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Title details for The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad - Wait list

The Book of Alchemy

A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life

by Suleika Jaouad
ebook
Pre-release: Expected April 22, 2025
0 of 1 copy available
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A guide to the art of journaling—and a meditation on the central questions of life—by the bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms, with contributions from Hanif Abdurraqib, Jon Batiste, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, George Saunders, and many more

“The Book of Alchemy proves on every page that a creative response can be found in every moment of life—regardless of what is happening in the world.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love
From the time she was young, Suleika Jaouad has kept a journal. She’s used it to mark life's biggest occasions and to weather its most ferocious storms. Journaling has buoyed her through illness, heartbreak, and the deepest uncertainty. And she is not alone: for so many people, keeping a journal is an essential tool for navigating both the personal peaks and valleys and the collective challenges of modern life. More than ever, we need a space for puzzling through.
In The Book of Alchemy, Suleika explores the art of journaling and shares everything she’s learned about how this life-altering practice can help us tap into that mystical trait that exists in every human: creativity. She has gathered wisdom from one hundred writers, artists, and thinkers in the form of essays and writing prompts. Their insights invite us to inhabit a more inspired life.
A companion through challenging times, The Book of Alchemy is broken into themes ranging from new beginnings to love, loss, and rebuilding. Whether you’re a lifelong journaler or new to the practice, this book gives you the tools, direction, and encouragement to engage with discomfort, ask questions, peel back the layers, dream daringly, uncover your truest self—and in doing so, to learn to hold the unbearably brutal and astonishingly beautiful facts of life in the same palm.
Also includes essays from: Martha Beck • Nadia Bolz-Weber • Alain de Botton • Susan Cheever • Lena Dunham • Melissa Febos • Liana Finck • John Green • Marie Howe • Pico Iyer • Oliver Jeffers • Quintin Jones • Michael Koryta • Hanif Kureishi • Kiese Laymon • Cleyvis Natera • Ann Patchett • Esther Perel • Adrienne Raphel • Jenny Rosenstrach • Sarah Ruhl • Sharon Salzberg • Dani Shapiro • Mavis Staples • Linda Sue Park • Nafissa Thompson-Spires • Jia Tolentino • Lindy West • Lidia Yuknavitch • And many others

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      February 1, 2025
      How to find inspiration. Memoirist Jaouad gathers advice from 100 contributors who, like her, see journaling as a "life-altering and even life-saving practice" that can help "tap into that mystical trait that exists in every human: creativity." Grouped into 10 sections--beginning, memory, fear, seeing, love, the body, rebuilding, ego, purpose, and alchemy--each brief contribution ends with a writing prompt designed to spur ideas. Novelist and memoirist Dani Shapiro asks, "What would you write if you weren't afraid? Set a timer for ten minutes. Don't worry. No one's going to read a word. You can shred it. You can burn it. You can keep it. It's entirely up to you." Journalist Noor Tagouri asks readers to complete the sentence, "If you really knew me...." Responses can be one or several statements, she adds. "Then sit with them. Ask yourself: What would your life be like if people knew these things about you? How would your circle of friends change? What about your job?" Elizabeth Gilbert, author ofEat, Pay, Love andBig Magic, advises, "Write a letter from love. Begin your letter with this question: 'Dear Love, What would you have me know today?' And then let love itself write a letter to you. Trust that you are worthy of this compassion and affection. And trust--please trust, my friend--that every word of your letter is true." Contributors include some well-known names (Lena Dunham, Ann Patchett, Salmon Rushdie) as well as a wide range of less familiar creative souls: a social worker, nurse, Olympic speed skater, cartoonist, many journalists, and a death row inmate who was executed in 2021 despite Jaouad's efforts to get him clemency. His prompt for readers: "When was the last time you really noticed your inner strength?" A warmly encouraging writing companion.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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