Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits
O&#x2019;Shea&#xA0;approaches journal writing as&#xA0;a therapeutic tool and an aid&#xA0;to helping journal keepers discover new strengths and develop others, find previously unsuspected dimensions and depths of their personalities, and uncover and confront painful realities. This self-discovery&#xA0;combines depth with breadth, so as the writer records both life&#x2019;s mundane minutiae and family-altering crises, he or she acquires&#xA0;knowledge of the most valuable kind from dreams and&#xA0;candid accounts of personal crimes and misdemeanors. O&#x2019;Shea includes her own journal entries in each chapter,&#xA0;covering&#xA0;different eras in her life, and provides&#xA0;writing tips and&#xA0;journaling exercises&#xA0;developed to empower the act of externalizing thoughts, feelings, and, ultimately, oneself. She also includes instructive passages from the journals of notable writers, such as&#xA0;Louisa May Alcott, who&#xA0;records her winter&#x2019;s earnings in 1855: $120, which includes $20 for her stories&#x2014;&#x201C;if I am ever paid.&#x201D;&#xA0;A listing of sources rounds out this interesting addition to journaling aids that emphasizes &#x201C;it&#x2019;s not the rereading where one finds solace but in the writing itself.&#x201D; --Whitney Scott