I read this slowly over a period of months, while working on my own spiritual memoir, and found it really helpful. I did not do the exact exercises given but found that the general advice was sound. I especially appreciated being given permission to write my memoir first of all, for myself and not worry about an audience, initially or perhaps at all. That helped me to get going, because there was a lot that I wanted and needed to write that can probably never be published, and it was stopping me from even beginning. In the end it did really prove to be a spiritual exercise that helped me to articulate what I thought but could not cognize without this tool of language.

I also like the advice that Andrew paraphrases from a college professor, who told her to write an essay, then cut off the summary ending paragraph and put it at the head of a new essay. Start again, with the conclusion you came to through the whole process, as your new thesis. I find that that is true of my own writing -- I see how what I came to at the end, can form the seed of a new project that maybe will be publishable. Or maybe not. Or maybe it needs multiple drafts to get there. I'm more at peace with the process, now, and this book is partly to thank for it.