The capstone to forty years of teaching, The True Secret of Writing is Gold­berg’s Zen boot camp. Stories of her own search for truth and clarity as well as her students’ breakthroughs and insights give moving testament to how brilliantly her unique, tough-love method works. As Goldberg says, “To write is to be empow­ered. . . . Writing is not just for someone who wants to write the great American novel.” Learning “the true secret” allows you to mine the rich awareness in your mind and to ground and empower yourself in a way that leads to deep, eloquent self-expression. Goldberg’s beautiful homages to the work of other great teachers and observers of mind, life, and love provide further secrets and inspiration to which you will return again and again. 

Natalie Goldberg is the author of the bestselling Writing Down the Bones, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies since publication in 1986, as well as nine other books, including Wild Mind and Long Quiet Highway. She regularly leads workshop retreats at the Mabel Dodge House in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and other locales worldwide. Her paintings are exhibited throughout the country.

See the Shambhala Sun's "Books in Brief" profile of The True Secret of Writing.