Book Review: Note to Self by Samara O'Shea

Samara O'Shea's latest book, Note to Self; On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits, proves that a well crafted 170 pages can impart a treasure trove of instruction and entertainment while fitting neatly into your agenda portfolio. Note to Self is much like her first book For the Love of Letters; it also makes a case for using the written word to foster understanding with others and most importantly peace of mind for oneself.

She writes with her signature forthright, conversational and entertaining style, which makes reading the book almost like talking to a good friend. As I read excerpts from O'Shea's journal, I found myself laughing in understanding, nodding my head in sympathy and cringing inwardly when young Samara finds herself taking her lumps as an emerging adult.

O'Shea clearly explains the advantages and disadvantages of journaling. The positive outcomes include, an opportunity to reflect on life events and place them in perspective, a record and a memory keeper, and a therapeutic practice that doesn't require large amounts of money. The truth is a double-edged sword, and O'Shea points out that truth telling is key to keeping a journal, especially if it's to serve as a frugal path of therapy. She also highlights the one major disadvantage; other people can read journals. Some entries may be better kept private; in becoming public, they could lead to potential or certain embarrassment, and/or the end of a relationship.

Each chapter includes prompts and suggestions for keeping a journal. She emphasizes that a journal should serve your purposes. Write when you wish, write what you wish, date your entries, or don't--realizing that you may have to puzzle out dates later. Ultimately, O'Shea advocates for keeping the type of journal that meets your personal needs. Of course one can keep a daily journal or diary, a traditional recounting of the day's events, but one should not feel bound to that structure. She offers several suggestions for the types of journals people can keep, Dream, Book, Dating and even Restaurant journals, are explained to readers. She also discusses keeping a Web log or Blog as another way to chronicle selected events or topics of interest to you. It's also perfectly fine to have a free form journal, a mixture of your writing, quotes, clips, or bits of verse and pictures that speak to you.

Excerpts from the journals of famous authors and historic figures, Louisa May Alcott, Thomas Paine, Anne Frank, Lewis Carroll and others, are included as examples. She also incorporates pages from the journals of her mother and sister. She features her sister's pages as she writes about beginning a journal. In a later chapter, which explores using a journal to reflect on your life path and where you'd like the journey to lead, she features her mother's writing. A peek into the thoughts of famous figures and O'Shea's family members brings the intimacy and fruitfulness of journaling home to the reader. By showing the family drama, doubt and mundane aspects of the lives of these famous and everyday people, O'Shea shows us that your journaling can be as simple or as lofty as you desire, and that anyone can do it. As she states in her first chapter, "You may be thinking. But I'm not a writer! If you're a thinker, then you're a writer, for writing is simply thoughts making their way to paper." So live a little dangerously, wrestle with the truth; take up your pen and journal.
Note to Self /July 2008 / hardcover / ISBN 978-0-06-149415-4 / 170 pages / Non-Fiction