Ok, so you may have noticed that the book choices are becoming less about making specifically. But bear with me. This book deals with creativity and the impulse we all possess to be curious, to create. It tries to unpick the narrative that we have all inherited that creativity is mysterious and that the artistic way of life should be fraught with worry and suffering. The author believes in the paradoxes of the creative life: “Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it does not matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful priviledge”. But she also believes in Big Magic. Big Magic is what happens when you live an authentic, creative life (and creative is incredibly broadly defined here), when you have the courage to honour the things that are hidden within.
This book does border dangerously on self help, but it is not asking you to put on a brave face when things are tough. It is a reminder of the things you already know about yourself but are too afraid to remember, prefering to let the doubt and the inner critic win. If you can learn to ignore the regular reminders of how the author wrote a really successful book (Eat, Pray, Love) then I think you will find her challenges to fear really motivating.
You can also see her talk about it in two TEDtalks: here and here
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (published by Bloomsbury)
[update: I have re-visited this book a couple of times since I wrote this original review. And each time I am struck by how different elements of Gilbert’s text resonate for me depending on the things I am fretting about at the time. It’s definitely a book to keep handy to dip in and out of.]