First, Nicole Guletta is a poet. Everything in this book is poetically written. I have fallen for the way she incorporates ritual, routines, and rhythms into all aspects of the book.
Second, I love the way this book is framed. There are ten seasons described in the book. These seasons were a reminder it is okay that I am not going at writing with full effort right now. I am tired, and it is a season.
The seasons she describes cover everything imaginable. It starts with beginnings and self doubt. It describes going back in time and discontent. It has the art of listening to your body. It speaks of raising young children. There was room for liminal space, visibility, retreating, and finishing. I am not even finished with this, and I am inspired.
Let's take a look at chapter 2, the season of self-doubt. This begins by describing a visit to the acupuncturist. The author is trying to get rid of a cough she has had for the past three weeks. As she looks back, she realizes that it starts with the contract she has to write a book about creativity. What does she know about creativity? The cough comes and she begins to wallow in fear. And then she starts to do things that actually help.
She goes back to the acupuncturist. She writes about Kate Swoboda who believes fear is a wound. She names the amygdala as the seat of fear.
She mentions Kate Murphy.
"If you cans sense and appreciate your fear - be it of flying, illness, or social rejection - as merely your amygdala request for more information rather than as a signal of impending doom, then you are on your way calming down and engaging more conscious, logic-dominated parts of your brain."
When her amygdala gets the best of her, she goes to the beach. The vastness of the sea is there, her mind opens, and she is able to release a silent prayer.
She names her fear. She calls herself a writer. She recommends we call ourselves writers. Even if we have only published one thing.
Lets go back to the beach scene. She is able to breathe there. She recommends we breathe wherever we are.
She speaks of sitting in with a board that is editing her book. Breathing in and out is what she needed as they take her work and move it into new places.
"Send your breath there. Send your pen there. Write it out, think it through, and get to the core of truths of these stories so you can stand a little taller. Our stories are not here to make us feel small and insignificant but to help us carve a sturdy path in stone, not sinking sand."
She even has steps that you can move through. But I digress here. Pick up this little treasure of a book.
Even if you are not a writer, I do believe it will help you live better.