Grammar for the Soul

Using Language for Personal Change

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Imprint: Quest Books
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"A witty meditation on the ways in which grammar can improve morale, bolster confidence, and provide an invigorating spiritual workout" --O, The Oprah Magazine
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Book Details

Pages

168 Pages
Size

6.5 x 8.5
Format

Hardcover
Pub. Date

04/01/2008
ISBN

978-0-8356-0865-7
Publisher

Quest Books

Authors

From 1973 to 1983, Lawrence Weinstein taught at Harvard University, where he was in charge of the course "Expository Writing, Theory and Practice" and co-founded Harvard's Writing Center. Since 1983, he has been a member of the English Department of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. In 2001, the National Council of Teachers of English published his Writing at the Threshold, a book on writing instruction at the high school and college levels which has remained an NCTE bestseller ever since. In addition, Weinstein has written several full-length plays. One, "New Curtains for Macbeth", was produced in 2003 by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, and was named a finalist at the International Playwriting Festival in the UK. Another, "The La Vidas' Landlord", will receive its world premiere at Theatre 3 in Dallas in March 2008.

In this wise and charming book, Lawrence Weinstein explores how self-expression reveals the psyche and how changing language can change lives. In chapters like “Tolerating Ambiguity” and “Getting Out of One’s Own Way,” he describes how the proper use of an element of punctuation or syntax, even the simple reversal of an object and subject, can help one become a whole human being. Clear examples, amusing anecdotes, and telling quotes support Weinstein’s technique for teaching self-improvement through improved grammar.
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"A witty meditation on the ways in which grammar can improve morale, bolster confidence, and provide an invigorating spiritual workout" --O, The Oprah Magazine "In Grammar for the Soul, Weinstein coaches us not only on how to write, but on how to live. With wit, mischief, and wisdom, he shows us the inner workings of the English language so we can unlock our best selves. Strunk and White, move over!" --Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, scholar, Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco; author of Kabbalah: A Love Story "Grammar for the Soul is an entirely fresh, amusing, and authentic approach to spirituality. Expressing ourselves through language creates the way that we sculpt reality...and allow ourselves to be sculpted by it. If you read just one book this year, let this be the one. I loved it!" --Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Your Soul's Compass and Minding the Body, Mending the Mind "This book is a true gem -- finely honed, deeply reflective, and lit from within. It brought the wonder of language back to me, but that was only the beginning. Weinstein's mini-essays are sensual, provocative, filled with stunning new insights about turning written expression into a transformational quest. He demonstrates how any humble paragraph, when blessed with exquisite attention, can become a perfect prayer."--Raphael Cushnir, author of Unconditional Bliss, How Now, and The One Thing Holding You Back "Lawrence Weinstein confirms what we literary types have always known inour hearts: grammar equals virtue." --Anne Fadiman, author of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down