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Amy Brown's avatar

I loved this edition of Show Me Your Diary so, so much but that doesn't surprise me at all as I adore Jeannine and have been a devoted student of hers at Writing in the Dark since 2023. It was fun to get this peek at Jeannine's journaling and diary-keeping from childhood to now. As a lifelong journaler, it's so fun to see these photos of journals and what's inside, the ways in which writers use their journals, and I appreciated the unaffected, relaxed, whimsical, a little messy, always interesting approach of Jeannines journals, mixing the daily to-do lists and shopping lists with drawings and doodles as well as the "shimmers and shards" of observations (she'll know what I mean:-) that a writer is always looking for. In essence, these journals signaled "play" to me which is what Jeannine and Writing in the Dark is all about. My take-away is to perhaps step away from my lined journaling notebooks, grab an unlined humble Moleskine and colored markers and see what happens.

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Kelly McMasters's avatar

The humble Moleskine! I love it!

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Martha Chabinsky's avatar

I love this!

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Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Thanks, Martha!

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Joanna Rakoff's avatar

This may be my favorite so far. I love Jeannine’s approach and feel like we need a low-pressure notebook club?! Also, I have that same stack of super-fancy unused notebooks! (Currently on my coffee table!!)

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Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Please can we start that club?!?!

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Kelly McMasters's avatar

Such a special one, Joanna--agreed! On the fancy unused diaries, I find it so fascinating that so many of us psyche ourselves out, as if our words don't deserve the gilt and gold.

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Courtney Maum's avatar

So lovely! I so enjoyed these pictures.

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Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Thank you!!

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