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	<title>Memory Writers Network &#187; Idealism/Meaning</title>
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	<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog</link>
	<description>Hundreds of Essays and Interviews to Help You Read and Write Memoirs</description>
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	<managingEditor>jerrywaxler@yahoo.com (Jerry Waxler)</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>jerrywaxler@yahoo.com (Jerry Waxler)</webMaster>
	<category>Self-help</category>
	<ttl>1440</ttl>
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		<title>Memory Writers Network</title>
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	<itunes:subtitle>Reading and writing memoirs.</itunes:subtitle>
	<itunes:summary>Record the Stories of Your Life, tips, how-to, memoir book reviews, by Jerry Waxler</itunes:summary>
	<itunes:keywords>memoir, writers, self-help, book-reviews, essays</itunes:keywords>
	<itunes:category text="Health">
		<itunes:category text="Self-Help" />
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	<itunes:category text="Society &#38; Culture">
		<itunes:category text="Personal Journals" />
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	<itunes:category text="Arts">
		<itunes:category text="Literature" />
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	<itunes:author>Jerry Waxler</itunes:author>
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		<itunes:name>Jerry Waxler</itunes:name>
		<itunes:email>jerrywaxler@yahoo.com</itunes:email>
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		<item>
		<title>How Boys Become Men? (Hint: Memoirs Help)</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/boys-to-men/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/boys-to-men/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:25:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Boys To Men]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madison Wisconsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My own life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aggression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[assertiveness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[idealism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[males]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memoirs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[men]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslims]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rebellion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thumos]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=877</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The big surprise was how much I was learning about boys. The more I read about other boys growing up, the more I began to see that growing up male has challenges that I had never before tried to put into words. After reading about Ed Husain's experience trying to overthrow all of Western civilization, and reflecting on my own rebellion, I took another look at boys.  <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/boys-to-men/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/boys-to-men/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>Memoir interview about privacy, activism, style</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-interview-mirriam-goldberg-2/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-interview-mirriam-goldberg-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:34:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Author Interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Courage to Write]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grief/Loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regional Memoir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Women]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRAC1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goddard College]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Judaism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transcendence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=606</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I hope the book does inspire people to, most of all, learn more about their environment, and from that learning, develop a greater connection with their local land, which will naturally lead to the kind of advocacy and stewardship that creates enduring ecological change. I also hope the book helps people see not just more of the connections between cancer and ecological degradation and destruction, but between healing and finding kinship with the trees, fields, birds, skies and other aspects of our homes around us. <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-interview-mirriam-goldberg-2/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Freedom Writers Diary Turns Journaling Into Activism</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/freedom-writers-diary-turns-journaling-into-activism/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/freedom-writers-diary-turns-journaling-into-activism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:41:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adolescence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom writers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gangs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prejudice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social change]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=578</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Freedom Writers Diary is a collection of diary entries written by inner-city high school kids in Los Angeles. When I first heard about it, I thought the book would be too scattered and too youthful to have anything to do with memoir writing. After I started reading, I discovered these authors were doing essentially the same thing any memoir writer does; telling stories about their lives, and sharing them with the world. <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/freedom-writers-diary-turns-journaling-into-activism/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gary Presley&#8217;s Memoir Defangs the Horror of Aging and Disability</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-aging-disability/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-aging-disability/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:22:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gary Presley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[idealism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[polio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seven Wheelchairs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The children's illustrator, Maurice Sendak told an interviewer that when he was little, he was scared of old people. He was afraid of their wrinkled skin and hair growing out of the wrong places. "Now that you are 80 years-old yourself, do you feel you have become a monster to the small children who read your books?" "Absolutely" he answered. "Many children at signings are afraid of me and burst into tears when their mother tells them to hand me their book." <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-aging-disability/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-aging-disability/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<itunes:duration>0:09:37</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:subtitle>The children's illustrator, Maurice Sendak told an interviewer that when he was little, he was scared of old people. He was afraid of their wrinkled skin and hair growing out of the wrong places. "Now that you are 80 years-old yourself, do you feel [...]</itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary>The children's illustrator, Maurice Sendak told an interviewer that when he was little, he was scared of old people. He was afraid of their wrinkled skin and hair growing out of the wrong places. "Now that you are 80 years-old yourself, do you feel you have become a monster to the small children who read your books?" "Absolutely" he answered. "Many children at signings are afraid of me and burst into tears when their mother tells them to hand me their book."</itunes:summary>
		<itunes:keywords>Disability, Idealism/Meaning</itunes:keywords>
		<itunes:author>Jerry Waxler</itunes:author>
		<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
		<itunes:block>no</itunes:block>
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		<item>
		<title>Memoir writing is a step along my spiritual journey</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-writing-is-a-step-along-my-spiritual-journey/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-writing-is-a-step-along-my-spiritual-journey/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:19:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[50+]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife crisis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-writing-is-a-step-along-my-spiritual-journey/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Jerry Waxler (Listen to the podcast using the player control at the bottom of this post. You can also download it using iTunes.) Now that I&#8217;m 60, I am facing an age when the end of the story seems &#8230; <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-writing-is-a-step-along-my-spiritual-journey/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-writing-is-a-step-along-my-spiritual-journey/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
			<enclosure url="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/podpress_trac/feed/109/0/chartlifechurchtalkreading.mp3" length="1" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<itunes:duration>0:00:01</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:subtitle>by Jerry Waxler
(Listen to the podcast using the player control at the bottom of this post. You can also download it using iTunes.)
Now that I&#8217;m 60, I am facing an age when the end of the story seems to be shimmering out there on the horizon. [...]</itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary>by Jerry Waxler
(Listen to the podcast using the player control at the bottom of this post. You can also download it using iTunes.)
Now that I&#8217;m 60, I am facing an age when the end of the story seems to be shimmering out there on the horizon. I&#8217;ve always been obsessed with who I am and where I&#8217;m going, and now I feel like I have a deadline.
People often talk about the urgency of living each day as if it&#8217;s their last. This perspective is especially compelling when someone we know has recently departed. I too find a desire to live each day to its fullest. But my pressure arises from a slightly different reason. I ask, &#8220;What if I&#8217;m here until I&#8217;m 90? How will I live a meaningful life for another 30 years?&#8221; That&#8217;s a daunting task. And it turns out that memoir writing has become the center piece of my plan. By delving into the inner journey of who I&#8217;ve been, I&#8217;m learning more and more lessons about where I&#8217;m going.
I recently gave a talk at a gathering at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethlehem Pennsylvania about using life stories to build a sense of purpose at any age. I didn&#8217;t give the talk during a worship service, and I&#8217;m not a preacher. This was an open meeting before the service, when people from the community come to listen to guest speakers talk about all sorts of topics. It was a perfect audience for my eclectic views on life, on memory, and on meaning. And during the three months I spent preparing the talk, I developed a neat way to explain how my life journey makes more sense than ever. It was ambitious of me to try to explain the meaning of life in 20 minutes, but I think I did a decent job. I&#8217;ll post the written version later. For now, I&#8217;m attaching the audio version. I&#8217;d be delighted to know what you think.
&#8212;
To see the written version of the talk I gave about how memoir writing enhances my faith in the future, see my blog entry by clicking here. To listen to it, click on the podcast link below.
Podcast version click the player control below: 
</itunes:summary>
		<itunes:keywords>Aging, Idealism/Meaning</itunes:keywords>
		<itunes:author>Jerry Waxler</itunes:author>
		<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
		<itunes:block>no</itunes:block>
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		<item>
		<title>Deformity and love in Martha Beck&#8217;s memoir Expecting Adam</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/deformity-and-love-in-memoir/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/deformity-and-love-in-memoir/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Book Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/deformity-and-love-in-memoir/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I suppose my life would be simpler if I pushed this problem aside, and loved only the people who look like me. But that would cut me off from all of humanity, one way or another because there are a zillion ways humans can be different, or at least 8 billion, anyway. We are all unique, even though we expend a lot of energy pretending we're like everyone else. <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/deformity-and-love-in-memoir/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/deformity-and-love-in-memoir/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s a wonderful life for every memoir writer</title>
		<link>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/its-a-wonderful-life-for-every-memoir-writer/</link>
		<comments>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/its-a-wonderful-life-for-every-memoir-writer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jerrywaxler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Idealism/Meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writer's Motivation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/its-a-wonderful-life-for-every-memoir-writer/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fortunately, the movie is not about changing the past. The actions that restored Stewart's faith took place years ago. The angel simply gave Stewart the gift of sight so he could see how these actions helped. I think this is what keeps us coming back to the movie year after year – the hope to see that we made a difference. <a href="http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/its-a-wonderful-life-for-every-memoir-writer/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/its-a-wonderful-life-for-every-memoir-writer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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