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

Jaouad describes how, as a child, she was geared towards achievement, constantly working hard at accomplishing things. However, she struggled to find her specific sense of purpose, growing increasingly panicked throughout her college years that she still hadn’t figured out the answer to this question. When she was admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment a year after graduation, however, the urgency of this quest evaporated in favor of figuring out everyday survival. The answer to this question ended up being friends, family, some daily comforts, and the creative practice of journaling.

Jaouad reflects on how early illness forced her to reprioritize her life in favor of “eulogy virtues,” character traits that are praised in an individual in their absence. She shares Elizabeth Gilbert’s oft-repeated “purpose speech” in which she urges her audience to find purpose in small, simple acts, and reflects on how she herself does not confine herself to a single purpose. Jaouad hopes the following essays and prompts will help the reader expand the possibilities around their own sense of purpose.

“The To Feel List” by Sky Banyes

Sky Banyes reflects on how she started illustrating some years ago as a creative and reflective practice, and it led her to discover that her search for purpose was not rooted in things she needed to do, but ways she needed to feel—“useful, financially secure, loving, loved” (233). She invites the reader to create their own “to-feel” list.

“The Thing You Can’t Stop Doing” by Connie Carpenter Phinney

Connie Carpenter Phinney describes the intense drive she has felt her whole life to work hard, the culmination of this being her gold medal in road cycling at the 1984 Olympics. She asks the reader to write about what drives them.

“Leave Your Name at the Door” by Alexa Wilding

Alexa Wilding describes her experience of caring for her son, Lou, who was hospitalized with cancer. While in the hospital with him for treatment, she often feared losing her sense of self to the immense task ahead of her. She soothed this fear by working on her third album, while other parents around her sought out their own ways of coping. She invites the reader to write about a time in their own life when they struggled to hold onto their sense of identity, and what they did to cope.

“Forks in the Road” by Jedidiah Jenkins

Jedidiah Jenkins reflects on how so much of his life has unfolded because of chance, moments that were seemingly insignificant but served as forks in the road. He asks the reader to similarly reflect on two such moments from their own life and what they led to.

“Letter from a Burning Building” by Susan Cheever

Susan Cheever reflects on one of the writing prompts that her father, a celebrated writer, liked immensely: To write a letter to someone you love from a burning building. Cheever invites the reader to try it, reflecting on whom they would write to and what would their last words would be.

“A Day of Jubilee” by Marcus G. Miller

Marcus G. Miller reflects on the lessons he learned about work from his father, remembering them in the context of Juneteenth and the joy and jubilee it brought. He asks the reader to reflect on who taught them about work.

“Reawakening Your Original Genius” by Martha Beck

Martha Beck reflects on her diagnosis of ADHD. She realizes that she never had trouble in school because she was innately curious about the things she learned, allowing her to experience hyper-focus on her lessons instead of being distracted and unable to concentrate on them. Beck reflects on how lucky she was to have been dealt this hand, commiserating with the struggle school might have been for her peers who had to focus on things that did not interest them. She asks the reader to write about something they learned because they were forced to, and something they truly enjoyed learning about, comparing both experiences.

“The World’s Most Unending Promise” by Maggie Doyne

Maggie Doyne reflects on the inspiration and hope that children provide, surrounded as she constantly is by children through her work. She invites the reader to write about a time when they were similarly reminded of something important by a child.

“Brazenface” by Tatiana Gallardo

Tatiana Gallardo explains how, when she is faced with the task of doing something scary or intimidating, she reminds herself to put on her “brazen face,” and this immediately delivers a surge of confidence to her. She asks the reader to reflect on what word they similarly wish to embody.

“The Last Page” by Jonathan Miles

Jonathon Miles reflects on how he has never written anything without first knowing what the ending would be. He invites the reader to write the ending to their own story—not about their death, but about the moment where all the threads tie together and every question is resolved.