The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life

Jaouad recounts stories of people who successfully took up a new creative practice late in life, reflecting on how it underlines that “it’s never too late to alter the course of your becoming” (198). She tells the story of her friend, Barbara, who moved from a career as a police detective to one in real estate, and eventually took up ceramics at 70, sculpting numerous human faces through trial and error. Jaouad reflects on the reasons most people have for not starting something new, ranging from being too busy to not being good enough at it.

In this context, she touches on the Buddhist belief that in experiencing a pleasure, one becomes attached to it, which gives rise to desire and craving that leads to suffering. The Buddhists believe that attachment is the source of ego, with a sense of individuality that is separate from the larger “fabric of consciousness” (200) tending to split things into binaries: “[A]s desirable or undesirable, perfect or flawed, good or bad—as a success or a failure” (200). The antidote to this is acceptance, of things that one doesn’t want but nevertheless comes one’s way, and things that one wants but slip away from one’s life. 

Jaouad exemplifies this in how Barbara refuses to exhibit or sell her clay heads despite requests for these, with her friend simply stating that making and looking at these objects gives her pleasure. Jaouad reflects on how creativity allows one to shed one’s ego and connect to one’s intuition, and hopes the following essays and prompts will allow the reader to do this for themselves.

“Drawing in the Margins” by Anne Francey

Anne Francey recounts all the different approaches to creativity she has encountered through her work organizing community murals. So many adults are hesitant to draw at all, claiming they have no skills, and even children sometimes resort to copying what their friends do, or getting upset at the smallest perceived mistakes. Those who thrive artistically are the ones who go with the flow, accepting where their art takes them. In this context, Francey invites the reader to make art in the margins of their journal where the stakes are lower and it is easier to unlock creativity.

“The First Reader” by Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg reflects on the process of viewing herself as the first person who reads the book rather than the author who has to deliver a perfect narrative, an approach that allowed her writing to flow more easily. She asks the reader to reflect on a situation in which they feel stuck and similarly invite a shift in perspective, viewing it as a learner rather than the one with all the answers.

“Wilderness of Childhood” by Diana Weymar

Diana Weymar describes her early years which was lacking the things that a lot of normal childhoods hold—electricity, neighbors, toys—but she still viewed as the best time because she was connected to nature and the wild, and did not know a different life. She asks the reader to reflect on where they feel wilderness within themselves.

“The Mouse Sestina” by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett describes how she often turns to a particular form of writing that has limitations and constrictions, for as she is focused on the rules, ideas walk up to her from the other direction; for instance, she once wrote a sestina from a mouse’s perspective. She invites the reader to choose and try writing in a new poetic form.

“The Turns We Take” by Lidia Yuknavitch

Lidia Yuknavitch confesses that she grew up with a savior complex, having internalized the story of Joan of Arc from a young age. However, she learned an important lesson in a most unexpected place later in life. Convicted of a crime in California, she joined a group of men in similar circumstances on a road crew, all forced to do labor. In the process of moving railroad ties around, she had an accident, and the men had to help pop her knee back into her joint. The men then started sharing stories of how each of them had suffered similar accidents and needed others to help them out, reminding Yuknavitch that everyone takes turns messing up and getting it right. She invites the reader to write about a lesson they learned from someone unexpected.

“Silence” by Kimbra

Kimbra describes a show at the Sydney Opera House where she experimented with incorporating silence into the performance, drawing the audience into this approach as well; the result was both cathartic and inspiring. She invites the reader to explore silence for themselves.

“The Badder the Better” by Adrienne Raphel

Adrienne Raphel recalls the first time she was scared of a rule with writing, when she was instructed by a professor to write a bad poem. She recognized that she was afraid of being required to fail. She invites the reader to write a bad poem themselves, interrogating for themselves what “bad” really means to them.

“Look Down, Get Low, Think Small” by Joanne Proulx

Joanna Proulx recalls an accident she had some years ago that left her wheelchair-bound for a while and viewing the world from an entirely different height and perspective. She voluntarily repeated this exercise for herself during the pandemic when she retreated to a family cabin in Ontario and spent her days getting down on her knees and examining the forest floor, marveling in its beauty. She invites the reader to try looking at life from a different level and write about what they discover.

“Rewiring Virtue and Vice” by George Saunders

George Saunders reflects on the power of a good writing prompt and offers the reader one in four stages: Write in the voice of Person One, an individual they dislike; write again in the voice of Person Two, a character that Person One is about the threaten, inconvenience, or harm; create an interaction between Persons One and Two; and finally, write reactions to the incident in both these characters’ voices. Use the resultant piece to examine one’s own internal moral positioning.

“Simplify” by Barbara Becker

Barbara Becker recalls coming across her father’s copy of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, in which the lines “Simply, simplify” had been underlined, while she and her brother were in the process of clearing out their late parents’ house. This reminder gave her fresh energy to tackle the task at hand, and she similarly invites the reader to think about the things they would let go of from their life that same day, if they had to “Simplify, simplify!”