With The Husband's recent cancer treatments, surgery, and recovery, much that makes up our everyday lives got rearranged and shifted. In November, I learned that life is not business as usual during such times - even with family driving several hours to help.

In November, the month of The Cancer, not many books were read. (But this one was one of them.) Nor did many reviews get written. Best laid plans, and all that. Apologies were sent to authors via Facebook and, thankfully, gratefully accepted.

So this review, then, is one of them - a little later than promised, but I say all this as preamble because it somehow kind of fits with Joan Frank's Because You Have To: A Writing Life. It seems odd to have been reading a book on writing during a time when I had absolutely zero of it to write much of anything other than a grocery list, much less write a sentence of a novel (especially during a month when I looked wistfully on as everyone else was NaNo-ing their hearts and hair out).

But in a way, Because You Have To was probably one of the most perfect books for me to read at this time.

That's because Joan Frank gets this writing life in a way that is so authentic and real, and this comes across the pages as easily as if you are sharing several hours - and stories and knowing nods - over a cup of coffee or tea. She is that understanding friend who doesn't tell you how to write but rather commiserates with you about all the ways that being a writer is simultaneously wonderful, exhausting, satisfying, frustrating, freeing, and ever-changing.

Because You Have To appears to be a slim book but it is one that is packed full with a treasure trove of advice. Perhaps advice is the wrong word. None of this is preachy or heavy-handed. Instead, in a book that has been described as part-memoir, Frank shares what has and hasn't worked. For her.

With an abundance of quotes from other writers and enough anecdotes that the reader knows that Frank has been in the trenches, it is all here: on finding the time during one's day to write; on getting rejected and getting published; the "spit and Band-Aids" business of writing (applying for grants, submitting proposals); on telling people that you're a writer and everything that this entails (it's not always a glamorous reaction); on different writing styles and rituals; on establishing friendships with other writers and the occasional jealousy and envy that can arise in light of others' success; on the pros and cons of writing communities (writing groups, MFA programs); on reviewing books (including those from well-meaning friends) and on responding to negative reviews as a writer (a section that a few more authors on certain social media sites would be well advised to read).

She also explores reading - for it's a given that writers should (must) read - and Frank provides enough quotes from influential books and authors in her own life to fill up several more. She discusses literary trends, the future of the book itself, and the trickiness of recommending books to friends.

In addition to Because You Have To: A Writing Life, Joan Frank is the author of two story collections (In Envy Country and Boys Keep Being Born) and three novels (Make It Stay, The Great Far Away, and Miss Kansas City). She has won literary awards and is quite accomplished, yet she comes across as completely down-to-earth.

This book presents the writing life as it is: unvarnished, a bit rough, but ours for what we want to make of it. I absolutely loved this and as such, this will absolutely be on my favorite nonfiction books list for 2012. If there are any writers on your holiday gift list, you won't go wrong getting them a copy of this book. It goes right up there with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and The Writer's Survival Guide by Rachel Simon as among my favorite books by writers for writers. ( )

I wanted to like this, and now I cannot fathom why. While the first handful of essays were interesting and occasionally insightful, the book soon descended into literary-fiction hipster pretentiousness. Okay, yes, fine, literary authors are allowed to have their books too. I just never realized how utterly remote they are from my experience. ( )

People have asked me whether or not I’ve ever considered writing a book. I’ve thought about it here and there, but nothing has ever really made me consider it as anything more than a passing fancy. And as I was reading Frank’s book, I realized that part of the reason I don’t particularly have the drive to write a book is because I don’t feel about writing the way she feels. I feel that way about reading. I feel that way about creating in other ways. But I know , right now at least, my heart isn’t in writing anything more than my blog. Plus, my metaphors stink like butterflies on the moon.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I didn’t love Frank’s book. In fact, I found it refreshing. And beautiful. And honest. And surprisingly helpful. She talks about the struggles of writing, of being an introvert, of having people question your craft (this happens often when I price a quilt for someone). And oh, the woman can put a sentence together. Her writing is gorgeous, and you get the impression that she truly loves language and the art of writing.

Read my full review here: http://letseatgrandpa.com/2012/11/27/book-review-___-because-you-have-to-a-writi... ( )

My family likes to ask me when I'm going to write my bestselling novel. My husband tells me he'd be perfectly happy to have me support him in the lap of luxury through my writing. The loveliest thing about these questions is that they are in earnest. They really believe that I not only have a book in me but that my writing is fantastic and that of course the whole world would buy whatever I wrote. The reality of it though is that no matter what my writing is like good, bad, or indifferent, I know and understand the publishing world too well to think that anything about the process as they see it is likely (nevermind the discipline I currently lack in terms of actually writing an entire book). If I had any ideas left about the glamour of a writing life, and having been the intern in charge of wading through the slush pile at a small publisher many, many years ago, I really don't, this collection of essays by Joan Frank, musings on various different aspects of being a writer, reviewer, and reader, would certainly bring me back to reality.

Written over many years and previously published elsewhere, these essays pulled together here represent the good and the bad, the sublime and the frustrating, the victories and the disappointments inherent in choosing, nay, in being compelled to live the life of a writer. Frank is a published author of five novels, essays, and short stories so she knows from whence she writes. She has spent years eking out a living as an administrative assistant in order to be able to afford to pursue her passion, even if only in the margins of her life. Despite her relative success, she is not a household name; she is not offered million dollar contracts; she still has to scramble to find a publisher for the next book; she still has to deliberately carve out writing time from the rest of her life. In short, Joan Frank is a literary fiction author who writes because she must, despite the numerous downsides to such a need, drive, compulsion.

Frank not only writes about the ways in which so many writers' actual writing must compete for time with everything else but also about rejection, the loneliness of writing as an occupation, the lack of money available to those lucky enough to see their work through to book form, the lack of effective concrete advice on how to put words worth reading down on paper, the work and disappointment involved in trying to find a publisher or agent, the way literary writers must always play the odds but still most often come up one number short, writing reviews and in turn facing reviews of her own works, and how writers are readers and lovers of books. She is honest and clear about the disadvantages of being a writer but just by the simple act of writing this book, she is also clear that writers write regardless of the myriad negatives. Her love for her craft and for books as a whole, even in the midst of struggle or envy or dejection, shines through as well.

This is not a writing how-to manual nor is it intended to be such. It is instead a collection of contemplative essays about the reality of Frank's writing and reading life and the way that her particular experiences mirror those of so many other authors out there currently writing. There is a bit of repetition in some of the essays, even extremely similar wording that brought me up short once or twice, as I read through this in essentially a single sitting, which would not be my recommendation. The essays would probably have more impact if allowed to settle and be considered one by one, read at a leisurely pace over many days. As Frank squeaks her writing in around the rest of life, I squeak my reading in and that was a disservice to this particular book. Those interested in the realities of life as a writer or who must write no matter what will thrill to this honest look at the big sacrifices and small soul-refreshing rewards of a writing life. And those who think that writing is easy and anyone can write a book, well, they should avoid this book at all costs unless they are ready to shatter the rose-colored glasses and embrace writing with every bit of their being as Frank has done, as real writers must. ( )

The Short of It:

Writers, true writers will appreciate the grit contained within these pages.

The Rest of It:

Sometimes you look for a book, and sometimes a book finds you. This is definitely one of those times where the book found me and the timing could not have been more perfect.

Is this a book about writing? Yes. Without a doubt, this is a book about writing but it’s not a “how to” and it doesn't include useful tips on how to get your book published either. What it is, is a collection of essays about the act of writing. Specifically, the writing itself and what it means to be a writer.

Many writers struggle financially and although this is something that we immediately realize as fact, it’s not something that comes to mind when you think of becoming an accomplished writer. Yes, being able to pay the rent does affect your writing. The type of job you have affects your ability to write as well. Working a 9-5 job and then coming home to a family that needs you, also affects your ability to create. It’s obvious, but hearing Frank tell it like it is, is somehow refreshing and comforting. Hearing her admit it somehow makes it okay and yes, writers everywhere will feel validated and empowered that there are others out there working through the same challenges.

Frank also goes into the mechanics of writing and the need for stillness. Creating art in an age where technology is buzzing all around us is a distraction in and of itself. Her essay titled The Stillness of Birds speaks to this and while I was reading it, I was distracted no less than ten times by my daughter who happened to be watching The Brady Bunch while writhing around on the floor. Yes, I could relate.

Frank also admits, that writing can be a lonely life. It’s not something that you share with everyone. Some will want to critique you, others will want to commiserate with you but most of all, her fear of being a whiner is what keeps her from discussing the early stages of her work. The act of writing brings with it, a healthy dose of misery. Who knew?

Reading this book was like taking a much-needed time-out. I’ve longed for a career in writing and feel that I have stories to tell, but the act of actually writing them down has been a dark cloud hanging over my head for as long as I can remember. Marriage, family, work. These are the things that continue to throw me off-balance and they are the very same things that Frank talks about in this book. Granted, she does not offer advice really, but what she does is tell you that you write, because you have to, not because it’s something you dreamed of doing. You write because physically, you’d be sick if you didn't. Writers write, whether they get paid for it or not. That is the distinction and it’s been a bit of an eye opener for me.

I love that the collection is both honest, yet positive and hopeful. Clearly, Frank’s love of writing outweighs the misery that tends to go along with it. This is a book to pull out every time you are experiencing frustration of your own.

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