you’re already a person who journals, this probably won’t add much to your routine.

[Elizabeth DeMuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let the record show that 1.) yes this is a journal 2.) it still counts 3.) yes it did take me 2.5 years to finish

I wish I could bring myself to burn her but she’s practically a part of me now, and how else will I be able to peer into my 25-27 year old brain

Definitely recommend if you want to store words that were left unsaid, quotes you hold close, and letters you wish you could send —10/10 recommend

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“maybe you realized your ‘self’ is just a construct, a thing you make and remake everyday.”
This has quite literally taken me a year to finish. Some of these prompts were A Lot. They made me address things I haven’t really addressed before. Some were fun and inspiring. Anyway, I enjoyed this little self reflection.

[Adibah(whatdibsread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

<>
Burn After Writing is a book journey for self-discovery. At first, I was skeptical thinking it was just a lame diary but turns out this book is much more than that. All of these questions are like a confession, only you truly know the answer and only you can choose to lie or to tell the truth.

If you really want to use this book for an ice-breaking session, only certain questions are suitable I think. This is because most of it is in-depth about your own experiences, dreams, and journey. I didn't have the gut to write the answers yet but I did, however, answer them in my mind. In the middle of it, I found myself doing deep thinking about my past and somehow I discovered some old memories buried too well at the back of my head.

Maybe if I ever wrote in this book, I will not burn it and I rather buried it like a time capsule and opened it 7 to 10 years later. I was thinking that this book is actually great to do together with your significant other, your closed family and friends. This will be a great way to get to know more about each other. After all, if you're ready for some self-revealing, this book is for you.


Thank you @times.reads and @putrifariza for this book💞🦋

[Dalila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lido sob um olhar de "quais as melhores questões de autoconhecimento a usar em contexto psicológico e como fundamental cientificamente a sua importância?".
Em suma, um livro fundamental para nos (re) descobrirmos.

[Isabella Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotta be honest, I was a little weirded out by the disclaimer "pledge allegiance to the cult" stuff. It just seemed a little bit odd, and I had to wonder what I was getting myself into. Apparently, not much at all. I was hoping for burnable questions that would feel relieving to burn.

It's mostly questions like "What was your childhood CD like?" Or "If I could go back to a historical event, which one would it be?" It feels a little childish, which says a lot because I'm literally 17. I quickly flipped through the book while writing this review to refresh my memory, and the deepest question I could find was "3 things I have to make room for". Which, again, isn't exactly a burnable question. This book feels like it was made for 13-14-year-olds by a 40-year-old aunt who often slips up on how age-appropriate she should be.

If this is your type of thing, and you got something out of it, that's fantastic! I'm happy for you. Just for me, it wasn't really my thing. It feels like I'd be burning a piece of paper with my little crush's name written on it. It's the type of questions you'd find with a quick "deep questions to ask someone" google search. Or maybe the ones you'd hear during a slumber party for "truth or double truth".

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het boek staat vol met verschillende vragen over verschillende aspecten van het leven. Daardoor ga je kijken naar je verleden, het heden en de toekomst. Hierdoor ga je veel nadenken over jezelf én leer je veel over jezelf, je doelen, passies en toekomstbeeld. In het boek staan vooral open vragen maar ook zijn er verschillende lijstjes die je kunt invullen. Daarnaast zijn er ‘this or that’ lijsten waarbij je keuzes moet maken tussen verschillende onderwerpen. Kortom, het boek laat je op een creatieve manier reflecteren en fantaseren.
Het boek is verdeeld in 3 stukken, namelijk het verleden, het heden en de toekomst. Dit zorgt ervoor dat het boek op verschillende manieren is in te vullen, zo kun je een pagina openslaan en beginnen maar ook gewoon beginnen bij het begin. Iedere pagina is uniek en hierbij vergt de ene pagina meer tijd en inspanning dan de ander.

[Moahaldin · Rating 5 out of 5]

”How honest can you be with only yourself watching?” ☝️

As soon as I heard about this book I had to get it!! Now, I donno if this counts as a book you read lol because its pages are pretty much empty…. But the fun part is that you this time get to fill them by yourself with the help of some really thoughtful questions✨✨✨

Instead of focusing on a few characters and their story, you get to dig into your own and it certainly made me realize and understand a lot more about myself.

I would 100% recommend it to everyone!!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be mandatory in schools.
It is filled with very thought provoking and thought disrupting questions. Some you can answer in seconds, some take time to really tear apart and dive into, possibly on a level you hadn't considered prior to reading this.

Highly recommend to anyone wanting some direction in figuring themselves out, or a weekend self-development activity. The trick is not to lie to yourself when answering.