Samara O'Shea

Keeping a journal is easy. Keeping a life-altering, soul-enlightening journal, however, is not. At its best, journaling can be among the most transformative of experiences, but you can only get there by learning how to express yourself fully and openly. Enter Samara O'Shea. O'Shea charmed readers with her elegant and witty For the Love of Letters. Now, in Note to Self, she's back to guide us through the fun, effective, and revelatory process of journaling. Along the way, selections from O'Shea's own journals demonstrate what a journal should be: a tool to access inner strengths, uncover unknown passions, face uncertain realities, and get to the center of self. To help create an effective journal, O'Shea provides multiple suggestions and exercises, including: Write in a stream of consciousness: Forget everything you ever learned about writing and just write. Let it all out: the good, bad, mad, angry, boring, and ugly. Ask yourself questions: What do I want to change about myself? What would I never change about myself? Copy quotes: Other people's words can help you figure out where you are in life, or where you'd like to be. It takes time: Don't lose faith if you don't imme­diately feel better after writing in your journal. Think of each entry as part of a collection that will eventually reveal its meaning to you. O'Shea's own journal entries reveal alternately moving, edgy, and hilarious stories from throughout her life, as she hits the party scene in New York, poses naked as an aspiring model, stands by as her boyfriend discovers an infidelity by (you guessed it) reading her journal, and more. There are also fascinating journal entries of notorious diarists, such as John Wilkes Booth, Anaïs Nin, and Sylvia Plath. A tribute to the healing and reflective power of the written word, Note to Self demonstrates that sometimes being completely honest with yourself is the most dangerous and rewarding pursuit of all.

On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits

Note to Self

Presents a guide to overcoming rejection and thriving in the face of unrequited love, offering advice on cultivating self-worth and loving oneself without requiring the validation of others.

How to Survive (and Thrive!) in the Face of Unrequited Love

Loves Me... Not

Have you ever wanted to write a thank-you note and suffered writer's block? Considered penning a passionate letter to your beloved, but had no idea where to begin? Needed to send a sympathy message, but couldn't find the right words? Fear not. Professional letter writer Samara O'Shea is here to spark your creativity and answer all your letter-writing questions in this charming guide. For the Love of Letters is an anecdotal primer on letter writing, with tips on how to write all types of notes: love letters, break-up letters, apology letters, thank-you letters, erotic letters (oh yes!), and more. It's filled with moving, funny, and embarrassing stories about letters Samara has written and received, including an apology from a guy who addressed her by the wrong name, a good-riddance e-mail to a capricious boyfriend, and multiple apology letters after getting fired from an internship at O: The Oprah Magazine. With a fresh, contemporary approach, Samara weighs in on appropriate methods for every situation—for example, when to handwrite, type, or e-mail (yes, e-mail) your letter. There is also a fascinating collection of engaging personal letters written by historical and literary icons such as Marie Antoinette, Beethoven, Edgar Allan Poe, Susan B. Anthony, and Emily Post. For the Love of Letters will show anyone who has ever shuddered at the idea of sitting down and putting pen to paper—or fingertips to keyboard—how to craft persuasive, interesting, and memorable letters.

Samara O'Shea

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