I had been a fan of Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST WAY books but had NO idea about her background. This was a vivid memoir of a wild ride of her life until now. Sometimes in memoirs, you can feel the author is holding back on the tough stuff but not in this book! It's a great read for those creatives and are invested in learning about how the great creatives got to where they are today. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book read like a movie. Brilliant from start to finish. And while I have very little in common with Julia Cameron’s life, I feel connected to her in how we see the world. Her story is one of courage, determination, curiosity, and creativity. And I hope that, one day, someone will say the same for me.

This memoir is probably the most beautiful I’ve ever read. It transported me through the emotional beats of the author’s life in a way I didn’t know was possible on the page. Julia Cameron’s writing is so stunning. Even the tamer and heavier parts of her story were written in a captivating way. I can see why so many people have elected to learn from her. I’d like a chance to do so myself.

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years, with fifteen books (including bestsellers The Artist's Way, Walking In This World and The Right to Write) and countless television, film, and theater scripts to her credit. Writing since the age of 18, Cameron has a long list of screenplay and teleplay credits to her name, including an episode of Miami Vice, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film, God's Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making film, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. Her profound teachings on unlocking creativity and living from the creative center have inspired countless artists to unleash their full potential.

Found this to be an interesting read.

really good book and kept me on my on my toes of what would happen. really enjoyed the characters and their journey and would read this author again.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed a lot of Cameron's books about writing. It was interesting to get a glimpse of what was going on in her life, before and during the writing of those books.

I tend to review memoirs differently from fiction, generally more compassionate, as this is someone's life While some of the life events in her life were interesting, some were not as well detailed and the emotion of those events and how they affected her were limited or ignored. So much of the book was repetitive and not well connected that I got tired of reading about every time she moved, while the relationship issues I'm sure she had with members of her family were never really discussed, and the impact of her mental health issues were implied more than discussed. I think this book could have been very impactful with a better edit.

I have used The Artist's Way for years and have read other works by Cameron. While she has mentioned some of her issues in those works, this memoir is very revealing. A long battle with alcohol and drugs, a troubled marriage, and other experiences give insight into why daily writing was and is so important in her life. One might consider this a depressing memoir as Cameron does seem to repeat her experiences with instability and mental issues. Yet it is a work of courage, laying bare all her struggles, both failures and successes. Writing is healing and this memoir affirms that.

I have benefited greatly from following Cameron's suggestion of Morning Pages. Now that I know her whole story, I appreciate her helping others through what she has learned in her own life experiences.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

A well-written memoir about living with addiction and in the general arts field during the seventies. I had never heard of Cameron before reading this memoir, but her career highs and lows were fascinating to read about as a writer myself. There's some content she writes about that I might not agree with, but that doesn't make the memoir as a whole bad.

I had trouble getting through this book. The writing was well done, but I was not a huge fan of the storyline.

A bold memoir which I realized I'd read before! Know that this is a reissue of Cameron's work but that doesn't make it any less valuable as a look at how privilege is not insulation against addiction, mental illness, and despair and that hope and positivity can be found. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was my first time hearing of Julia Cameron. Although it did have some very interesting parts I found it difficult to connect to the book. Many of the actions that took place in the story just sort of happened and little insight was provided as to the why. Maybe it was me but it sort of felt like we followed as she moved from place to place. While not a bad story, it just wasn’t for me. I appreciate the opportunity to learn about her and if anyone is interested in her work or is a fan then this would be the book to read.

If you are a fan/practitioner of The Artist's Way book, or really the series of books spawned by that amazing book, you no doubt are also a fan of Julia Cameron, the book's author, and have been looking forward to her memoir, as have I.
So, because I am registered as a book reviewer with NetGalleys, I got a pre-publication copy of the ebook of Cameron's upcoming memoir, Floor Sample, and was so excited to read it. Even in the midst of preparing for my own memoir's publication this fall, I made a little time before sleep each night to read a chapter or two of the memoir.
At first I was drawn in, and fascinated. I as a theater, film, and writing buff, and it seemed to me that the book's promise was fulfilled, with me as its target audience. But as I read on, the story lost all momentum and soon it had digressed into a "I did this, I did that, we went here, we went there..." By the end, I could hardly keep myself coming back. I can't tell you how it hurts me to write this, but honestly, I could have stopped a hundred pages sooner and not missed anything.
After a bit of research, I found out that the memoir was previously published in 2006 and the only truly new thing was a new prologue by Cameron. That is odd, for a couple of reasons. One, it feels a bit deceitful, and two, now I know why I've never heard of the book before—I think it sank like a stone when first published and now she is repackaging it as new to try and make money off an old book.

Absolutely fascinating, well written, and disturbing. I can't say I enjoyed reading this but I kept coming back. I couldn't stay away. I wanted to see what she did next. There were a lot of nexts, too, as she seemed to flit from place to place, person to person, and genre to genre...mastering most of the last. As for the rest, uh, not so much.

I won't detail Cameron's life here as it's not only well-documented but others will have surely done so. Cameron, now well into her 70s, wrote this book when she was 57. She had a childhood full of horses, books, and freedom, but often dominated by "God says..." guilt and guilt trips. She lived close to the edge and, sadly, went over the edge. It's those times that make this a disturbing read as you're taken inside her drugged out or sedated by alcohol mind. In a sense, she was held hostage by not just her mind but her talent, which she has used in various venues, ranging from books like this to movies and theater. Recalling the scene where she details running out of the house in a panic naked, with an aide having to chase her down and cover her with a sheet, will horrify and astonish readers, who'll immediately feel either sympathy or horror. Honestly, Maybe both.
Yes, reading this left me exhausted and disturbed. I found myself breaking down my reading stints into smaller segments, some at obvious breaks, others because, quite frankly, what I was reading left me so unsettled. Yet, she was painting a vivid picture of her life, which included not just growing up in the free spirited hippy age but name-drops famous names who dropped in and out of her life in a fascinating way. Some, like the father of her daughter, former husband Martin Scorsese, who was making Taxi Driver when they married, left, but many mentors and even former addicts were devoted to helping her defeat her demons. She drew people to her, yes, but she also drove them away.

Bottom line, as noted, not an easy read but one well worth making...even if you have to divide reading sessions up. As a former horse crazy girl, now dog person, I had to admire her devotion to her beloved animals. Even when her demons forced her to move and more again and again, her animals were always a priority. That tells me lots about her inner core, her true being. The Julia Cameron that I (and so many others) thought we knew and admired from her The Right to Write, is in there amidst all the chaos. It took nerve to write this book, which I admire. I'm not sure I could be so open and brave. Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #StMartin'sEssentials for allowing me this look into the real Julia Cameron. It's definitely a book that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC for this book. I was intrigued during the beginning of this book, but the more I read, the less I cared about this author's life. While she had a difficult life, she also always seemed to have wealthy friends who were able to help her out. I was looking for something different in my reading experience, but some may enjoy the name dropping featured.

Floor Sample is sad, but brilliant. The memoir offers a look inside the creative world of Julia Cameron who gave the world the practice of morning pages as she lived in a world of alcoholism. Readers who are not aware of Cameron's Hollywood connections will learn of her marriages and script writing as she and her daughter bounced from IL, to NM, to CA, to NY all in search of Julia's need for sober support and innovative outlets. Floor Sample is a good selection for discussion groups because it offers ways to discuss what fuels artistic energy and genius. Readers will not forget this memoir.

Beautifully written, SO interesting - this memoir is a captivating treat from start to finish. I appreciate Cameron’s candor, particularly as she describes the constant tension she feels between her desire for a private life in which to make her art and the financial realities that constantly pull her into the public sphere to teach & inspire others. She’s also very candid about her mental health struggles, and the challenge of balancing family relationships while building a body of creative work. It’s all in here, in a form and style that kept me turning pages. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys memoirs.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

The opening sentence of the prologue of this book says: "I'm seventy-five years old. The book you hold in your hands was written when I was fifty seven." What??? Sure enough, a bit of research revealed that this book had been originally published in 2006, and the only update for the book that was listed online as being published in 2023 is a three page prologue. No mention of the fact that it was previously published. I feel duped.

Although I never really connected with Cameron's most famous work, The Artist's Way, I know many people who did and I know it became such a standard that the words "morning pages" has become a part of the creative lexicon. The title of this book refers to the fact that Cameron calls herself "the floor sample for The Artist's Way." Especially in the early chapters of the book, the discipline of writing three pages to start every day and letting the creativity flow through you was an important part of her voyage to sobriety and a prolific writing career. Unfortunately, writing didn't erase many of the demons that she lived with. Even though she managed to stay sober, she struggled with other psychological problems, which sometimes threatened her life. She developed a compulsion for moving from place to place, always thinking that the next place would help her writing and her mental state. It made me slightly dizzy thinking of packing up and moving so often. She also careened from artistic genre to artistic genre, turning out a huge oeuvre of nonfiction (including many variations on The Artist's Way), fiction, poetry and music. She describes being led toward each new project, often hearing voices telling her what to do or having songs emerge fully formed from her brain. She practices a kind of new-age spirituality, considering her creative work to be a legitimate spiritual path (there I agree with her), visiting psychics and mediums, and praying to what she often refers to as "my guidance."

Julia Cameron is an excellent writer, and so I found myself reading quickly through this book and even staying up late. I didn't know, for example, that she married Martin Scorsese early in life, and her only child is Scorsese's daughter. This relationship gave her access to the inner circles of New York and Hollywood royalty, and over the years she collaborated with a number of very talented people (and some others as well). It was kind of fascinating to read, until it wasn't, and became a sad narrative of a troubled soul, albeit one who has made a positive difference in millions of others.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just realized that I read this book when it was originally published. I clicked immediately upon seeing Julia Cameron and memoir, not realizing that this was just an updated prologue. Cameron is always a delight.

A truly interesting back story of a fascinating life. I had no idea the life that Julia Cameron has lived and found this memoir so intriguing.

Julia Cameron has written a fantastic memoir ,the author of the instructional guide the Artists Way she now shares her most intimate moments.From her alcoholism her marriage to the director Scorsese and so much more.I was drawn in by this talented author and enjoyed from first to last page.#netgalley #st.martins