Best-selling Heroine’s Journey author Maureen Murdock invites readers to explore their personal story within the rich tapestry of human experience by examining the craft of memoir alongside fresh writing advice and prompts.
Like myth, memoir reveals a profound unity to the human condition—that we all share similar hopes, dreams, and desires as well as fears, losses, and heartbreaks. Psychotherapist and writing teacher Maureen Murdock explores connections between ancient myths and popular contemporary memoirs to help readers examine their own life patterns and map their personal stories. Examining myth foundations as well as archetypal themes, the book probes universal questions like: Who am I? Who are my people? What is my journey? Where is home?
With excerpts from beloved memoirs, practical advice, and writing prompts, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the rich scope of the memoir genre. And in turn, they’ll come out with a better grasp on their own life trajectory and their place within the rich tapestry of the human experience.
Published March, 2024 by Shambhala Publications.
Mythmaking is Maureen Murdock’s best, most all-inclusive achievement of all that she has written to date. The one word that came to mind repeatedly in reading it was elegant. She is an elegant writer and teacher, encouraging us all: ‘Write the story your soul wants to write.'
Dennis Patrick Slattery,
coauthor of Deep Creativity
A thoughtful and empowering guide to memoir writing. . . . Memoirists and memoirists-in-the-making: Read this wise, inspired, and inspiring book.
Brooke Warner,
publisher of She Writes Press
This book bridges the gaps between diverse populations by showing how we all share similar hopes, dreams, and desires as well as fears, losses, and heartbreaks. In the end, we are connected in our timeless and universal quest to find the meaning and purpose of our lives.
Flor Fernández Barrios, PhD,
author of The Mask of Oyá
Murdock masterfully weaves together the exploration of our mythic foundations and the archetypal themes that inform our journeys. The result is an eloquent experience for readers. We all share a deep need to tell our story. Mythmaking not only helps us do that but also guides us toward a better understanding of the people and paths that have made us who we are.
John Bucher, PhD,
Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation
Add Maureen Murdock’s Mythmaking to our love and understanding of the memoir form as her salient volume does what no other writing book I know of has done before: Present myth and folktale as necessary tools to stimulate and center the memoirist’s deepest aim—to find a life purpose via personal narrative. Informed by Greek tales, Bible stories, sacred feminist tracts, and an epic cohort of contemporary memoirs, Murdock shows how myths of the gods and the commonfolk harbor roadmaps, from our storytelling pasts, which may, in turn, ground an author’s hunt for an authentic self.
Tom Larson,
author of The Memoir and the Memoirist