How I Learned to Love the World: My Epic Journey from Solving Equations to Healing Hearts Through Writing, Therapy, and Memoirs
Returning to his hometown in Pennsylvania after six years of chasing the utopian promises of the sixties counterculture, Jerry realized there was more to becoming an adult than just getting a job. He had to overcome the mental darkness and complexity that had eroded his connection with humanity. Escaping his demons became the quest of a lifetime.
On that journey, he pursued spirituality, self-help, and therapy. He joined groups, took classes, read books and sought help from mentors. To absorb it all, he wrote his insights and organized them. Teaching accelerated the process, showing him that to give to others helped him escape the gravitational pull of his own thoughts.
His breakthrough came when he discovered memoirs. Each one revealed the author’s inner world. After retiring from his day job he devoted himself to reading, writing and teaching the art of turning life into story. In each class or group, he found a community of writers eager to understand themselves and each other. Read more.
Memoir Revolution – Write Your Story. Change the World.
In the 1960s, Jerry Waxler, along with millions of his peers, attempted to find truth by rebelling against everything. After a lifetime of learning about himself and the world, he now finds himself in the middle of another social revolution. In the twenty-first century, increasing numbers of us are searching for truth by finding our stories. In Memoir Revolution, Waxler shows how memoirs link us to the ancient, pervasive system of thought called The Story. Read more.
How to Become a Heroic Writer
In the 21st century, many of us feel the stirring of an audacious challenge. We want to ride the waves of global communication by writing compelling stories, articles, and essays. To complete and publish such works, we need courage, tenacity, good habits and hope. Throughout history, we have admired such qualities in our heroes. In the 21st century, science offers practical methods to help us achieve these qualities for ourselves. The techniques described in this book draw from the author’s lifelong search for the science and art of becoming a writer. The explanations and exercises, originally developed for students in his writing workshops, will guide you on your quest. Read more.
Thinking my Way to the End of the World: A Memoir
Jerry Waxler arrived at college in 1965 eager to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. But rage against the war distracted him from his goal. Through the haze of marijuana, rock and roll, and social philosophy, he searched for Truth, until violence and love shattered his intellectual detachment, moving him from anger to defeat. Decades later, in reconstructing his journey from idealism in Philadelphia to chaos in Madison to despair in Berkeley, he discovered echoes of the suffering his grandparents endured when they fled religious persecution in Russia. His memoir shows the measures a young man will take to free himself from history’s shackles and find the answers he seeks. Read more.
Learn to Write Your Memoir in 4 Weeks
Experiences come and go, trailing behind a string of memories, some fascinating, some ordinary, and everything in between. Follow the twenty-eight steps in this book in order to reclaim those memories and turn them into stories you can share with others. Writing your memoir is not only about the past. It provides creative rewards now and in the future.
The lessons in this guide, will teach you how to:
- pull details and scenes out of the tangle of memories.
- organize memories and shape them.
- steer between truth and memory.
- apply elements of story-telling.
- cope with painful or awkward memories.
- get started and keep going.