Writing Out the Storm: Reading and Writing Your Way Through Serious Illness or Injury

by Barbara Abercrombie

This powerful and deeply inspirational handbook is for anyone coping with serious illness or injury--be it theirs or that of a loved one--who wants and needs to help themselves through the healing process. Offering her own experience with breast cancer, as well as stories from other authors who have suffered from illnesses or severe injuries--from Stephen King to Lance Armstrong--Abercrombie encourages readers to write what is in their hearts and to benefit from the power of shared experience. Using writing as therapy, Writing Out the Storm is a book about healing the soul.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2002

About the author

Barbara Abercrombie has published 15 books -two novels for adults, books for children, including the award winning picture book, CHARLIE ANDERSON, plus non-fiction books. Her novels have been optioned for films and published in six languages. Her essays, articles and poems have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, and her sixteenth book THE LANGUAGE OF LOSS will be published in November 2020 by New World Library.

She teaches in the Writers' Program at UCLA Extension where she won the Outstanding Teacher award in 1994 and the Distinguished Instructor award in 2010.

Barbara lives in Pasadena and Lake Arrowhead California.

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

My disappointment with this book is mainly that it doesn't help me writing about a chronic condition. The writers she includes have conditions that will change either improving or killing them fairly soon.

Those of us who have ongoing health crisis have to wait for another book.
If I had cancer it would be 5 star.

I like the various assignment writings she gives her students.
If you buy this, buy a journal to write in at the same time.

Meanwhile I hope you have fewer problems with spelling than i had when I originally posted this.

[Wendy Kennar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book several times now. But each time, I take away something new. This book is such a valuable resource!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has invited other writers to share their stories in her book. I am a writing workshop facilitator and I found the suggested writing prompts useful. I could tweak some of the writing prompts to engage a different set of people, not necessarily those who are working their way through serious illness or injury.