Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., is president of the National Association of Memoir Writers and a practicing psychotherapist. She is the author of Don't Call Me Mother: Breaking the Chain of Mother-Daughter Abandonment, which won the Gold Medal Award from the Bay Area Independent Publishing Association in 2007.

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• Foreword xiby Kathleen AdamsAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction xvPart 1 Eight Steps to Writing a Healing Memoir 1Step 1 Understanding Your Reasons for Writing 3Step 2 Doing Your Research 16Step 3 Planning Your Memoir 29Step 4 The Psychology of Memoir Writing 48Step 5 The Dark Stuff 65Step 6 Organizing the Narrative Arc 79Step 7 To Publish—or Not 98Step 8 The Power of Writing to Heal 121Part 2 Spirituality, Therapy, and Stories 145Chapter 1 Spirituality, Meditation, and Inner Listening 147Chapter 2 For Therapists Who Use the Healing Power of Memoir 156Chapter 3 Stories from the Workshops 166Epilogue 213Resources 219Recommended Reading 221Reader’s Guide 227Bibliography 231About the Author 237Index 239