A practical and inspiring guide to transformational personal storytelling, The Story You Need to Tell is the product of Sandra Marinella's pioneering work with veterans and cancer patients, her years of teaching writing, and her research into its profound healing properties. Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella's methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression. Each of the techniques, prompts, and exercises she presents helps us "to unravel the knot inside and to make sense of loss."
"In The Story You Need to Tell, Sandra Marinella does just that -- recounting her own personal and professional experiences with skill, wit, and bravery. She reaches out and tells the stories of others, too, weaving a strong safety net for any of us who need a nudge toward paper and pen. This book is a testament to the author's courage, strength, and heart and a love letter to the power of words."
Amy Silverman, author of My Heart Can't Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love and Down
"Using her work with cancer patients and veterans, as well as her own experience, Sandra Marinella guides you through the dark and lonely times of illness, trauma, and loss to the healing power of writing. With writing prompts designed to lead you deeper into self-reflection, she shows you how you can discover your own strength through writing the story you need to tell. And -- most important of a
Barbara Abercrombie, author of A Year of Writing Dangerously and Courage & Craft
"Sandra Marinella brings keen research skills, a brilliant storytelling voice, and a distinguished teaching career to this cohesive guide for writing the unspeakable. Her vivid prose twines her own powerful cancer story with dozens other courageous voices, each writing the road from devastation to reclamation. User-friendly writing prompts and affecting case studies offer accessible portals for th
Kathleen Adams, LPC, director of the Center for Journal Therapy
