Floor Sample by Julia Cameron Book Review

About the Book:

Julia Cameron has transformed the creative lives of millions, showing them that creativity is their uniquely human birthright. But long before the tools of The Artist’s Way changed the conversation around creativity, Julia developed and used them in her own life.

Floor Sample is the story behind an artistic life—detailing Julia's years in New York, her time as a writer for Rolling Stone, her turbulent marriage to Martin Scorsese, and her painful struggle with alcohol, which ultimately led her to recovery and the methods that would form the backbone of The Artist’s Way.

The life Julia shares in her memoir is tempestuous, flitting restlessly across the country, falling in and out of love, wrestling with alcohol and mental health, but through all of it, always, her art was a fixed point and north star. Featuring a brand new prologue from the author, Floor Sample is honest and unapologetic, a glimpse into the heart and mind behind The Artist's Way.

My Review:

I have used The Artist's Way for years and have read other works by Cameron. While she has mentioned some of her issues in those works, this memoir is very revealing. A long battle with alcohol and drugs, a troubled marriage, and other experiences give insight into why daily writing was and is so important in her life. One might consider this a depressing memoir as Cameron does seem to repeat her experiences with instability and mental issues. Yet it is a work of courage, laying bare all her struggles, both failures and successes. Writing is healing and this memoir affirms that.

I have benefited greatly from following Cameron's suggestion of Morning Pages. Now that I know her whole story, I appreciate her helping others through what she has learned in her own life experiences.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Hailed by the New York Times as “The Queen of Change,” JULIA CAMERON is credited with starting a movement in 1992 that has brought creativity into the mainstream conversation—in the arts, in business, and in everyday life. She is the best-selling author of more than forty books, fiction and nonfiction; a poet, songwriter, filmmaker and playwright. Commonly referred to as “The Godmother” or “High Priestess” of creativity, her tools are based in practice, not theory, and she considers herself “the floor sample of her own toolkit.” The Artist’s Way has been translated into forty languages and sold over five million copies to date. Photo credit: Robert Stivers.

St. Martin's Essentials, 416 pages

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)