Very happy to have discovered The Artist’s Way book by American author Julia Cameron, but more happy and proud to have read it to the end! (a small victory to celebrate :))
I thank my friend Matthew Trinetti for having brought it to my attention via an article of his blog GiveLiveExplore.
This book is truly a soul’s delight and is one of the best I have read so far.
Since I started reading it, I couldn’t help but talk about it around me. I have offered few copies to some friends and relatives, and I decided to spread its teaching more widely through my blog, in 2 parts :
- A 1st part: in the form of a quick and graphical overview (this post),
- A 2nd part: more detailed, in the form of a handy Mini-Guide that you can download for free when you sign-up for my Newsletter. I called it ‘A Mini-Guide from a Recovering Writer’ because it gives a summary of the 12 week course covered by the book, that will help you recover or discover your inner Creativity.
I invite you to subscribe to my Newsletter to receive the Mini-Guide directly in your email box, and of course, if you have more time, to read the book!
NB: Having read The Artist’s Way in its original language (English), I’ve chosen to keep all phrases and keywords used in the book in English.
What is it all about ?
The Artist’s Way is a 12 week program, a kind of self-training in order to discover or recover our creativity and our artist’s soul.
It states that we are all creative creatures with talents that emerge from our very young age, but which get blurred as we encounter parents misjudgment, society standards and life’s daily obligations… until reaching a certain level of artistic blockage more or less significant in adulthood.
The author speaks about « Shadow Artists » to describe people whose creative talents are in the shadow, and who struggle to express, or even just to know, their true art.
The book is also an inexhaustible source of inspiration and a remarkable tool of personal development, since the latter naturally flows after healing our creativity and liberating our talents.
Who is it for?
Anyone seeking a more joyful, meaningful, and artistically fruitful life.
More precisely, the book is intended for people and artists of all ages who are artistically blocked and who need to awaken their dreams and to recover their creativity in order to live their dream life.
A quick look!
The Artist’s Way is structured into 12 chapters, each chapter is scheduled for 1 week with insightful content and exercises to be completed; The goal being to put theory into practice in a regular and effective way to restore our creativity.
The Basic Tools and The Basic Principles are introduced at the beginning of the book and will be useful throughout the whole course.
I made a quick look at the different parts of the book in the following graph, knowing that the elements listed per chapter are those that marked me the most.
NB: Key words starting with a capital letter in the graph are among those highlighted by the author in the book.
Did this quick tour of The Artist’s Way make you want to know more? hope so!
Sign-up for my Newsletter and get the 2nd part of this review in my free Mini-Guide from a Recovering Writer.
Please leave a comment to share an idea or a question! I will be more than happy to answer you 🙂
Looking forward to chatting with you!
SuccessfulMigrant intends to help intellectual migrants embrace a new country, a new career, or become entrepreneurs.
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- Is lack of belonging the #1 reason of female intellectual migration? - September 1, 2017
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Hello Nadia,
I would like to thank you for this inspiring article!
One question concerning the week 5 (“Push your limits, consider radical changes, expand God powers… write forbidden joys, wish list”) : Is it short or long term wish list, did you experiment it? And how can we measure the success for each week during the program?
Meanwhile i am still waiting for this book that is a gift ^_^
Thank you for you answer
Hello Tonifoufa! 🙂
Very happy to see you here and happy that you liked my article!
Your questions are very important. So I try to answer you here based on my own experience:
* Actually, you are free to write short-term and/or long-term wishes in your Wish List; the purpose of this exercise – as of many others in the book – is just to free your mind from fears you might have when writing down your true desires, and to learn to listen to your heart and act gradually.
This is an extract of the Wish List I wrote when I read chapter 5 for example:
– I wish I start writing as soon as possible
– I wish I continue my piano course in any circumstances
– I wish I had writers as friends
– I wish I help my brother use his artistic talents
– I wish I can push my father keep on writing his memoirs and publish his book
– I wish I can travel around the world alone
As you can see, some of these wishes were urgent for me, like writing and playing piano, and they were not limited in time. Some others could be for the short-term or the long-term depending on my own evolution and personal work. So just try not to think too much about time for the moment. You will figure out your priorities while progressing in the course.
* We measure the success through actions we undertake each week: your action could be as tiny as deciding to do 1 single thing you would love to do per week, or looking for 1 activity or event that could help you move forward and connect with people seeking/loving the same thing than you.
I started this blog while reading the book so I am sure you will figure out what would be your possibilities 😉
Wish you love your gift and enjoy the journey! ^^
Keep me posted when you start and whenever you have a question.
Much love!
—
Nadia
I took a week-long course about Julia Cameron’s methodology applied to the workplace. It was taught by her ex-husband Mark Bryan. One of the first assignments in the class was to go out at lunch and purchase something without thinking too deeply about it. I went into a Santa Monica bookstore and was immediately drawn to a book called A Right To Write by Julia Cameron. At this point in the course I didn’t know that Mark and Julia had been married. I didn’t even know who Julia Cameron was. When I held up my purchase, Mark got this dumbfounded look on his face. It was transcendental, to say the least.
Hi Phil,
Thank you very much for sharing this story!
I had in mind to read A Right To Write, then resisted because I thought: this should be for writers only, and I am not one!
Now that I write on this blog thanks to The Artist’s Way, I can say I was wrong.
At the beginning of The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron wrote that she dedicates it to Mark Bryan. I quote: “Mark urged me to write it, helped shape it, and co-taught it. Without him it would not exist.”
Great example of a lasting cooperation for separated couples 🙂
Have you enjoyed The Right To Write? Did it trigger any creative work? Would love to hear your feedback!
Many thanks!
Did sign up for your newsletter several times without receiving the miniguide )-:
Could you please send me the download details.
Thanx in advance.
Hi Nanette,
Thank you for reaching out! 🙂
When you sign up, an email is automatically sent requesting you to confirm your subscription.
I suspect that email went to your spam or trash folder, that’s why your subscription remained incomplete.
I’ve just subscribed you manually now, so you should receive my welcome emails with the link to the free mini-guide.
If you still don’t see my emails, please check the spam/trash folders and move any liberateyourpen emails you might find there to your reception folder.
Hope this helps. Will write to you to follow-up.
Thank you again! And wish to see you more over here!
—
Nadia