A Story That Matters explores our ability to help, heal and connect to others through story, reminding us of the greater need for a broader array of authentic voices in the story-sharing universe. Not everyone has a best-selling memoir in them. But we do all have a story that matters to someone—our children, our lovers, our colleagues, and most importantly, ourselves. Our stories also matter to others who we may not know, but whose stories are reflected in our own. A Story that Matters offers an accessible and simplified way to get your stories written. As editor and beloved author, Anita Bunkley, says, A Story that Matters is “a unique book that is both a bit of a memoir and a writing guide– an inspirational message and a self-help workbook.” Each chapter is divided into three sections. The first section discusses memoir writing in the context of themes (one theme per chapter)— mother memoir, childhood, relationships, professional life and spiritual journey. The second section of the chapter provides basic writing and editing prescription, with a focus on common beginner mistakes and road blocks. The third section is a sample story related to the life theme discussed in the first section of the chapter. Because the book includes several stories and anecdotes from the author’s own life, it illustrates one of its central tenets– that individual stories can be effectively combined to offer a complete and holistic life picture. A Story that Matters is chock full of writing and editing lessons that focus on how to get a first draft written and how to craft the draft into a compelling story. Chapter Seven provides a unique prompt system that guides writers through a process of mining their memories; developing themes and getting their stories started.   

From an author with a psychology background, a candid memoir about the interior of her own psychotic episode and its origins in guilt, lost purpose, conflict between mothering and career, and the ambiguity in her relationship with her therapist. Only weeks after nineteen-year-old Linda’s family moves from a small, rustic town in Wisconsin to the sex, drugs, and rock and roll of Los Angeles in 1967, her family disintegrates: her parents divorce and she and her younger brother, Brian, suddenly must fend for themselves. Linda finds a foothold in academic pursuits and part-time work, but Brian quickly spirals downward—behaving erratically, landing in psychiatric hospitals and jails, and, finally, committing an irrevocable act. Plagued with guilt over Brian’s deterioration, Linda loses her sense of purpose, abandons a promising career in psychology, and finds herself in a life she never envisioned—poor, alcoholic, an accidental parent in an unhappy marriage, feeling invisible and alone. At her husband’s urging, Linda starts seeing a psychologist, Sam, who quickly becomes a touchstone for what she has lost: her sense of self. Feeling truly seen, she falls in love with Sam and believes he might return her feelings, but he gives mixed messages. The ambiguity, mingled with other overwhelming stresses, triggers her descent into a psychotic episode—one that echoes her dreams, Brian’s experience, and Sam’s own phobia. Standing at the brink of self-destruction, Linda realizes she is at a turning point: She can continue stumbling down her brother’s path—or she can find her way back to herself and create the life she longs to live.