Writing Practice Prescription

One of 40 contributors to the just released book, Voices of Alcoholism: The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort and Strength, is writing buddy Kim Mallin, MD. The book’s publisher, LaChance Publishing, is donating 100% of profits from the sale of its Voices Of series to The Healing Project (www.thehealingproject.org), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the education and support of those living with chronic and life-threatening diseases.

Kim and I met at the Maui Writers Conference a few years back. She is a family practice doc with heart and courage. Most of her writing work focuses on fiction, but she does not hold back her pen when a chance to help others by advocating comes along. A recovering alcoholic, Dr. Mallin captures her ownership of her problem with these encouraging words: “Gifts don’t always come in pretty packages, tied up with big colorful bows. Sometimes they don’t even look like gifts at the time. Sometimes they look like the worst things that could possibly happen, and only with the passage of time does the gift becomes apparent…such was the case with my alcoholism.”

Her contribution to this important book serves as a good example of “bibliotherapy” through memoir writing. The basic concept of bibliotherapy is that reading can be a healing experience.

Click here to review the Press Release for this book.