“If you write the truth, you will change the world.

If you write privately, you change your own inner world,

and that changes the outer world.

If you write publicly, you give voice to what is,

and that assists what is becoming.

If you help someone else to write the truth,

you may not live long enough to know it,

but you will have changed the world.”

— an excerpt from How The Light Gets In: Writing As A Spiritual Practice by Pat Schneider

Over the years I’ve read a great many “how-to” books on writing and the creative process. I devour the really good ones and press them eagerly into your hands: Writing Down the Bones and Poemcrazy and In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet’s Portable Workshop.

But this one has worked another sort of magic that feels both affirming ( I do that!) and inspiring (I feel that too!). This dense treasure is not new nor flashy. Instead, it’s a deep and thoughtful reflection of writing and the writing life, penned by the poet who pioneered Amherst Writers, a writing workshop method that believes every person is a writer, and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment (I agree!).

In reading and re-reading How the Light Gets In, I feel seen, understood, and a little less alone in the writing life. If I could press this book into your hands, I would, I would, I would.