Process: Writing More To Life Than More

 

Alan:

When I decided to write a book, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I interviewed a few well-known, veteran ghostwriters but quickly realized that my book would be just another job for them. I needed someone to whom I could express my thoughts without reserve. Someone who would be considerate, nonjudgmental, and make me feel comfortable about navigating emotional terrain. And then I met Claudia.

Before a single word was written, we spent a lot of time talking. Curious and perceptive, Claudia always wanted to know more, to delve deeper. I suggested she speak with some of my family members, friends, colleagues, and associates to get perspectives other than my own, and she proved to be more than an adept interviewer.

After our three years working together, I can’t believe how fortunate I have been to have Claudia as my co-author.

Alan and Claudia at the Lee Pesky Learning Center 25th anniversary event.

Claudia:

In asking me to help him write about his life, Alan was entrusting me to be the keeper and teller of his story. That’s quite a leap for anyone to take. But then, Alan is no stranger to leaps of faith and courage. After all, he founded Lee Pesky Learning Center — an organization that has thrived on an ethos of humility, inclusiveness, and trust, and one that embodies the spirit of its founder.

That spirit was also the foundation of our book collaboration, and it allowed us to challenge and disagree with one another. Some days, our discussions were lively and the disagreements vigorous. Yet we always knew we were both there for the same purpose: to tell the story that needed to be shared and to do it honestly. I asked questions, prodded, and poked. Alan talked, I wrote, he edited, we debated, and I rewrote. And then we did it all again. We brainstormed, and we course-corrected, always trusting in the narrative that was emerging. I had free rein to ask what I wanted of the people Alan asked me to interview. Many of the transcripts of these conversations spurred Alan to go even deeper in his reflections, taking him to places neither of us expected.

In this way, the book became an exploration of Alan’s life rather than a recounting of his accomplishments. It was a remarkable thing for me, a first-time book author, to witness and take part in.

(Excerpts adapted from More To Life Than More, Acknowledgements)

Inspiration

Forests, rivers, and oceans. The cello. Dogs and whales. My grandmother. Refugees.

The courage of fellow writers.

 

Writing classes & workshops

I’m a perpetual student, and I love being in community with other writers. So I take writing classes on an ongoing basis. Here are some I recommend.

Garsdale Retreat, Yorkshire, England

 

The Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA. I’ve done several of their workshops — all outstanding. Onsite and online. Internationally known and acclaimed non-profit.

Garsdale Retreat, Yorkshire, England. Residential workshops and self-tutored retreats in creative writing. Located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, an amazing place to write!

Susanna Sonnenberg: Author, editor, and teacher. Memoir workshops and coaching. Some of the best mentoring I’ve ever received.

Sarah Sentilles: Author, editor, and teacher. Creative writing workshops and coaching.

UC Berkeley Extension, Certificate Program in Writing. Doing selected classes is a great way for new writers to get started. Or, one can do the entire certificate program, as my friend and author of children’s and young-adult books, Lisa Riddiough, did. Her book Elvis and the World As It Stands is terrific!

Books & Writers

Here are some memoirs, novels, poetry collections, and works of non-fiction that have resonated with me and continue to inspire me as a writer. (Listed in no special order.)

 

  • This Boy's Life: A Memoir, by Tobias Wolff

  • This Is The Night Our House Will Catch Fire: A Memoir, by Nick Flynn

  • Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran, by Terence Ward

  • The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World, by Peter Wohlleben

  • Paula: A Memoir, by Isabel Allende

  • The Gift - Poems by Hafiz. Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

  • All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

  • An American Sunrise: Poems, by Joy Harjo

  • The Overstory, by Richard Powers

  • The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, by Daniel Mendelsohn

  • Why I Wake Early: New Poems, by Mary Oliver

  •  Educated, by Tara Westover

  •  The Moth - books and story telling events

  •  Learning From the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil, by Susan Nieman

  •  I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl: A Memoir, by Kelle Groom