“The Pen and the Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World is a needed reminder that to be fully alive and alert is a prerequisite to writing well. Brenda Miller and Holly Hughes are the perfect guides for helping us all slow down and see the world around us. What a wise, warm, wonderful book!”

~ Dinty W. Moore, author of The Mindful Writer

 

Here’s a wonderful review by Mike Dillon in the Bookbeat page at Seattle City Living. Here’s an excerpt:

Some writers steer clear of the writing-workshop world; others benefit. Even the former, however, might find “Pen and Bell” an aid to picking up traction in the face of a blank page or computer screen, a challenge poet and teacher William Stafford likened to trying to start a car on ice.

Hughes and Miller are smart, companionable and focused lantern bearers as they lead the reader through 20 chapters that capture the different hours (or seasons) of life, from “Sitting Down and Waking Up,” to “On Gratitude,” to “Befriending Solitude and Grief.”