Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay

After trying a bunch (really, a bunch) of books, I found this book to be actually useful in writing my inspirational memoir. This book's guidance comes with a ton of examples (most of the books I have encountered have few, if any, examples). I believe the author discusses every aspect of the essay/memoir process. If you choose not to follow some of her guidance, well, at least it was a conscious choice and not because of ignorance. This is serious, useful information disguised with clever humor. I recommend Ms Lara's book because she and her book both have a good heart.

Fast delivery and book arrived as described. No complaints!

I used this book to help me finish my memoir. Loved it.

I'm a creative person and generally feel like I have a decent handle on writing, but this really jumpstarted my creativity and has helped me explore some of my own personal essays. While there are some surprising grammatical errors throughout the book (surprising because it's supposed to be a book about how to be a writer), they weren't offensive enough that I was unable to focus on the topic at hand. I really got something out of this funny, creative how-to book, and I recommend it to anyone struggling to write a decent story.

A member of my writing group lent me this book not knowing I have an aversion to being told how to write. (Which makes me wonder what I'm doing in a writer's group, but let's let that slide for the moment.) I took the book to be polite, then let it sit on my desk for a week, cover down. But I had a few moments to kill one day and though "what the hell." Boy was I surprised, and pleasantly so. Lara's work is insightful and laugh out loud funny, and the language flows even when she discusses nuance in style--I'm reading as much because it is a really good read as I am for any guidance it offers.As well thought out and as well presented as it is, the guidance offered is the added bonus. I'm getting from this book what I had hoped to get from the MFA creative writing program I'm currently enrolled in: pedagogy. Lest that word ring clamorous in your ear, I teach basic essay writing at a JC, and I need to know the "why" before I swallow the pill--how else could I use it in the classroom? Lara offers such well chosen examples to illustrate each point she makes that I open wide. And when I start to feel a little inadequate--after all, being told how best to write will probably always create a knee-jerk inversion in this reader--she understands that, too, sharing her experiences, and those of other writers, in order to lead my inner writing troll to an acceptance of the need to revise.Highly recommended.