In this highly readable book about a personal way of dealing with potentially life-threatening illness, we follow author, broadcaster and acclaimed poet Myra Schneider through her journey from diagnosis to recovery from breast cancer. One of the book's special gifts is to make us feel we are engaged in an absorbing conversation with a friend, a friend who is full of courage, sensitivity and hope, but manages at the same time to be completely honest about the terror, anger and times of darkness that such a diagnosis brings.'
- Caduceus
'Although, as its title suggests, this book concentrates on writing for cancer sufferers, its advice is equally valid for people suffering from other problems, whether physical, emotional or practical. It shows the empowering effect of writing; how it can help to make sense when the world chaotic; how it can keep you focused when your life is falling apart. This is an inspiring read, made so by the author's frankness, warmth and honesty, which breathe through the pages.'
- Writing Magazine
'Reading someone else's journal is so engaging; When that person is a poet and has experienced a life threatening illness, the reading becomes inspiring. Myra Schneider is not only a poet and author but also a teacher. Her guide lines for therapeutic writing are clear and had me reaching for a pen. It would be a very valuable book for most clients who have been, or are going through, illness or any difficult experience, to try the visualisations and writing ideas. These, and the whole book, would be extremely useful for therapists working in any setting. Buy it!' 
- HCPJ
'Myra, an established poet and author of a handbook on writing for personal development, clearly found her writing enormously supportive throughout the cancer experience. She clearly and simply offers exercises and routes to self-expression and exploration.' 
- The British Journal of General Practice
'In this moving account [Myra Schneider] tackles with endearing honesty her personal experience of breast cancer. Myra takes us from diagnosis through the long painful route to recovery by developing the journal she decided to keep through her experiences. By sharing her journal with us, Myra has provided a window onto an experience which many people, finding themselves in a similar situation, will take comfort and inspiration from.' 
- Lapidus Magazine
'While this book provides an intimate portrayal of the author's experience of breast cancer, the writing is often humorous and ultimately uplifting. It will be of interest to people with breast cancer and to those supporting them, and to health professionals for the psychological insights offered.' 
- Breast Cancer Care News
Diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2000, poet and author Myra Schneider turned to her writing to help her come to terms with the experience. In this thoughtful and readable book, she illustrates how writing helped her through diagnosis, treatment and recovery as well as the change in self-image following her mastectomy.
In her frank expression of intense fear, anger and doubt, Myra Schneider includes notes and finished poems written during her period of recovery. She also offers practical support in the form of therapeutic writing suggestions for cancer sufferers, whether they are experienced authors or have never written before.
Bringing together an unsparing but ultimately uplifting first-hand account of life with cancer and advice about writing as therapy, this engaging and positive book shows the benefits of expressing the self through writing. It will provide inspiration and support to anyone affected by cancer and useful insight for professionals involved in the care of cancer patients.

Writing My Way Through Cancer

Schneider, Myra

Literature & Fiction

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Writing Your Self is a comprehensive resource for anyone who wants to explore personal material in their writing. It examines how many writers use personal subject matter in memoirs, poems, journals and novels. Part One focuses on universal experiences including childhood, identity, adult relationships and loss as well as more specific issues such as displacement and disability, physical and mental illness and abuse. Throughout the book writers, including the authors, give frank, firsthand accounts of their own experiences and how they have tackled writing about them. Part Two begins with a series of techniques for approaching personal material which include practical exercises and examples. It also considers the differences between raw and finished writing and the validity of each and offers ideas for developing work. With its wide range of writers and the exciting possibilities it offers, Writing Your Self is a definitive book for exploring personal literature and life writing.

Writing Your Self: Transforming personal material

Killick, John

Biographies & Memoirs

Continuum

A personal approach to creative writing. 1998 229pp

Writing for Self-Discovery: A Personal Approach to Creative Writing

Element Books Ltd.

Exits

Poetry

Enitharmon Press

The opening poems of Multiplying The Moon are Myra Schneider's response to her recent experience of terrible illness. In the aftermath of fighting breast cancer, she found herself writing poems that explore transience, death and survival from many different angles. The main theme of 'Voicebox', the long fictional narrative in the middle of the book, is communication; the poem follows the connections and disconnections between its main characters. In a short poem sequence, the poet draws on findings from the 1901 census to re-create her father's early life, and the understanding she gains helps her to feel a new closeness with him. This, Schneider's most ambitious collection, is united by the theme of investigation of the self and its relationship with the outside world.

Multiplying the Moon

Myra Schneider’s new collection opens with a sequence inspired by one of Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures and explores the idea of core from different angles. This theme recurs throughout as Schneider tries to capture the sense of what a bird is, searches out what lies at the heart of memories, fraught contemporary situations, ancient places and dream visions. The same need to investigate underlies poems about women’s experience. These include a narrative, Hotel’, and a monologue, Eurydice’s Version’, which reinterpets the Orpheus myth.

Circling the Core

Myra Schneider’s new collection of poetry brings a fresh sense of reality to some well-known images. Color is the keynote of the book, moving through Matisse, Hockney, and Chagall. Sound is explored too, in Mahler and Beethoven. Often we find skin-deep assumptions turned around: the gold of ancient Crete is not its jewelry but olives; a postbox’s bright exterior conceals menace; a major 20th-century artist only started painting by chance at the age of 20; and the long poem “Minotaur” makes it clear that the Minotaur is no monster, Theseus no hero. Focusing on art and myth, this collection is deeply attentive to women’s concerns and experiences.

The Door to Colour

Lifting the Sky

Ward Wood Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Schneider, Myra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Schneider, Myra

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Schneider, Myra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Writing My Way Through Cancer

Writing Your Self: Transforming personal material

Writing Your Self: Transforming personal material

Writing for Self-Discovery: A Personal Approach to Creative Writing

Exits

Multiplying the Moon

Circling the Core

The Door to Colour

Lifting the Sky