What a beautiful book! It’s a book to be treasured, but also to write in as you go, msk8ngnitveven more of a keepsake. The photos and captions are so inspiring. I am so glad to have received an e-copy in advance, and I’ll be even more glad to purchase physical copies when it is published. I have several friends in mind I will be buying a copy for., as well as one for myself.

"Write With Me to Keep What Matters in Mind 'by Vanita Oelschalger, is a journal with inspirational quotes which could be used as a meditation aid to walking through traumatic experiences such as divorce. This was not in anyway what I was expecting, although unexpected, the quotes used in the book were uplifting and mostly pertaining to the topic of the journaling book. I would suggest finding more fitting fonts and placing them more appropriately. I would also say that you should write the purpose of this journal in the beginning, and separate the quotes by topics.

Unable to download this book. I have attempted numerous apps to open it and nothing is working. I would love to give you a review. I will give you a five because you deserve I to. I still would love to read this book.

I was allowed to view this as a efile via Netgalley. For that reason I could not actually write in the book, but did use it as inspiration. The photos are vivid and stimulating. While there is no specific order or organization to the quotes offered, this would make a nice gift for the regular journaling writer.
Quotes range from inspirational and motivational to silly and fun. Some thing think about and others just to smile at and enjoy.

This was not what I was expecting. This is more of a general journal. The quotes aren’t specifically related to divorce etc. the photos are lovely though. It would have been helpful to have at least a few pages at the beginning about the value of journaling and some ideas to get the writing flowing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This sounds like a great tool. Unfortunately it is in a format I cannot open 😢 I do wish they would include at least ePub if not mobi files, not all devices can utilize protected pdf files.

This book was not what I expected. It was a book full of gorgeous photography paired with often random quotes or sayings. These quotes are the "prompts" mention in the description. but I was unsure on how these photos ad saying was suppose to prompt me to journal. The description says it to help move forward after divorce, dealing with addiction, etc but I saw nothing specific for any of these.
Going in, be aware of what the book is. It's inspiration but not something that would help me personally journal.

Journaling offers myriad mental health benefits. It can reduce depression and anxiety, improve decision-making, promote gratitude, enhance creativity, promote goal achievement, improve writing skills, and perhaps even benefit the immune system. Journaling also assists those who have faced a traumatic event. Dr. Shilagh Mirgain explains that it can be difficult to process the event which can be associated with difficult emotions and traumatic thoughts. Journaling can create a personal narrative that provides distance from the trauma and helps explain it (https://www.uwhealth.org/news/the-benefits-of-journaling/4822).

Yet, not all journaling is effective. The Center for Journal Therapy, for example, advocates the W.R.I.T.E. method: What topic, Review/Reflect, Investigate, Time yourself, and Exit smart (https://journaltherapy.com/lets-journal/a-short-course-in-journal-writing/). I find it can be challenging to focus on journaling and even more so to structure effective journaling sessions. For that reason, I was excited to discover Write With Me to Keep What Matters in Mind.

The author provides an invitation to write at the beginning of the book. Thereafter, each double-page spread features a full-page image paired with a quotation on the left page and a blank, lined page for writing on the right. Some of the quotations are from notable figures such as Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Some of the prompts are thought-provoking and I would expect generate a great deal of insight. Standing out to me was the quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, “ He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

Others seemed very specific and applicable only to a narrow range of readers, for example, “I was raised and measured by a God of someone else’s understanding” or “The voices in your head may not be God.”

A third category of prompts seem so broad or tautological that they aren’t useful, e.g., “Nothing happens until something happens.”

“Whenever I am afraid, there is something wrong with ME” and “Forgiveness = giving up all chance to change the past” seem like they could actually be harmful to those utilizing the book.

In two cases, the author uses her own words when it seems it would be more appropriate to attribute the original quotation: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we always had” instead of “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” by Albert Einstein and “The way out of fear is to go through it” instead of “If you're going through hell, keep going” by Winston Churchill.

I thought the book would have been much more useful if it included a brief introduction outlining ways to approach journaling effectively. Additionally, the quotations appeared seemingly randomly. I thought it would be more helpful if they were grouped by theme or if they were designed in such a way that the journal-writer would be completing a goal-directed narrative journey.

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WRITE WITH ME is the second journaling book by popular author Vanita Oelschalger. It’s focus is recovery from divorce and other life trials, as well as illnesses of mind and soul. Includes lush photography, helpful prompts and inspirational quotes from noteworthy authors, mystics and humanitarians. 5/5

Pub Date 01 May 2019   

Thanks to Vanita Books and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are fully mine.

#WriteWithMe #NetGalley

Write With Me
Vanita Oelschalger

Lovely prints on the pages with reliable and thought provoking quotes on each. Three to four pages really reached out grabbed me and had me reflecting on a current issue I am trying to work through. A digital copy does not do the book justice, a print copy is definitely the best way to get the full impact of the book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.