Journaling - Book reviews

Journaling is often used as a tool for personal development, finding solutions and improving well-being. I have been an avid journal writer for over ten years and found it to be a useful resource.

At first, I didn’t know how to start writing a journal and it soon got pretty stale. I was finding it dull, wasn’t getting much from it and I often didn’t know what to write about. I enjoy reading so I turned to books to understand more about journaling and how I could get more from it.

Not only did these books get me started again but they continued to be a useful source of information. They have helped me keep my writing fresh, interesting and useful.

I am writing this blog to share with you the books I have found useful over the years. If you feel your journaling has become stuck I hope that you can also find inspiration from some of these books.

This blog may be useful if you:

• Want to start journaling but are not sure where to start;

• Have been journaling for a long time but you are looking for new ideas;

• used to journaling in the past and need some inspiration to pick it back up again.

Journaling book reviews

The New Diary by Tristine Rainer

This is the first book I ever read on reflective journaling. It still remains one of my favourites today.

The New Diary begins by discussing the benefits of writing a journal before moving on to the basics. For example, whether to keep your journal private and to encourage you to let go of the usual rules of spelling and grammar.

The New Diary contains different ideas for writing your journal. For example:

• Writing unsent letters;

• Writing a self-portrait or;

• Using lists.

Tristine includes diary excerpts to demonstrate the ideas she is discussing. This helped me to see how I could apply these techniques in my own journal. I felt this and the journal excerpts brought the book to life and made it enjoyable to read.

The New Diary includes suggestions for working with dreams. A lot of other books I’ve read seem to either not address dreamwork or just skim the surface of the subject.  I believe that dreams can be useful for tapping into the deeper layers of our psyche.

The New Diary also includes a section on how to overcome writing blocks. Again, this is an area a lot of other books seem to have overlooked. I found this to be an invaluable section when I was just getting started.

The one thing I feel would enhance the book would be for it to contain some journal prompts. Journal prompts can be helpful for reflecting on subjects or ideas that you might not have considered before. Journal prompts are also useful for getting started if you’re not sure what to write about. I feel this would have been a great addition to the book.

The book is written in a beautifully contemplative manner. It provided me with a great model of how some styles of reflective writing can look. I love this book and it has provided me with a lot of guidance with my journaling.

The Ultimate Guide to Journaling by Hannah Braime

Don’t underestimate this small book - It is brimming with ideas. Some of these include:

• Keeping a daily gratitude diary;

• Drawing your mood and;

• Using free association.

Unlike the ‘New Diary’ this book contains journal prompts for you to reflect on.  Some of the prompt examples include: ‘When I think of the future I think about...’ and ‘A dialogue with my body about my self-image’.

This book doesn’t contain journal excerpts, like the ‘New Diary.’ However, I like the snappiness of this book. It is quick to flick through and find something that grabs your attention.

This book could be used by someone new to journal writing. However, due to the lack of example excerpts, I prefer ‘The New Diary.’ for starting out. Then follow up with this book to gain some additional ideas.

However, if you are raring to get journaling and you don’t want to spend a lot of time reading about it this might be the book for you.

Journal to the Self by Kathleen Adams

This book is thicker and more detailed than ‘The Ultimate Guide to Journaling’.  ‘

‘Journal to the Self’ is broken into 22 short chapters. These chapters include information on:

• How to get started;

• Methods for self-reflective journaling;

• Suggestions on what to write about.

Some of the ideas in this book are similar to those in ‘The New Diary’. However, ‘Journal to the Self’ contains some additional suggestions, such as:

• Using cluster diagrams

• Inner wisdom dialogues and;

• Meditation.

‘The New Diary’ and ‘Journal to the Self’ have some overlapping concepts but they contain enough different ideas to make it worthwhile reading them both.

I personally find ‘The New Diary’ easier to read from cover to cover. Tristine spends time talking about the concepts of journal writing, journal extracts and reflections on these. Which I found made for interesting reading.

Whereas ‘Journal to the Self’ is packed with ideas and is the type of book I will dip in and out of. ‘. It feels more like you are being instructed on how to journal as it provides you with more specific advice and writing prompts.
 

Start Where You Are by Meera Lee Patel

The books I’ve covered so are more instructional in nature than this one. ‘Start where you are’ is more of a workbook. It gives you a suggestion for what to write or draw about. Then leaves a blank space for your response.  

I personally don’t like writing in books, so my first few entries felt a little uncomfortable. However, once I’d started I was able to let go of that. I could have written my entries in a notebook but I believe it is sometimes good to push past a little discomfort. It also gave me something to journal about later on.

Some of the questions require factual replies, whereas others are more reflective. The prompts often involve reflections on:

• Thoughts;

• Feelings;

• Physical sensations or;

• Experiences.  

Here are some examples from the book:

• Go outside and focus on the clouds, trees or breeze. Close your eyes and lift yourself out of your own feet. Let your thoughts wander on their own. How do you feel?;

• Write down ten big dreams that haven't come true yet;

• There is always strength in the deepest of places. Draw the source of your strength.

At times I’ve had fun answering some of the questions. On other occasions, I have been surprised by the depth and insights I have gained.

This book would never replace my own journal because I can be more spontaneous with that. However, ‘Start where you are.’ makes for some interesting writing and it has prompted me to explore various aspects of myself that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

I found it fun to open the book at random and tackle whatever was on that page. Although, this only worked when it wasn’t so full.

There are many hours worth of writing ideas in this book. So, I felt it was good value for money.

'Start Where You Are' not only contains prompts but is filled with colourful and inspirational quotes. For example:

• We become what we think about - Earl Nightingale; 

• There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind - C.S. Lewis;

• Only in the darkness can you see the stars - Martin Luther King Jr.

Journaling and Therapy

Whilst journaling can be a wonderful tool, for increasing self-awareness and improving our well-being, it can also bring up strong emotions. I offer face-to-face and online counselling and telephone therapy from my office based in Durham. If you’d like to know more about this or book an appointment please contact me.